Combat is one of the central themes of Middle High German
narrative literature, and of significant interest to medievalists in general.
Nevertheless, few studies to date have attempted a detailed analysis of the
depiction of combat in literary texts.
Kellett uses an inclusive approach to the details of combat descriptions in
order to analyse minutely the scenes of single combat and battle presented in
two major narrative works by Der Stricker, the epic Karl der Große and
the Arthurian romance Daniel von dem Blühenden Tal, written between
1220 and 1250. The author compares these works with a wide range of other
texts, both French and German, and investigates the relationship between
Stricker’s depiction of combat and that found in the works of Hartmann von Aue
and Wolfram von Eschenbach among others. She also draws on historical research
into medieval warfare, tournament and the tradition of the judicial combat,
which adds valuable depth to her analysis of literary texts.
Overall, this study provides new insights into the depiction of combat in
Middle High German literature as a whole, while at the same time highlighting
hitherto unnoticed aspects of the writings of Der Stricker as an individual
author, and bringing a new perspective on the ambiguous role played by combat
in the equally ambiguous Daniel von dem Blühenden Tal.