 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in German. (January 2021)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Tannhäuser (German:[ˈtanhɔʏzɐ];Middle High German:Tanhûser), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a GermanMinnesinger andtraveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265.
His name becomes associated with a "fairy queen"–typefolk ballad inGerman folklore of the 16th century.
The most common tradition has him as a descendant of theTanhusen family ofImperialministeriales, documented in various 13th century sources, with their residence in the area ofNeumarkt in the BavarianNordgau. These sources identify him as being descended of an OldStyrian noble family.[1]
The illustratedCodex Manesse manuscript (about 1300–1340) depicts him clad in theTeutonic Order habit, suggesting he might have fought in theSixth Crusade led by EmperorFrederick II in 1228/29. For a while, Tannhäuser was an activecourtier at the court of theAustrian dukeFrederick the Warlike, who ruled from 1230 to 1246. Frederick was the last of theBabenberg dukes; upon his death in theBattle of the Leitha River, Tannhäuser left theVienna court.
Tannhäuser was a proponent of theleich (lai) style of minnesang and dance-song poetry. As literature, his poemsparody the traditional genre with irony and hyperbole, somewhat similar to latercommercium songs. However, hisBußlied (Poem on Atonement) is unusual, given the eroticism of the remainingCodex Manesse.
Based on hisBußlied, Tannhäuser became the subject of a legendary account. It makes Tannhäuser a knight and poet who found theVenusberg, the subterranean home ofVenus, and spent a year there worshipping the goddess. After leaving the Venusberg, Tannhäuser is filled with remorse, and travels toRome to askPope Urban IV (reigned 1261–1264) if it is possible to be absolved of his sins. Urban replies that forgiveness is impossible, as much as it would be for his papal staff to blossom. Three days after Tannhäuser's departure, Urban's staff blooms with flowers; messengers are sent to retrieve the knight, but he has already returned to Venusberg, never to be seen again.[2]
The earliest version of the narrative of the legend, not yet associated with the name of Tannhäuser, is first recorded by the Provençal writerAntoine de la Sale (c. 1440) in his bookLa Salade. Here he narrates his visit to the town ofMontemonaco in theSibillini Mountains, Italy, and reports on the local legend of a fairy court hidden in acave on the local mountains. La Sale personally visited the cave but did not delve into it past the entrance. He also reports the legend of an unnamed German knight who would have descended in the cave and lived there as one of the fairies' spouse, before coming back to seek forgiveness from the Pope. Despairing of not being forgiven for his sins, he would have returned to the fairies' cave to live eternally among them.
The association of this narrative with the name of Tannhäuser appears to take place in the early 16th century. A GermanTannhäuser folk ballad is recorded in numerous versions beginning around 1510.
The popularity of the ballad continued unabated well into the 17th century.
The motif became most popular as the principal source forRichard Wagner's large three-act operaTannhäuser (1845), which changes a few story elements and is known for including a scandalous depiction of the revels of Venus's court in its first scene. The plot of the opera covers both theTannhäuser legend and the epic of theSängerkrieg atWartburg Castle.
