On the literary and social significance of Wolfram von Eschenbach's criticism of 'Minnedienst' in his narrative works

In my dissertation, I present four chapters on Wolfram von Eschenbach's three narrative works. This study specifically deals with the literary and social conventions associated with Minnedienst (love service) in the high Middle Ages. Wolfram's Parzival and Titurel are compared to works in the same genre written by his predecessors Hartmann von Aue and Chretien de Troyes. The textual comparison between Wolfram and the other authors clearly shows his critical agenda.;In Chapter 1, the introduction, I discuss Wolfram's narrative works and lay the foundation for my thesis. Here, I articulate my theory about Wolfram's critical agenda. It is also in the introductory chapter that the terminology for the rest of the study is introduced and defined. Words such as triuwe, minne, Minnedienst, unzuht and verligen is explained, and their importance in Wolfram's narrative works is discussed. Here also, other texts for comparison are introduced for further comparison.;In Chapter 2, "Wolfram's Criticism of Minnedienst," I discuss Parzival's critical passages in great detail. Chapter 2 is used as the textual background for Wolfram's critical agenda; and also as an opportunity to investigate and formulate my ideas on the question of authorship, narration, and his motivation for writing the text. This chapter contains material on how love is attained (Minnedienst), the pain caused by the construct, and a knight's search for honor.;The third chapter, "Parzival's Continuing Themes," is a continuation of the thesis presented in the second chapter. It continues the work begun in Chapter 2 and shows Wolfram's return to his critical agenda in another work: Titurel, which was written much later than Parzival. I discuss the many connections to the themes Wolfram presents in Parzival in this shorter, fragmentary narrative. Based on my reading, I present an alternate view of Wolfram's motivation to write Titurel and show new ties to the older Parzival.;The final chapter is "Utopisches Wunschbild." In this concluding chapter, I argue against the idea that Minnedienst is an exclusively literary convention, that presents only an idealized image of the reality in which Wolfram and his audience lived. Based on literary and historical evidence, I show that Wolfram's criticism of Minnedienst is also a kind of social criticism.