Content area
Full Text
Neophilologus (2009) 93:103121 DOI 10.1007/s11061-008-9103-2
Stephanie L. Hathaway
Published online: 17 June 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008
Abstract The importance of the scene at the court in Montlaon in both Wolframs Willehalm and its source, Aliscans, cannot be understated. It is the scene of action vital to Willehalms success in saving Orange, his march, Gyburg and his illustrious name, and in exacting revenge for the deaths of his kinsmen. In both texts, the decisive support of imperial France that is needed in order for Willehalm to succeed is determined a great deal by the inuence of the female characters. The perpetual clan loyalty and promise of benevolence and support required to sustain land, power and the endurance of the family line resides essentially in the relationships between male and female characters, and in the inuence of the female characters within these relationships. In a textual comparison and investigation of the themes and roles played by each of the three women present at the negotiations, Irmschart, Blancheor and Alyze, as well as of the one woman not present at Montlaon, Gyburg, the specic function of each is shown to be deliberately orchestrated and their decisive effect upon the outcome of the negotiations is evident.
Keywords Chanson de geste Wolfram von Eschenbach Women Willehalm
Aliscans
The conict in the story of Guillaumes battle at Aliscans that ultimately decides the victory of Christian Europe over Saracen invasion centres without doubt on the negotiations between lord and vassal at court in Montlaon. When the story opens, Guillaume has suffered defeat and the loss of the greater part of his military forces, and Orange, his by conquest, and its queen, his wife, Guiborc, are at risk of falling to the Saracen invaders who have come to reclaim them. It is vitally important for
S. L. Hathaway (&)
Departments of French and Germanic Studies, University of Sydney, 26 King Road Hornsby, Sydney, NSW 2077, Australiae-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Women at Montlaon: The Inuential Rolesof the Female Characters in Court Negotiations in Aliscans and Wolframs Willehalm
123
104 S. L. Hathaway
Guillaume to have the support of Louis military force at Orange, not merely because of their numbers, but also because the presence of the imperial military contingent will be seen by...