Krieg im Mittelalter und seine Kritik in literarischen Werken des deutschsprachigen Raumes

Summary

War has always been a horrible experience and proved to be highly destructive. Whereas the peace movement has gained considerable momentum in modern times, it seems as if the Middle Ages did not reflect a clear interest in peace. This paper argues for the opposite as many religious and philosophical texts can be identified in which strong criticism of war, military aggression, and violence comes to the fore. Previous scholarly investigations have pointed out that medieval German political poetry (»Sangspruchdichtung«) and religious literature strongly advocated peace. The present investigation focuses on the Old High German Hildebrandslied, the thirteenth-century Klage, on the thirteenth-century Wigamur, Fuetrer’s fifteenth-century Lannzilet and Wittenwiler’s Ring as remarkable literary examples of anti-war poetry. Although the poets mostly refrained from specific accusations, the loudly voiced lament, the critical tone of the narrative, the drastic images of destruction and death resulting from war unequivocally indicate that these literary documents were composed as literary manifestoes against war, violence, and military aggression.