he mentions about himself in his works. He was born
in Northern Bohemia (Alexander, vv. 27627f.) and
acquired a solid education, though he probably did not
become a cleric. His knowledge of Latin was very good,
and so his familiarity with “classical” Middle High Ger-
man literature, to which he refers often.
The Alexander, which has been preserved in six
manuscripts and several fragments, deals with the
famous history of the Macedonian ruler Alexander the
Great and follows his conquest of the Persian Empire
and all the lands extending to the river Indus. The text
is based primarily on the Latin epic poem Alexandreis
(thirteenth century), composed in hexametric verse by
Walther of Châtillon, but then also on the Nativitas et
victoriae Alexandri Magni regis (Birth and Victories of
Alexander the Great King, ca. 950–970) by the Arch-
priest Leo (which again was based on the tenth-century
Historia preliis).
For both Walther and Ulrich, Alexander’s victories
laid the foundation for the third of four secular empires
that would, according to biblical traditions, come and
go before Christ’s return and the Day of Judgment. For
religious reasons Alexander’s activities are cleansed
from any negative elements as in the older tradition;
even murderous slaughter and killing of enemy troops
are exculpated. Moreover, the important aspects of
Alexander’s curiosity leading to his exploration of the
world (dive into the sea in a glass bubble; fl ight in the
air with the help of griffi ns) are eliminated as well,
because he is seen as God’s instrument and made to an
ideal ruler in the tradition of the Fürstenspiegel (didactic
texts for princes). In many respects, Alexander is mod-
eled after Ottokar II, whom Ulrich wanted to idealize
through his work.
In Wilhelm von Wenden, preserved only in one manu-
script, now in Dessau, King Wenzel II and his wife, Guta
of Habsburg, are immortalized in the fi gure of Prince
Wilhelm of Parrit and his wife, Bene (the Good One).
Wilhelm secretly departs from his dukedom to make a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem and to convert to a Christian.
Bene accompanies him but is left behind in a foreign
country after she delivers twins, whom Wilhelm sells to
Christian merchants to be free of this burden on his pil-
grimage. Because of Bene’s virtuous lifestyle she is later
elected (!) the ruler of that country, and when by chance
the family eventually reunites again after many years,
they all convert to Christianity and thus missionize the
entire country. Both the role of the strong woman and
the tolerant attitude toward non-Christian religions are
remarkable. Ulrich used as his model either Guillaume
d’Angleterre by Chrétien de Troyes, or the Eustachius
legend in the Legenda aurea (Golden Legendary).
Herzog Ernst D fi nally, extant in one manuscript
(Gotha, called “d”), follows the tradition of goliardic
narratives (Spielmannsepen) in which the young Bavar-
ian duke has to leave Germany because of political and
military confl icts with his father-in-law, the irrational
and impetuous emperor, and explores the world of the
Orient. Both this text and the Alexander were later
translated into Czech.
See also Walter of ChâtillonFurther Reading
Behr, Hans-Joachim. Literatur als Machtlegitimation. Munich:
Fink, 1989.
Classen, Albrecht: “Ulrichs von Etzenbach Wilhelm von Wen-
den—ein Frauenroman?” Literaturwissenschaftliches Jahr-
buch 30 (1989): 27–43.
Kohlmayer, Rainer: Ulrichs von Etzenbach “Wilhelm von Wen-
den.” Meisenheim: Hain, 1974.
Rosenfeld, Hans-Friedrich, ed. Ulrich von Etzenbach. “Wilhelm
von Wenden.” Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1957.
——, ed. Herzog Ernst D. Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1991.
Toischer, Wendelin, ed. Ulrich von Etzenbach: “Alexander. “
Prague: Verein für Geschichte der Deutschen in Böhmen,
1888.
Albrecht ClassenULRICH VON LIECHTENSTEIN
(ca. 1200–1275)
Ulrich von Liechtenstein’s action-fi lled life as a political
ministeriale in Austria in the middle two fourths of the
twelfth century is well documented in contemporary
records. As a literary parallel to his life, Ulrich created
with his Frauendienst (Service of Ladies), compiled
around 1255, though doubtless utilizing songs com-
posed earlier, a fi ctional verse romance in which his
persona, the minnesinger Ulrich, woos a recalcitrant
lady with songs, adventures, including a cross-country
tournament for which he dresses himself as Venus, and
misadventures. In one of these he disables a fi nger while
fi ghting to gain his lady’s approval. When he learns that
she doubts he was really injured, he chops the fi nger off
and sends it to her in a jeweled casket, accompanied by
a verse booklet proclaiming his love. His misadventures,
which often echo literary motifs, are recounted with
rollicking humor. His attempted tryst with the lady in
her chambers, in the course of which he is hoisted up
to and let down (literally: let fall) from her window in a
basket and is so distraught at being rejected that he tries
to drown himself, forms a high point of his hapless ser-
vice. Angered by her consistent rejection of him, he turns
to the service of a new lady, undertaking yet another
marathon tournament, this time as King Arthur. In the
midst of all his feverish service of a lady, he explicitly
takes some time off to enjoy the company of his wife.
Whereas songs more or less punctuate the narrative in
the fi rst half of the work (though their motifs often seem
to have inspired its plot), they dominate the second half.ULRICH VON LIECHTENSTEIN