See also Charles IV; Charles V the Wise;
Richard II
Further Reading
Baethgen, Friedrich. Schisma und Konzilzeit, Reichsreform und
Habsburg Aufstieg. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag,
1973.
Gerlich, Alois. Habsburg-Luxembourg-Wittelsbach im Kampf um
die deutschen Königsthrone: Studien zur Vorgeschichte König-
tums Ruprechts von der Pfalz. Wiesbaden: Steiner, I960,
Hlavá ek, Ivan. Das Urkunden- und Kanzleiwesen des böhmischen
und römischen Königs Wenzel (IV.) 1376–1419: Ein Beitrag
zur spätmittelalterlichen Diplomatik. Stuttgart: Hiersemann,
1970.
Kaminsky, Howard. A History of the Hussite Revolution. Berke-
ley: University of California Press, 1967.
Lindner, Theodor. Geschichte des deutschen Reiches unter
König Wenzel. Braunschweig: C. A. Schwetschkte und Sohn,
1875/1880.
Spevá ek, JiYí. Václav IV. 1361–1419. K predpokladûm hustiské
revoluce. Prague: Svoboda, 1986.
William Bradford Smith
WERNER DER GÄRTNER
(fl. circa 1250–1280)
The creator of one of the most realistic narratives of the
Middle Ages, Werner der Gärtner (the gardener) com-
posed Helmbrecht, a short epic of 1,934 lines written
in rhyming couplets, between 1250 and 1280, although
some dispute this dating. Detailing a drastic picture of
contemporary life, Werner depicts the decline of chivalry
as well as the moral decay of the peasantry. The work
has been variously described as a Dorfgeschichte (vil-
lage tale), Verspredigt (rhymed sermon), and exemplum
(moral tale). Helmbrecht survives in two manuscripts:
“A” refers to the famous Ambras Book of Heroes (Hel-
denbuch) from 1504 to 1515, a costly parchment manu-
script in Vienna (Nationalbibliothek) copied by Hans
Ried; and “B,” the “Leombach Manuscript” (1413), a
paper manuscript. A third, illustrated manuscript, now
lost, was still extant at the start of the nineteenth cen-
tury. Manuscript “A,” regarded as the original version,
points to the Austrian-Bavarian region as its place of
composition. Little is known of Werner, who is generally
thought to have been a cleric, a wandering minstrel, or an
occasional poet. He was an educated man whose work
was intended for a sophisticated, noble audience.
This moral-didactic tale centers on the generation
gap between father and son, between older conservative
values and newer progressive aspirations. Werner begins
with a description of the elaborate and highly inappropri-
ate cap with which Helmbrecht, the farmer’s son, hopes
to fi nd acceptance among the knights. The younger
Helmbrecht rejects the farmer’s life and instead aspires
to become a knight, a calling for which he is clearly
unsuited. His mother and sister provide him with expen-
sive clothing (a contravention of the sumptuary laws);
father Helmbrecht provides him with a costly steed, but
only after trying to dissuade his son from leaving the
farm (vv. 233–258; 279–298; 329–360). Helmbrecht
easily fi nds acceptance with a band of robber knights
and soon becomes the worst in his gang. After a year of
plundering, he returns home and tells his father about
the depravity and immorality of the knights. The elder
Helmbrecht again tries to convince his son to remain
on the farm and offers to share all that he has with him
(vv. 1098–1114). Helmbrecht scoffs at this offer and
returns to his band of robber knights, taking with him
his sister Gotelint, who secretly has agreed to marry his
friend Lemberslint. The marriage proves ill-fated, for
after the wedding breakfast the judge and his hangmen
appear and try them on the spot. Helmbrecht’s nine
companions are summarily hanged. Helmbrecht’s life is
spared but only after he has been maimed and blinded as
punishment for his behavior toward his parents. It is in
this pitiful condition that Helmbrecht returns home for
the last time. Unlike before, he does not fi nd a compas-
sionate father ready to help him, but rather a disdainful
father who turns him out (vv. 1713–1760; 1775–1813).
Helmbrecht suffers a miserable existence in the forest
until he is fi nally captured by peasants whom he had
wronged and is hung.
The three conversations between father and son
mark the tale’s progress. The lesson is clear: parents
should be strict in educating their children; children
should obey their parents (the Fourth Commandment);
one should be content with one’s station in life (ordo
mundi). Whether or not Werner actually witnessed the
events he describes, these events accurately refl ect the
social unrest occasioned by the end of the Hohenstaufen
reign in the late thirteenth century. Werner addresses the
major social issues of his time by depicting the collapse
of the feudal system, the decline of chivalry, and the new
self-assertiveness of the peasants; his social criticism is
directed at peasants and knights alike.Further Reading
Banta, Frank G. “The Arch of Action in Meier Helmbrecht.” Jour-
nal of English and German Philology 63 (1964): 696–711.
Helmbrecht, ed. and trans. Helmut Brackert, Winfried Frey, and
Dieter Seitz. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch Verlag,
1972; rpt. 1990.
Jackson, W. T .H. “The Composition of Meier Helmbrecht.”
Modern Language Quarterly 18 (1957): 44–58.
Kolb, Herbert. “Der ‘Meier Helmbrecht’ zwischen Epos und Dra-
ma.” Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie 81 (1962): 1–23.
Meier Helmbrecht von Wernher der Gartenaere, ed. Friedrich
Panzer. Halle: Niemeyer, 1902; 10th ed., Hans-Joachim
Ziegeler. Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1993.
Seelbach, Ulrich. Bibliographie zu Wernher der Gartenaere.
Berlin: Schmidt, 1981.WERNER DER GÄRTNER