Manheit und Kampf in der Literatur des Mittelalters

In high medieval literature, manheit describes the ability to fight and to use violence, and was therefore the knight’s most important characteristic. This study shows how in texts like Iwein and the Steierische Reimchronik, warlike and violent actions are staged as manheit and battle, and how the legitimization of the chivalric potential for violence by aristocratic rulers is glorified.