Description
Book SynopsisArdent Complaints and Equivocal Piety treats three sets of medieval German crusade poems, in most of which the crusades are pictured as a source of distress, disenchantment, or even annoyance. The first group portrays the crusader as he tries to overcome strong reluctance to leave his home and loved ones. The second group, by some of the same poets, features the woman who is about to lose a beloved man to crusade duty and clearly objects to it. The third consists of three poets who give the impression of crusade involvement, but an impression that remains intriguingly unclear. These groups of German poems are treated against a background of Latin crusade poems in which the crusades cause stress and distress of a different kind.
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Abbreviations Chapter 3 General Introduction: Problems and Issues; A Brief Look at Scholarship; Procedure and Outline Chapter 4 Prologue: Medieval Latin Crusade Poetry as Background Chapter 5 Portraying the Crusader in Medieval German Poetry: Introduction; The Crusader and Jerusalem; The Crusader and the Enemy; The Crusader and God; The Crusader and Woman; Summary of Part I: Portraying the Crusader in Medieval German Poetry Chapter 6 The Female Persona in Medieval German Crusade Poetry: Prelude: The Female Persona in Poems of Marcabru and Guiot de Dijon; The Female Persona in Medieval German Crusade Poems; Summary of Part II: The Female Persona in Medieval German Crusade Poetry Chapter 7 The Crusade Observer of Unknown Status: Introduction; Summary of Part III: The Crusader Observer of Unknown Status Chapter 8 General Summary and Conclusion Chapter 9 Endnotes Chapter 10 Bibliography Chapter 11 Index
