2022-08-03
1 小时 13 分钟This is medieval death trip for Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
Episode 93 helmbrecht returns or the dark Robber knighthood hello and welcome to medieval death trip, the show where we explore the wit and weirdness of medieval texts.
I'm your host, Patrick Lane.
Today we're continuing with Wernher de Gartinaire's poem, Meyer Helmbrecht from the mid 13th century.
This is part two of what will be a three part series.
When we last saw our hero, well, hero is a bit strong, lets say protagonist.
He was ignoring the advice of his father, the actual title character Meyer or Farmer Helmbrecht, and leaving behind his peasant family and life of peasant labor to seek one of glamour and wealth befitting his good looks and fashion sense.
He plans to find this at a local knights court.
The specific title used in the poem is graff or count.
So a middle grade noble.
It seems, based on what young Helmrecht says in todays passage, that this is the knight who sponsored him as a child, whom he now calls his godfather.
And through whom Helmbrecht believes a knightly.
Frame of mind had been imprinted on him as a youth.
One of the responsibilities of such a noble under feudalism was to help build.
And maintain improvements to the land attached.
To their title, especially transportation infrastructure.
To pay for this, such nobles were allowed to collect tolls from merchants on roads and bridges and waterways, as well as other kinds of taxes.
In the Holy Roman Empire, the emperor or the imperial court controlled where tolls could be collected and set maximum limits for how high tolls could be.
But in 1250, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II died, leaving a contested succession and kicking off the great interregnum, which would not see another emperor officially crowned until over 60 years later.
During this period, there was a great deal of instability and ultimately decentralization of power in Germany.