›ân rât tuot selten iemen wol‹ – good counselors and bad advice in the Dietrich Epic

Abstract

What Thomasin von Zirclaria writes about counsel in his ›Wälsche Gast‹ can also be observed (according to current research) in medieval literature: a good and wise ruler is characterized by seeking counsel and following it. Conversely, a ruler’s decisions that are not preceded by counsel or that run counter to it are ill-fated. This paper demonstrates that such a correlation cannot be established for the numerous counseling scenes in the middle high German Dietrich epics. Here, loyal followers and vassals often offer sound advice, but sometimes also advice that proves desastrous to Dietrich. Sometimes Dietrich acts correctly by disregarding the advice given, while at other times this proves to be a far-reaching mistake. No clear pattern emerges from the many consultation scenes. What narrative function, then, do they serve?