Diu Crne and the Medieval Arthurian Cycle

Study of neglected 13c German romance by Heinrich von dem Turlin: Gawain achieves the Grail, Arthur struggles through reverses to assert his authority. Heinrich's reinvention of the Arthurian ideal asserts its vigour in the latermiddle ages. Interesting and persuasive... will surely influence the future critical discussion of Heinrich's poem and the medieval Arthurian cycle. ARTHURIANA Diu Crne (The Crown) is one of the most neglected of Arthurianromances, perhaps because it does not fit into the canon of orthodox Arthurian stories: it is Gawain, not Perceval or Galahad, who achieves the Grail, and Heinrich's Arthur is not a predestined, assured imperial figure but a rulerwho struggles through reverses and challenges as he attempts to establish his authority, making the eventual triumph of the court and the accolade of the Grail all the more dramatic. Diu Crne is a bravura performance which creates a compelling new foundation myth. Camelot is transformed from its initial state of factionalism, sexual betrayal and lack of morale under an inexperienced king to one of law, order and security symbolised by the supreme resourcefulness shown by Gawain in the unflinching service of Arthur, his liege lord. It reinvents the imaginative foundation of the Arthurian ideal, and demonstrates that the ideal maintained its appeal in Germany into thelater middle ages. NEIL THOMAS is Reader in German in the School of Modern European Languages in the University of Durham