Ulrich Von Zatzikhoven's Lanzelet: Narrative Style and Entertainment

Wide-ranging survey of a neglected but significant early German version of the Lancelot legend.

Ulrich von Zatzikhoven's Lanzelet, written around the turn of the thirteenth century, has long intrigued scholars both within and outside German studies: the only remaining trace of a Lancelot legend free of the adulterousaffair with Guinevere, it has been seen both as a precursor of classical Arthurian romance in Germany, and as a post-classical imitation, and attempts to interpret it have often run foul of its contradictions. This new study takesa fresh look at its place in the history of German romance, arguing that Ulrich placed his work firmly in the Arthurian romance tradition, adopting its familiar motifs, courtly vocabulary, and idealised knightly hero, but ratherthan presenting a hero who falls from grace (as did Chrétien), his Lanzelet is truly flawless from the outset. While the repeated episodes and adventures emphasise this aspect of Lancelot, they are also related in strikingly different narrative styles, which Dr McLelland suggests are not the result of authorial incompetence, but rather a source of entertainment, and a challenge to the genre as a whole.

NICOLA McLELLAND is a Lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin.