– 6 –
D A I LY L I FE IN M E D I E V A L L I T E R A T U R E ( *)
Gerhard Jar i t z , Kre m s
I n recent years e f f o rts ln t h e s y s t e matlcal research on
dal l y life and ma t e r i a l c u l t u re o f t h e Mid d l e Ages have
increased. ( 1 ) I t al t h o u g h m u s t be con f e s s e d t h a t t he t h eoretical
and m e t h o dical bas i s of many lnves t i gat i ons has been
very d i f f e r ent, weak or indeed c o mpl e t e l y m i s sing . General l y
original obje c t s , works o f art ( main l y p i c t u res ) and t h e
wide s c o p e o f wrl t ten s o u r ces repre s e n t t h e obje c t s o f
ana l y s i s and I nt e r p r etation. ( 2 )
At t h e ‚ Ins t i t u t f ü r mit t e l a l t e r l i c h e Real ienkunde
U s t errelchs ‚ o f the A u s t r f an Academy o f Selences lnves tlgat
i ons have been carrled o u t, whlch are p a r t lc u l a r l y based on
l at e medfeval plc t orlal s o u rces and certaln t y pes of wrltten
s o u r c e s . (3 ) Of t h e l a t t e r they lncl u d e above a l l lnvent o rle
s, a c c o unt-books, t e s taaents and travel – de s crlptlons . I n
the c o ur s e o f t h e s e research projects t h e d o cuaentatlon and
analysls o f plctures of t h e f o urteen t h and f l f t eent h c en t u rles
has been done w l t h t h e h e l p o f E D P . ( 4 )
T h e m e t h o d s u s e d f o r t h e acces s t o t h e re l evant cont
en t s of plctures are q u l t e slal l ar t o t h e conceptlons
devel o ped for deal lng wlth l lt erary s o urces . Therefore, t hey
may b e des crlbed brle f l y. – A plcture was s up p o s e d to lns
t r u c t l ate medleval men, a b o v e al l t h e l arge gro u p s o f
– 7 –
il l i te ra t e s . O u t o f that d l da c t i c m o t l ve the p o r t r a y e d Situations
– mainly o f religious cont e n t s – were t rans fe rred
by the a r t1 s t into the contemporary medfeval mflieu. Persons
in the p f c t u r e wear medieval clothing, rooms are equipped
with contemporary furniture and town views may accord w i t h a
G o t hfc rea l ft y . (5) B y t h a t , the nedfeval s pectat o r’s u nd e rs
t and l og o f the pafnted sftuation was to be f a c i l i t a t e d
and t h e r e l i g i o u s e m o t i on t o be i ncreas e d . The r e f o r e , pict
u r e s are not o n l y a r e l evant and i nd i s pensab l e s o u rce f o r
recons t r uc t i n g c e r t a i n aspects o f mate r i a l c u l t u r e and dai l y
l l f e o f the M i d d l e A g e s , b u t al s o f o r s t u d y i ng t h e ment a l i t y
o f medieval m a n .
To Int e r p r e t p i c t u res in a systematfc way t h e y f l r s t
u s t be d e s c r i bed. ‚ De s crfptfons ‚ l n t h e f o r m o f s i m p l e cardi
nd e x e s ( f o r l n s t ance accordlng to the p o r t rayed p e r s ons ,
scenes o r mat e r i a l o bjec t s ) might in s o me cases s e r ve the
p u r p o s e to make t h e access to a l ar g e n u mb e r of plc t u r e s
easfer. B u t an e f fectfve and s y s t e matfc research canno t be
satls f i ed wlth m o r e or l es s l s o l ated Inf o r ma t i on on ind i vi d
u a l s l gnlficances. Onl y the various Connect i ons and r e l at
i ons between p e r s ons , 1aterfal objec t s , sit uations o r qual
i ties and their cons equent I nt e rp r etat i on o f fe r the p o s s
i bf l i t y o f g e t t i ng acce p t a b l e r e s u l t s . O u t o f t h e s e considerat
i on s a c l a s s f ffcation-s y s t e • was deve l o p e d , whi ch t a k e s
i nt o account t h e h i erarchy and connections o f t h e c o n t en t s
of a plct u r e . ( 6 ) f r o • 1 978 t o 1 980 a c o M p u t e r p r o g r u nued
OESCRIPTOR was u s e d a t the ‚ I n s t i t u t f ü r Real ienkun d e ‚ ,
s e r ving s uch kind o f descriptfon and anal y s l s o f plctorlal
s o u rces. (7) Sfnce 1 98 1 the p r o gra1 CLIO, d e v e l o p e d at the
– 8 –
Max-Planck- Instltut für Geschichte a t Gö ttinge n (Western
Gerany), i s u s ed at the Institute, which particulirly o f fers
a lot more facilities in data retrieval. (8)
The descriptions of pictures are made in n a t ural la n guage.
To each described scene, Situation, p e r s o n , aterial
object or quality one term is a s signed corresponding to a
s t a n d a r d i zed and o b l igatory voc a b u l ary . Not taking into
account the possibilities in detail which the system offers,
the following types of data retrieval are malnly used:
a. The retr i e va l of cert.ain I ndividual Situatio n s ,
persons ( s ex, r a n k , pro f e s s io n , e t c . ) . qual ities and /or
the i r coblnations. A typical ques tion to be asked wou l d be:
Whlch persons w e a r red c l oa k s in pa n el – p a l n t lngs of t.he
fifteenth c e ntury ?
b . The coparl s o n o f des cribed f a c t s a nd/or t h e i r comb
l n a t l o n s . Thls i s , for l n s ta n c e , done by cou n t l og rout i ne s ,
whlch a l l ow compari s o n s of the f req u e n cy o f c er t a l n ters
and/or the l r c o• b 1 n a t lo n s . A prob l e m to be s o l ved by thls
k l nd of retrleval mlght b e : Given the obvlous fact t h a t
certain col ours were o f symbol lc c h a r a c t e r to medl e v a l m e n ,
a co• p a r f s o n o f t he frequency of t h e col o u r s o f dre s s wor n
by d i f fe r e n t ( g r o u p s o f ) persans f n the p 1 c t u r e s h ou l d show
the f n f l u e n ce of s y m bo l f s m o n the ‚ re a l f ty ‚ o f the pfc t u res ‚
conte n t s . As a r es u l t ft w a s f o u n d o u t t h a t , for f n s ta n c e ,
red w a s preferred for members o f the u p per c l a s s e s , whf l s t
for you ng peop l e more col o u r f u l c l ot h f n g w a s f a voured; y e l low
cou l d be proved a s typfcal for o u t l a w s , b l u e a s t h e
slgnf f i c a n t col o u r o f S t . Mary ‚ dre s s a n d there fore l es s
used for the d r e s s o f other wo111e n , e t c . ( 9 )
– 9 –
- The program systeM CLIO, above mentloned, also allows
the statistical analysls of certaln contents of the
pictures.
The briefly descrlbed methods for the analysis of pfctures
are, above all, supposed to reduce the nuber of
sources to those, whfch are actually relevant for solvfng a
certafn problem, and to aceeierate research. They of course
are not eant to replace the pfcture fn any way. On the
contrary, they help to fntensffy thorough Interpretation. In
this they ay dffnfsh one functfon of hfstorfcal pfctures
still to be found qufte often fn today’s research: the mere
Illustration.
The amount of tfe necessary to prepare fnvestfgatlons of
pfctorlal sources (f .e. the descrfptfon of them) fs qulte
large. On the other hand no other possfbflfty of mastering
the occurrlng probles could be found unt11 now. When wrltten
sources become the basfs of fnvestlga tfons, thefr treatment
often appears to be even more difflcult. Certafnly a
Iot of dfstfnctfons must be taken lnto consfderatlon resultlng
from the varfous types of theM; just compare 11st11ke
sources (for fnstance Inventarfes or account-books) wfth
lfterary sources. But for all of them ft has to be stressed
that research projects befng based on a large nuMber of
sources need an enorMous Jud often unrealfstlc preparatfontime.
Tests, for whlch unpubllshed account-books, fnventorles
and testaments were used, showed that for regional ly
– 10 –
•nd chronologlcal ly lffted fnvestfgatlons results could be
obt•fned in ‚“ acceptable time. Systematfc research on dafly
life c>nd material culture being based on a !arger number of
1 iterary sources though has not yet been achieved fn a
sc>tfsfactory way.
The Interpretation of medieval 11terary sources regarding
thefr contents of da11y llfe and material culture has
been trfed rather often, not always i’n a very successful
way. (lO) frequently descrlptlons and Interpretations have
been mafnly based on ‚extraord1nary1 details or curlos1t1es.
Beyond that, especfally the tendencfes of the sources (dfdactlc
motfves, the use of 1topo1 1 and sy mbols) often were
not taken lnto consfderatfon. Therefore, qulte a Jot of
fnvestfgatfons affered descr1pt1ons of med1eva1 da11y 11 fe
referrf ng to appdrentl y 1 rea11st1c1 contents of 11 terary
texts. But the appearances frequently proved to be deceptlve.
Many of those publlcations today only can be estl•ated
as befng sometlmes extensive collectlons of passages out of
literary sources wfth uncr1t1cal reconstructfons of dally
11fe, whlch were not put to proof by comparlsons wlth the
contents of other types of sources. These remarks though do
not mean that 11terary sources only contaln very 11mfted
material regardlng the realtty of edleval ltfe. On the
contrary:
l. The tendencles, didactfc motives, the sy mbolfc character
and the use of ‚topo11 certalnly 1nfluenced (da11y)
1 tfe and must themselves be seen as part of 1t.
2 . The recognition of the cr1teria
1
mentfoned above,
•nd the comparfson with the contents of other sources may
– 1 1 –
1•d to a better know1edge of the system and the patterns ln
which da11y 1 lfe took p1ace. ( 1 1 )
That eans that we rnay find out, whlch descrlptlons of
dal1y 11 fe’s events in llterary sources were based on
a. ‚real‘ sltuations. Thls, for lnstance, will be
proved true, if the relevant contents ln the llterary texts
aceerd with lnforgation obtalned froa account-books, lnventories
or testaments.
b. normative sltuatlons. In thls case late medieval
sumptuary-laws (particular1y concentratlng on clothlog and
feasts) have to be entloned as a means of co1parlson.
Especlally the descrlptlons of dress of, ln a broader sense,
’negative‘ characters ln the llterary sources aay we11 accord
wlth paragraphs of contemporary sumptuary-1aws.
c. ‚desired‘ sltuatlons (for lnstance desc.rlptlons of
the ‚good old tlmes‘; e mphasls on qualltles 11ke ‚good‘ or
‚beautffu1‘ by uslng contrasts ) . On one hand these passages
may aceerd with certaln paragraphs of sumptuary-laws, on the
other hand with the contents of (relglous) plctures.
d. ‚ideal‘ sltuatlons. They could have become reallty,
if ‚real‘ situatlons had been ldentlcal to ‚des! red‘ sftuations
and had not contradfcted normative sltuatfons. In thls
case the presumptlon may be expressed that above a 1 1 (rellglous)
plctures offer posslbllltles for comparfsons.
e. ‚flctfonal‘ sltuatlons. (l2)
The entloned scheme can only be made use of through
the analysls of a 1arge number of 11terary texts. A preparatlon
like the one done for pictorial sources though seems to
be unreallstic and Impossible. Out of these consideratlons
– 1 2 –
the project was developd to apply s c o n d j r y
a n a l y si s o f III & Chi n e – t· ea da b
t e x t s of •edival Gern Iiterature for the Interpretation
of thelr contents wlth regard to daily life and
materll culture. The project, being now about to be put ln
practlce, will be supported by the databank-lllangelllents
ys te11 CL IO, ment I oned above.
Using word-indexes (see table 1) as a starting
the occurrence and frequency of certaln ter•s and
po In t,
thelr
variances represent the flrst group of lnfor111atlon to be
obtained. Already in thls stage of investigation the coparison
with results fro111 other types of sources proves to be
useful:
a. to find partlculars on the appllcation of certaln
terms in various types of wrltten sources.
b. to get out the emphasis on the descrlptlon of spe<: ial fields, of certain (groups of) IRaterfal objects, s1tuations or qualities. c. to intenslfy the basis for more detailed comparisons between the contents of the 1 iterary sources ( ‚ origi nal ‚ vocabulary) an the descriptions of corresponding pictures ( ‚art1ficial ‚ vocabulary). The second phase is to investigate connections between individual terms or groups of the within the 1 iterary source, above all those between persons, objects, sftuations and ‚qualities ‚ assigned to them. Though at first sfght thls mlght not see111 to be a very promfsing way of getting a wider range of results, it appears to be one of the 111ost necessary &nd relevant. Investigations of pictorial and non-literary l·r: .,C‘ : U(lt l•‘ I UO( Rrrt oot :or“‚• c:oQr:t O(‚I‘: … Pra. uct.rre OOl Prr rt ucr ,“r..: UO(QF“r;: U Cl Pi 00( or>
OC(RP(“
DC(QPr“l..
OOi:I;TR
oocop-“
OO!.RF-f’
[;0( OP[O
oo::i‘:P;:o
OO(i?P
OC[r.rEf:.
(‚Ct.l:lPt“
OO(P‘:t.
OO(P,.,
uOlaPcf.
oof“‚““R
C.C[Qp-.
!>O’Q’Pt,.Ol
CC’rlfl!“ll
VOL : ,..AN
t;:;l P“
:Cl : ‚ ‚l
1″1′“‚ •. t w<.L ;;_ „r;s vt.::-l“‚l1.. ur-:..;i · !, ••• Vll. ! .,.C’t.llhl s.•c•· Gr:’J rt· t lt.’4:
1r•!T ““t’Tl&l, lCSt, lc 0( U;L ALL[ ••• VIF 0 .. r· JT 1k SNGl
Ho\ N]U“ftololt. ,..,, BlrU“-C’fN• 0 riC (.-•: ••• Of‘-. HlZ t-c.r . …… LOLT, (‚\AO Zllr. p(‚.t.:-.f
t“ ALLf T GiP•r, 0![ (lbftl :.r ••• GJStlOlT UD Nrt . (S ll HLLF KfkrRtl
i-17 • ‚jl Nlt“l lC:r. <t:UN:“Ir“‚, WJit 1’\j! ••• l'(‚l,..q: i•;, OJ( rA \.’Arr HlE :Ot“V“r
[ji} t-JfRZ’·ItiT. Cl:‘ u•r‘; rl!f·l)., … Vo• ::t:.�“M ….. C(‚. SECH.-CH r-;r U’H’=ll Ot·«:FT Jq „‚ICIJ
OfM V}t’LTAf tOST ! wL HU Gr , C’A Lf ••• ‚Sl 1 [IN“ Vll!‘ U(lfl, lry lf
(‚I!N Plt:ll V'“lOc.rUP\[, OL! a!“‚. !CH (.,‘;’•‘ ••• rP . …. r:: .. SC::lt:“‚ Wllf‘!:RLrN. „‚lSf ALT[N SCHutn<;
HJIIT: ..OCI-4 r:’L P:C::'“l t.l, or•l f.Q ••• VJ\ .. O�'“rt•to( vc•: 0(f;‘ !-iT[frl. 8Ql.CM. Y:)N Of.
lrH AGUfJQT t IJQIU“‚-OE y&r:,, Lo or ••• Jri: n wt3 Cl !N U:..KlT. DA
lfll OS GC:hlt.2’LN, SO 0.•7 „4ln.t n!r ••• lN‘:S lNt IHT v::o:::.r:c:zr.. [l[<: IT U07(
I lIT iQGAG:l: IM vl WAS or ••• I!t HrRlfW STOLZ. o · KU( & (
lUCH WOL 11 ir A“ Jw lEl. ••• NFHT OfS SEldf,. AP t tiZ(T Vl“(l80,!,
l&GH, [In( SlGt Upr E‘ l’f ßr !!!E ••• HfRt [rST GrtiiNl CE JU’Cr srP; VON
kOEtf 8AIGr, rj] s: 5!, ‚1ll 01( ••• [Q .IZZN, WA, ICH PW&R, ·z ER
LAC .. •f‘ UNC C.(8Af Ftl !O( : .,1 … HtT (}-.; ••• ll!fJ‘:R!olTl UP .t.•:OrtH S!HT •AN IIHP[ (‚
IR WA[ ‚lHl ltll, 0 HtlT r ••• WUL Or 4Ll( (Rl1GrN, Jl! tlN(R Q(O IST
r,JOrr U1 l A; Ut.[Of? lk n.P ••• O!CY[ IC hlhOLP lW(N( VR, UTE
rrrrrRS A, MUSC4T, „‚.rt!Lr, PFAV!PtrG(L: iT 0; ••• GLANZ• ( ll Uf(RRtG[N (JN -itT wtl
·’• G(NE UGT ] O;Qr\, WJ( Oii •• <tT GKLCIOET: UEPPICLIC iST JD GEWANTo tl u(rl li$’(N Al rtSw“; ALLr Uf (J! ••• H[D: R!T VO WITEhBtJflr UO qQUVfl GRC’IiN SPif!r, V(cl, tlßArth. UJTL WAQl 0LD ••• (JN V ll MlCH(l rril [SL.C. bJ‘ tll(Sl! TlNliS 4lllt Vll rr J•Ci u•;l, 7V(NL ••• Cl.l S! !]N VilN J s: TUOGE (tOt .&rt TRU�i:(‚ 11!’H’L KLAGJ:, tiT or., U’iVUi(.( ••• rrr-.r.(LI'“tR np V:L L1Et:0:1’11 ViHO(QUN! I Pl!.GF:l U[QE tri. All[ CI ,l.[T SlC Ol ••• tt GA tQR( 01, U S CAr F( ICH ( T.t7i. VOD c,rUtU!::“f. OL Yt.!)TUCNT or�o: ••• l::H 31 rtC::,. KlthCto. TIIht;Ol, FHf, UR 7WISCHEN I Et‘ t••;Gfvur:!r ·: 0 1’\lc- ••• LLF l ‚N0L SLU!.(G[\ nA lllt ]CH T : Llll ,! „-it-‚; G(Lt..,.c,r, ‚“1″ \‘!L WlU .. [t; ••• :>t.;! t·l“‚t. SU“‚EZrT, o.: LUO“‚!:‘ UH‘)l l’l.!:,
H : !Ol MA A‘ !_lH Ot‘:’l“ !‘:’AC:..“‚ SIIOCH'“ . . ••• Ttf AllE.7 Sll, Gt.t?U! Tt, t“IA7 l lQt!T.
CF Klrrrz•:L t C ICH 0 {t CWAtT ••• St - ZOU9QliTr T I’\UG N: !! IST MI
t• .. \lOT f.:t.tC:?.:r. r.‘-? ‚C“‚ Yll l“.t.vrTt ••• t-�Ut..,: •UT !:R ., VFRl ::““- ri‘.’C:fl yqou.
.. .· c \.a:.‘ .. · ‚ u;r .. :- • , t rv··lC'“· „“tll-. … •• r:l7C‘ J.t (lllo’OLrlD. -‘; N$ v–:o:. J;; WJ‘,,::,
Table 1 : word-index of ‚Neidhart, Lieder‘: example ‚doerper‘
Sl- ‘
H·n
WL-Jatl
WL·15
WL•’O
Wl-litl
WL-31
Wl- ?7
WL-l2
WL- ?f‘
Wl- 1!
wl-1
WL-„1
Wl-lS.t
Wl·
Wl-l
Wl-J“‚
Wl·ll …..
WL·ZH
w
Wl-2*1
Wl•1
l-1 ..
Wl•l&
WL-J•
WL·l
Wl·l7
Wl ·1•
wl·l
Wl-‚t
wt .. t.
W’L·:‘
iil-.
– 14 –
wrltten sources have hown that the main dlfferences in the
material culture and the way of 1 ife often do not 1 le in the
used and needed thlngs themselves, but in thelr substance,
.:olour, functfon, shape or thefr general ‚quality‘ (goc•d,
bad, poor, rich, beautiful or ugly) . (l3) In that way and by
comparlsons of the varlous types of sources, equfvalences of
‚qualftles‘ may be proved (wfth regard to clothfng, for
fnstance: red rlch = extraordlnary = offlclal ) . On the
other hand certafn connectlons between persons, material
o b jects or situations and thelr ‚qualltles‘ ;ay be recognlzable,
which can lead to
a. exacter and more detalled Information about the use
and meanlng of terms,
b. the ldentlflcatlon of ‚topol‘, dldactic 11otlves,
symbollc contents or ‚realltfes‘ of dally llfe,
c. Initial susplcfons that ‚unusual‘ connectlons mlght
lndicate contrasts and/or ‚untypfcal realltles‘ of dally
life and/or ‚fictfonal realltles‘ of dafly llfe.
For all these conslderatlons lt has to be stressed
agaln that without contlnuous coMparlsons wlth the contents
and testlmony
and doubtful.
resul ted In
of other sources results may be quite vague
Investfgations of plctures, for lnstance,
the hypothesls that portrayed subordlnate
scenes, sltuatlons, persons or even aterfal objects more
llkely see11 to contaln ‚reallstlc‘ components of dally llfe
than leadfng ones. for these leadlng parts the motlve for
certaln tendencles, dfdactics, symbollc characterlzatlon and
the use of ‚topol‘ has appeared to be 11ore lllportant. (l4)
The Mentloned retrieval of certaln connectlons of terms or
,
– 15 –
groups o f ters affered by CLIO m a y support the s o l u t l on of
t h a t p r obl e m w i t h res pe c t to l l t e r a r y sources .
T h e t h i r d step has to be the l nv es t l g a t i on of ore
comp l e x S i t u a t i ons , w h l c h are des crl bed e x t ens l vely and i n
det a l l . I n t h i s c a s e – depen d l ng on the a u t ho r and h i s s t y l e
– means have t o be pro v l ded t o de f i ne t h e rele v a n t context
dyna m i cally , for ins t ance a s M u l t i ples of sentences or p a r t s
o f sent e n c e s . I n t h a t w a y t h e Int e r p reta tion o f Ind i v i d u al
s l t u a t l ons a n d t h e pos s l b l l l t l es to compare t h e m w l t h e a c h
other w i l l b e opened u p .
A t t h e mome n t more t h a n o n e M i l l i o n l l n e s o f early
Ger m an (mostly M l ddle H l g h·Ge r man) m a c h l ne – r e a da b l e l l t e r a r y
t e x t s a r e a t t he d l s po s a l of t h e ‚ I ns t i t u t f ü r m i t tela l terl
i c h e Re a l l e n k unde ‚ and t h e ‚ Ma x -P l a n c k-Ins t l t u t für Ges
c h i c h t e ‚ , where t h l s proj e c t l s done ln co-opera t l on . ( 1 5 )
i t h t h e help of t he 1e n t l oned metho d s , w h l c h w i ll be d e scr
i bed from t h e t e c h n l cal p o l n t of v l ew i n one o f t h e next
vol u mes of ‚Med i uM Aevu1 Quo t l d i a n u • – New s l e t t er ‚ , the
analy s i s of l i terary s o u r c e s f o r the h l s tory of d a l l y l l fe
tn t h e Mtddle A g e s m a y be f a c l l l t a t e d to a v e r y dec l s l ve
deg ree . A g atn , as we e • p h a s l ze d for p l c tures , t h e s e 11ethods
parttc u l a r l y w i l l b e v e r y u s e f u l means t o aceeierate s y s t e •
a t l c a l research and t o concentrate l t t o r e l e v a n t p a r t s .
Beyond t h a t , t h e occurrence of new q ue s t l ons i n t h e course
of the ana l y s l s 1ay Iead t o a 1uch 11ore e x t e n s i ve vtew.
The final a l ll of the projec t w i l l be t o produce a more
cri t l c a l
t a l ned
M l ddl e
I n t e r p re t a t i on of t h e ‚ re a l l t y ‚ of d a l ly l l fe conl
n the var l ou s t y pes of l l te r a r y sources of t h e
Ages . ( 1 6 ) I t a a y lead t o a be t t e r under s t and i n g of
– 16 –
the meanln9 c;nd Fundion which ‚ realistlc‘ and/or ‚fictional‘
descrlptlons had for different authors and audlences,
ln different reglons and perlods.The problern may be solved,
whether and whlch certaln flelds of dally llfe and material
culture were belog descrlbed ‚reallstically‘ rather than
‚flctlonally‘. By that, crlterla of thelr lmporta.nce, dlstlnctlon
or equallty may be recognized. Flnally and ln
coparlson wlth other types of sources, the general ‚value‘
of •edleval Iiterature for the research on dally llfe may be
seen ore preclsely.
The influence of dress and fashlon on 1edteval life and
soclety often has been recognlzed. Clothes were means of
classlflcation and dlstlnctlon. Beyond that, of all flelds
of material culture dress can be found most regularly in the
varlous sources. Therefore, we declded to test some of the
methods, 1entioned above, wlth regard to certain aspects f
the hl story of dress. A few exa111pl es and preliiRI nary resul ts
raay be glven.
Generally the connectlon ’sltuatlon – person (sex,
rank, professlon) – clothlog – quallty of clothlng‘ must be
the basls
value of
for any lnvestlgatlon referrlng to the
dress . It ls obvlous that in different
use and
sources
these Connections appear qulte dlfferently. In any way, they
show certain classifications or categorlzatlons of the described
sltuatlons, persons, clothes and qual ities of clothes.
Investlgations havlng been based on larger amounts of
– 1 7 –
Tall l e 2 :
ource peron(rank) clothes quallty of clothes
high rank
(DleAiber of red, (black);
the town- cloak fur 11 n I ng;
councll; forelgn cloth
person
f1111ng an
testa11ent offlclal
positlon; belt s 11 ver; gl 1 t
merchant)
1 ow rank tu 111 c not red; no qua-
(servant) llty 11entloned
wealthy gown Fore1gn cloth;
WOIIan fur llnlng
vell abundant use of
llnen or siH
everybody every never yellow
dress
everybody shoes not polnted
every no new Foshlons
dress
su1ptuary- low rank every no s 11 k; no fur
law (servant; dress or cheap fur;
peasant) low price;
.lewellery
no
outlaws par t of yellow
( j ews; prostltutes)
dress
high rank red; fur 1 in I ng;
(offlclal cloak extraordlnary
posltlon), cloth ( brocade,
– positive vel vet s 11 kL. ____
high rank, fur llnlng;
negative cloak extraordlnary
(oriental clot:h; orlentajudge,
etc.) 11 z I ng; ‚flct
I o na 1 ‚ — high rank, doublet; red; tlght;
plcture young, posf- hose fashionable
tlve (noble- (tlghts)
– 111an)
low rank, doublet; 11ultl-coloured-;-
negative hose yellow; tlght;
( torturer) (tfghts) close-fl tti ng;
torn-up; extremelv
fashionable
low rank, tunte grey; not copositive
reach1ng loured; cheap
(peasant; to the cloth
the poor) knee
– I 8 –
tstc>11ents, r• i c t11 r s ond sumptuo.ry- l aw s resultd in some
signl ffc ant c o nnect i ons (se t a b l e 2 ) . (17) The s e s f gn i f l cant
C o n nect i o n s do not only show dlffrences and equalitfes
in the methods o f char•ctrlzatlon and/or the u s e o f
ters. ( 1 8) They a l s o may be seen •s a b•sis for the cre.;t
i on of ‚relo.tlonal thesauri ‚ , wlth the help o f w h l c h sfmfl
a r c o nn e ct l ons i n other sources can be matched.
F o r tests l nve stlgat f ng the ment i o n e d con n e ct l o n s i n
l i te r a ry sources w e u s e d the texts of ‚ H e r r and von W i l d o n ,
V e r s e r zä h l unge n ‚ , o f ‚Nefdhart von euenthal, L i e d e r‘ a n d of
‚ K o n r a d von W ü r zb u r g , D e r t r o j a n i s c h e K r i eg ‚ . ( 1 9 ) W e w e r e
I ot e r e s t e d i n t h e f o l l o w i ng gene r a l que s t f o n s :
1. I s d r e s s u s e d a s a means o f c l a s s i ffcatlon and
characterizatfon o f pe r s o n s ?
2. Whfch c r f te r i a (s i gn i f i ca nt connect i ons ) a r e emphas
i zed ?
3 . A r e t h e r e accord ances or equ l v a l ences between the
co nnect f ons in the l i te r ary sources used for the test and
other s ources ?
We of course w e r e a w a r e of the fact that actual c o m parisons
o f the re l e v a nt c o ntents o f the l i t e r a ry s ou r c e s
and / o r between thos e o f other s ou r c e s , 11enti o n e d a b o v e ,
cou l d n o t b e m a d e a t t h i s stage o f l n v e s t i g at l o n . (20 ) W h at
we w a n ted to p r o v e i n the c o u r s e of s u c h p r e p a r atory tests
was the s u f t a b l l l ty of our cons l de r at l o n s b e f o r e dea l l og
wfth the whole l ot o f s o u rces , w h l c h a re at our d i s pos a l .
The tests s h o w e d that i n o. l 1 the three texts c l othlog appeirs
in connecti on w l th i t s quality to c l a s s i f y a n d character
i z e p e r s ons a n d Situat i ons . Wlth r e f e r ence to ‚ Herrand
– 1 9 –
von W i l do n ‚ th l s w a s o f c o u r s e o b v l ous f o r t he c o n t e n t s o f
‚ Der b l öze ke i s e r ‚ ( ‚The n aked emper o r ‚ ) . O t her r e l e v a n t
co n n e(tl o n s a r e r a r e a n d c a n n o t b e used f o r a n y gener a l l z a tio
n s . An exa m p l e t o be ment l oned o r l g l n a tes f r o m ‚ Der
verk r t e w l r t ‚ ( Th e dece l ved hus b a nd ‚ ) . To s t i l l t h e a n ger
of h l s w i fe t he hus b a n d p r o m l ses t o p re s e n t t o her a prec
i ous c l o a k ( 11 , v v . 3 4 9 – 3 5 3 ) :
‚er s p r a \ h : li L[ !i
v o n !!lt oder !li
g i b I ch I u ei nen !!tl it
d a z I r lat i[ [ !t·.
In the s o ngs o f Ne i dh a r t we f i nd t h a t the ele m e n t o f
e x pe n s i ve a n d p r e c l ou s qua l l t l es l s get t l n g r a t he r i ns l g n l f
l c a n t l n c o m p a r l s o n t o t he e l ee n t o f f a s h i o n a ble det a l ls
a n d n o velt l e s . T he t e r m ‚ neu ‚ ( ‚ new ‚ ) c o r r espo n d s t o t e r m s
l l ke ‚ e n g ‚ a n d ‚ s c h 11 a l ‚ ( ‚ t l gh t ‚ ) , which s t i l l i n t h e f o u r tee
n t h a n d f l f t ee n t h centur l es a re c o n nected w l t h t h e c r l ter
l o n of ‚ l 11 p r op e r f a s h l o n‘ f o u g h t b y s u m p t u a r y – l a w s . The
f o r mu l a t l o n ‚ n a c h de11 ho ves l t t e ‚ ( a c c o r d l n g to the h a b l t s o f
the c o ur t ) a g a l n p o l n t s a t t h a t s l t ua t l o n . Th l s w a y l n h l s
tenden c l o u s des c r l p l t l o n s o f l l f e l n t h e v l l lage, l t l s m o r e
l m p o r t a n t f o r N e i dh a r t to use ‚ f a sh i o nable c r a ze ‚ t h a n ‚ p r e c
l ous nes s ‚ f o r t h e c h a r a c t er l z a t l o n o f t he i n h a b l t a n t s o f
the v i iJage b y t he l r dres s . O ne exa m p l e m a y be g l ve n ( WL
24);
‚ ge r n e m u g t I r h o e re n , w i e d i e Q[[ s l nt gek l e i det:
silifQ I s t Ir iit.
(g c f tragent sl und !l lQ!ec.
ct nt. cilint inn. i!c ni·.
– ; 0 –
T h e I n v es t I g a t I o n o f ‚ K ,l n r a d v ris,
1978) 128; „Di e Erforschung von Al l tag und Sachul tur des
Mi ttela l ters. Methode – Ziel – Verw irkli chung• (Veröffentli
hungen des Instituts für mi ttelal terli che Real ienk unde
Osterrechs 6 = Sitzungsberichte der Osterreichischen Ak ademie
der Wissenschaften, phil. -hist .Klasse 433) Wien, 1964 .
See also, e.g., the overvl ews given by R. DELORT, Le Moyen
Age. Histoire lll ustree de la vie qu otidi enne (Lausanne,
1972); A. BORST, Lebe nsformen Ia Mi ttelal ter (Fra nkfurt /M. ,
Oerlln, 1973); 0. BORST, Al l tagsl eben 1111 Mlttelol ter (Insel
Tasch enbuch 513) FranUurt/M. , 1963.
(2) Cf. H. KDHNEL, „Rea lienkunde des Mi ttelal ters und
– 2 1 –
der frühen N e u z ei t . V e r s u c h einer Darstel l u n g – E r fordernis
der Gegenwa r t , “ Jahrbuch für L a n d e s k u nde v o n Niede r ö s t e r rei
c h N f X X X VI I , 1 965- 1 967 ( 1 967) 2 3 9 – 242; !DEM, “ Z i ele der
Erf o r s c h u n g der S a c h k u l tur des Mit t e l a l t e r s , “ J . G.N . R E N A U D ,
ed . , R o t t e r d a P a pers IV ( 1 962) 1 1 9- 1 30 .
( 3) C f . E. V A V R A , „Ku n s t we r k e a l s Q u e l l e n a t e r l a l der
Sachku l t u r f or s c h u n g , • E u r o pä i s c he S a c hkult u r des Mit t e l a l ters
( V e r ö f f e n t l l ch u n g e n des I n s ti t u t s für m l t te l a l terl ! eh e
Rea l ie n k u nde Os terreichs 4 • Si t z u n g s beri c h t e de r O s t erreichi
s c h e n A k a demie der W is s e n s c h a f t e n , p h l l . -his t . Kla s s e
374) W i e n , 1 9 80, 1 94 – 2 3 2; G . JAR I T Z , „D i e s pä t iA l t t e l a l t e r l I ehe
S t ad t i n der S a c h k u l turfors c h u n g. P r o b l e m e – Möglich k e l t
e n – Gre n z e n , • G . IHEGELMAN��. e d . , Ges chic h t e der A l l t a g s k
u l tur ( M ü n s t e r , 1 980) 53-66; H . HUJDSBIC H L E R , “ A p pr o a c h e s
t o t h e Da l l y Li f e l n t he M l ddle Ages . M e t hods a nd Aims o f
t h e ‚ I n s t i t u t f ür mit t e l a l terli che Rea l ie n k u n d e O s terreic
h s ‚ , “ M e d i u m A e v u m Quotidia n u m – Newslet t e r 1 ( K r eiAs ,
1 9 8 2 ) 1 9 – 25; „D i e E r f o r s c h u n g v o n A l l t a g u n d S a c h kultur des
M i t t e l a l t e r s , • o p . c l t . , par t i c u l a r l y t h e a r t l c l es by G.
JAR I T Z ( 3 3 – 4 4) , H.HUNOSBICHLER ( 1 4 7 – 1 5 7 ) a n d E. V A V R A ( 1 7 4 –
1 9 2 ) .
( 4) S e e V A V RA, „Ku n s t werke , “ a r t . cf t . , 2 2 1 – 2 32; G . J A RIT
Z , „Da l l y L i f e i n t h e Mlddle Age s , I c o n o g r a phy o f Medt ev
a l Art a n d t h e U s e o f EDP,“ H l s t o r f cal S o cial Research 2 1
( 1 98 1) 4 3 – 55; E . V A V R A , „Möglichkeiten e l ner EDV-unters t ü t z t
e n A u s w e r t u n g mit t e l a l te r l ic h e r ßfl dquelle n , • Belträge z ur
O be r l i e f eru n g u n d B e s c hreibung d e u t s cher Tex t e des Mi t t ela l ters
( G ö p p i n g e r Arbe i t e n zur Ger m a nis t i k 4 0 2) Gö p p i n g e n ,
1 9 6 3 , 1 9 5 – 2 1 1 .
( 5) C f . H . K O H NE L , “ A b bild u nd S i n n bild i n d e r M a l erei
des S pä t m l t t e l alter s , “ Euro päis che Sachkultur, o p . c l t . , 1 9 5 –
2 2 1 ; G . JAR I T Z , “ Z u r F u n k t f o n des rel i giös e n Bi l des f n der
s pä t mi t t e l a l t e r l ic h e n Ges e l l s c h a f t , “ B e l t räge zur h i s t oris
c h e n S o z i a l k u nde 1 0 ( 1 9 6 0 ) 8 – 1 3 .
( 6) See n o t e 4 .
( 7) for D E S C R I P T O R s e e M . THAL L E R , „DESCRIPTOR. Probleme
der E n t w i c k lu n g e i n e s ProgramMsys t e m s zur c o m p u t e ru n t er s
t ü t z t e n A u s wertu n g m i t t e l a l terl i c h er B f l dquelle n , “ EuropäI
s c h e S a c hk ultur, op. c f t . , 1 66 – 1 94 .
( 8) f o r CL I O s e e M . THALL E R , “ A u t o m a t i o n o n P a r n a s sus .
CLIO – A O a t a b a n k O r f e n t ed Sys t e m for H i s t orf ans , • H l s t o rfcal
S o c f a l R e s earch 15 ( 1 960) 4 0 -65; !DEM, C L I O . E i n d a t e n b
a n k o r f e n t i er t e s P r o g r a • • s y s t eM für His t orik e r , pre – p r f n t , 2
v o l . ( Gö t t i n g e n , 1 9 8 2 / 6 3 ) ; I D E M , C L I O – E I n fiih r u n g u nd S y s
t e m ü b e r b l l ck, p r e – pr l n t ( Gö t t l n g e n , 1 9 6 3) .
( 9 ) See V A V R A , “ K u n s t we r k e“ , ar t . c l t . , 2 2 9 – 2 3 2.
( 1 0) C f . , e. g . , A. S C H UL T Z , Das h ö f i sche L e b e n zur Z e l t
der M i n nes i n ge r , 2 v o l . ( re pr l n t , O s n a b r ü c k , 1 965); IDEM,
Deuts c h e s Leben I m X I V . und X V . Jahrhu n d e r t ( W i e n , 1 982) ; M.
HEYNE, f ü n f Bücher d eu t s ch e r Hau s a l t e r t ü me r , 3 v o l . ( L e i p zig
, 1 8 9 9 / 1 903) . f o r Aus t r f a c f . , e . g. , S . B E N A T Z K Y , Os t err
e f ehi s c h e K u l tur- u nd Gesell s ch a f t s bilder des 1 3 . Jah r h u n der
t s a u f G r u n d z e l t ge b u n d e ner Dic h t u n g e n , D l s s . ( Wie n ,
1 963) .
( 1 1) S e e , e . g . , H. S C H O P P E R T , ‚Der
turw l s s e n s c h a f t f ü r die •f t te l alterliche
E r f o r schu n g v o n Al l t a g u n d Sachkultur
o p. c l t . , 156- 167.
B e l t r a g der Ll t e r aR
e a l l e nk u nde, • Die
des Mi t t e l a l t e r s ,
– 22 –
(12) for thls scheme, see G. JARIT2, „2u Alltag und
Sachku ltur ln österrel chl schen Stdten des Splm lttel alters
,• J. G. tl . RENAUD , ed. , Rotterdalll Papers IV, 112 f. ;
!DEM, „M I ttel al terl l ehe Rea 1 I enk unde: Quel lenbefund und
Quell en lnterpre tatlon, “ Die Er forsch ung von Alltag und S.;chkultur
des Mittelalters, op.clt., 37.
(13) Cf. JARIT2, „SpHIIIIttel al terllche Stadt,• ort ..
.: t t., Sß -b 1; IOEM, „7.u Alltag und Sachkultur,• art.clt. , 111
f.
(14) for thls hypothesls re5earches are ln proce ss at
the ‚Institut für mittelal terliche Real ienkunde Osterrei
chs ‚. Exacter res ults 11111 be publl shed ln the ne xt
years. for relf glous pl ays of the Mf ddle Ages, cf. II. GRE ISENEGGER,
Die Reali tät 1111 relig iösen Theater des Mi ttel alters
(llf ener Forschungen zur Theater- und Medienwi ssen schaft
1) Wien, 1978, 78 f. & 178 f.
(15) We are partl cular ly lndebted to the followlng
Institutfons and researchers, who provfded us wlth 111 atert a l
for second ary analys ls: the Llterary and Llngufstfc Computlng
cntre, Cambrldge; Prof. Bo ggs, Pittsburgh, Prof.
Jone s, Un ivers I ty of Maryl and; Prof. Lende rs, Bonn; Prof.
Müller, Sal zburg; Prof. Sapp ler, Tüblngen ; Prof. Spechtler,
Sal zbu rg.
(16) for the ‚re al ls11‘ of 111 edf eval ll terature, see
generally, e. g. , E. AUERBACH, Mimes is. Wirklich kel t fn der
abend ländischen Litera tur, 2nd ed. (Bern, 1959) passim; S.
GRO SSE, „2ur frage des ‚Reali smus ‚ ln den de utschen Dic htungen
des Mi ttelal ter s, “ Wirkendes Wort 22 (1972) 72-89; H.
HER2MANN, „?.um ‚Re al i smus ln der deutschen Lit eratur des
Spätmittel alters, • Daphnls 5 (1 976) 1-36; E. KLEI NSCHMIDT ,
„2um Erkenntniswert 1 lter arlscher Texte für die Histor ie, •
H. RUPP, ed. , Philol ogie und Geschichtswissenscha ft (Hel delberg,
1977) 1-11; H. SCHOPPERT , „Spät lllfttel alterll che Didaktik
als Quelle für adeli ges Al ltagsleben ?,“ Adelige Sachkultur
des Spä tmittelal ters (Veröffentli chungen des Ins tituts
für mi ttel alterl iche Reali enkunde Osterrei chs 5 = Sitzungsberic
hte der Osterreichischen Akademie der lllssens chaft
n. phll .-his t. Klasse 400) Wien, 1982 , 215-257. See also
ß. THUM, „‚El ement ar formen ‚. Grund lagen und Leistungen geschl
chtl !eher Verh altens forsch ung in der Me dl aevfstlk,‘
G. KAISER , ed ., Gesellschaftliche Sinnangebote lll fttelal terl lcher
Li teratur (Forsc hungen zur Geschichte der älteren deutschen
Li teratur 1) München, 1960, 113-147.
(17) The statlstlcal analysls of the contents of late
1edl eval tes ta•ents ls ln process at the ‚Insti tut für
nll ttelalterl lche Reall enk unde ‚. Used sources are co llectlons
of Austrian urban tes taments of the fourteenth and flfteenth
.:entur les. Re sults wil l be publ l shed ln 1965 . for the pl ctures
(fourteenth and fl fteenth cent urfes ) see VAVRA ,
„Kunstwerke, • art. cl t., 224- 232 . for late 11edl eval suaptuary-
laws see L.C . EISENBART , Kleide rordnungen der deutschen
Städte zwis chen 1350 und 1700 (Göt tinger Bausteine zur Gese
ht chtswlss ens chaft 32) Gö tti ngen, ßerll n, Frank furt, 1962,
pass Ia.
(16) Not lee above all the reaark able equ al ltles ln the
signl ficances of ’negative persons of low rank ‚ and fas hionably
clad ‚per sons of high rank ‚!
(19) for the ;achlne-readabl e texts of ‚Herrand von
– 23 –
llild\)il , V e r s e rzählu n ge n ‚ a n d ‚ Ne l dhart, L i eder ‚ we h a v e t.o
.:xpt·ess o u r gr.>tl tude to P r o f . Sapple r , Tiib l ngen; f o r ‚ K o n rad
vo n ll ü r z b u r g , D e r t r o j a n i sche K r i eg‘ t o P r o f . L e nd e r s,
ßo n n.
( 20) Not to me n t l o n the p r o b l ems o c c u r r l n g , l f c o m p a r l sons
a r e t r l ed b e t w e e n I n f o rm a t i o n o f t h e t h l r t e e n t h a nd t h e
f o u r t ee n t h / f l f teenth c e n t u r l es !
A d d r e s s a l l commun l c a t l o n s t o : G e r h a r d Ja r l tz , I n s t i t u t f ü r
m i t t ela l t er l i c h e R ea l i e n k u nde Os t e r r e i c h s , Kör n e r m a r k t
1 3 , A-3500 K r en�s , Aus t r la
MEDIUM AEVUM
QUOTIDIANUM
newsletter
2
Krems 1984
Gc,Jrud t illi t Unterstützung der
Nicderösterrei(hischen Landesregierung
Heraus9eber: Medium Acvum Quotfdianum. Gesellschaft zur
Erforschung der Materfellen Kultur des Mitt elalters, Körner
arkt 1 3 , A – 3 5 0 0 Kres. Osterreich. – Für den Inhalt verantwortl
I eh: Unlv. Prof. Dr. Harry Kühne I. – Druck: HTUIIfrtS(
h.>ftst.etrfeb Ges.lil.b.H., Korlsgasse 16, 1040 llfen
– 3 –
I NHALTS V E R Z E I C H N I S I C O NT E NTS
ANSTAlT EIN E R E NTS C H UL D I GUN G /
I NSlEAD O F AN E XC U S E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
G E R H A R D JAR ITZ:
Dai l y L l fe ln Med i eval L i t e r ature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
M E D I UM A E VUM QUOT I D I ANUM – D I AS E R I E N /
M E D IUM A E VUM Q U OT I D I ANUM – S L I D E S ER I E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 ·
P R O JEKTP R A S E NTAT I O N E N / P R OJ E C T P R E SENTATI ON S . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
KONGR E S SANKOND I G U N G E N / FORTHCOMING C O N F E R E N C E S . . . . . . . . . . . 29
P U B L I KATI ONSANKOND I GU N G E N / PUBL I CAT I O N ANNOUN C E M E N T S . . . . . 3 0
ANMERKUNG E N / NOTE S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2
– 4 –
ANSTATT EINER ENTSCHULDI GUNG
INST EAD Of AN EXCUSE
CUlll
Der reuige Mönch we ist auf ein Buch, in de• er sich schriftlich
als Sünder bekennt.
The pe nintent 1onk points at a book, in which he wri tes down
his s1ns.
(Heil1genkreuz , St1ftsbibl1othek, Co d. 226, fol .l46r: Rad des
guten Kl osterl ebens, Detai l)
– 5 –
Li ehe M i t g l I eder
D i e l a n g e 2 e f t , d f e s e i t Ers c he i n e n des e r s t e n H e f t e s von
‚ Medi u m Aevum Q uot l d l a n ul – Newsletter‘ v e r g a n g e n I s t , w i r d
m a n c h e n von I h n e n v i elle i ch t zur A n s i c h t gebrac h t hab e n , daß
das Kind s c hon e n t s c h l af e n w ä r e , bevor es noch das L i c h t der
W e l t erbl i c k t h a t . Vor al l e m org a n i s a t o r i s c h e GrUnde müs s e n
w i r als Hau p t u r s a c h e dafür a n g e be n , daß e s über e i n e i nhalb
Jahre d a ue r t e , bfs das z w e i te H e f t u n s e r e r ‚ Ne w s l e t t e r s ‚
e r s ch e i n e n ko n n t e . Vol l zogene U1s t r u k t ur l e r u n g e n g a r a n t i e r e n
n u n j edoch das züg i ge w e i t e r e E r s c he i n e n d e r näc h s t e n H e f t e.
W i r danke n f ü r I hr V e r s tä n d n i s .
O i e H e r a u s g e b e r
Dear 11e11ber s ,
T h e lo n g t i me , w h l c h has p a s s e d s l n c e t h e p u b l f cat l o n o f t h e
f l r s t vo l u me o f ‚Med i u m A e v u111 Quot l d f a n u m – News l e t ter ‚ , m a y
h a v e lead some o f you to the o p l nlon t h at t h l s c h i l d mfght
have pas sed a w a y before l t was a c t uall y bor n . Mal n reason
for t h e de l ay of more t h a n o n e – a n d – a – half y e a r s part l c u l ar l y
liy i n some problems of o r g a n l zatfon. Certaf n c h a n g e s f n t h e
stru c t ure o f t h e orga n f zat f o n of our soc f e t y w f l l now g uara
n t ee t h e u n i n t er r u p t ed p u b l fcatfon o f t h e f o r t h com i n g
vol u me s . We t h a n k y o u for your a p p r e c l a t l o n .
T h e edf tors