The Rudolf Steiner Archive

58. Medieval Wisdom

[ 1 ] In every church window, in every legend, in every folk building, and in the imagery of everyday life in the Middle Ages, we can find the expression of profound truths. Poems that are not understood today were born of the spirit of the deepest wisdom. The material for Heinrich von der Aue also drew from the circle of European initiates. “Poor Heinrich.” Nowhere is it suggested that this is theosophical poetry; least of all did G. von H. know it.

[ 2 ] Heinrich von der Aue is a noble steward in Swabia on the Aue estate. He is an exceptionally capable knight in all worldly matters, but pays little attention to matters that transcend the worldly. For this reason, he was punished with an illness known as “Miselsucht”—a form of leprosy considered incurable. All the German doctors—and in those days, they were doctors who healed through spiritual powers—had given up on Heinrich von der Aue; only a master in Salerno had offered hope of salvation. A pure young woman had to sacrifice her life. But he does not believe in this; he accepts that it is the punishment for his worldly knighthood. He gives away his estates and retreats to a farmstead, where he is cared for by his daughter. She decides to sacrifice herself for him; he travels with her to Salerno. Then he realizes that it must not be, and would rather remain ill. The sufficient sacrifice, however, is not physical death, but the will—the joyful, spiritual will.

[ 3 ] One principle has been accepted by all poets: one must maintain moderation and harmony. “Diumaasze.” A theosophical principle often expresses this: What matters is not outward success, but the right will. “Whoever,” says the poet, “strives in his heart for purity and nobility of spirit and desires what is right, will find peace and honor”—the bliss that radiates from the sixth principle. Through such words, Heinrich von der Aue hints that he aspired to something deeper. Everything he wrote breathes the same spirit.

[ 4 ] “Erek and Enita” depicts the search for balance, how love grows out of difference, and harmony out of disharmony. Erek marries Enita, a bold knight who sets the condition that his wife must never warn him of danger. Yet harmony emerges from these trials.

[ 5 ] Iwein marries the daughter of a giant, but leaves her a year after the wedding because Gawan advises him not to “lose himself,” not to become lazy and careless. He leaves for a year to pass trials, promises to return, but fails to do so, losing both his wife’s favor and his sanity. He is saved by fighting lions and dragons. Seventeen years of wandering.

[ 6 ] Only through spiritual chivalry does one attain the ability to exercise spiritual dominion. In legends, the higher, pure soul is always symbolized by a female soul; higher consciousness is portrayed as the virginal feminine. Through his pure, higher soul, which knows what love truly is, and through the Master of Salerno, who shows him how the higher spiritual realm unites with him through sacrifice.

[ 7 ] What is sensual desire to one who knows what the spiritual and the physical truly are? We know that in earlier stages of evolution, human beings were higher animals; it is only through earthly evolution that Manas is imbued into Kama. Essentially, all beings in our evolution participate in this Kama-Manasic nature. In animals, Manas is not located in the head; rather, the animal is directed by Manas. The laws of wisdom come to light in the various kingdoms. This was not yet the case on the Moon, which was merely enveloped by an atmosphere of wisdom.

[ 8 ] It would be an irregularity on Earth if a new Kama were grafted directly onto Kama itself. If a being lived off Kama, it would be in the same relationship to life as the Moon. Such beings exist on Earth: they are parasites, insects that live off other beings. And in the case of plants, this is mistletoe, a parasite that feeds off existing life. What Kama needs as a foundation for life is what has remained from the lunar epoch. Thus, mistletoe has been left behind, merely stunted, and must live parasitically to complete its development.

[ 9 ] Hence also the structure of insects, which are often enclosed in a horny shell, entered earthly evolution in an incomplete state, and [gap in the transcript]. Animals with exoskeletons are latecomers from the lunar epoch. Thus, it is understandable that mistletoe plays such a role in ancient myths and legends. It is connected to those [gap in the transcript] who are therefore still attached to the moon, to the Kamic, which was once legitimate.

[ 10 ] In the legend, the beings who cause evil—by linking their instincts to the Kamic—are most profoundly connected to the mistletoe. [Baldur] is killed by mistletoe, which stems from an earlier epoch. When it intrudes into our own, it brings about ruin. Earthly Kama must be governed by Manas. Life on Earth is destroyed by the lunar parasites. That is why the devil is called the Lord of the Flies.

[ 11 ] If a person indulges too much in Kama during earthly development, he accumulates Kama upon Kama within himself and becomes internally disharmonious. This disharmony is evident in the illness that breaks through the balance. He becomes afflicted by the addiction that underlies this plant. Those who give in to their passions remain stuck in the lunar realm. This stagnation of the life force gives rise to misery.

[ 12 ] Those who do not strive for spiritual light experience a stagnation of their entire lives. No physical doctor can understand this; only those who know the connection between all planes can. When the stagnant wave of life is lifted and selfishness is truly sacrificed, then healing occurs.

[ 13 ] “Iwein” is also a deeply symbolic poem. Once again, a female being represents the higher self. Here, she is the daughter of the giant—a race that preceded humanity. The way humans were intertwined with nature, as in [gap in the transcript], was the gigantic aspect. At the beginning of his development, Iwein is still close to this original state. He must now awaken Manas within himself. Manas was originally a gift from the gods, connected to the soul. Now he loses this higher gift in order to regain it as inner human intellect. When he reconciles himself with the higher self, he regains it—but only by freeing the lion from the dragon, that is, from selfishness and from the cunning that is directed toward worldly things.

[ 14 ] It is wonderful when we consider the Mithraic Mysteries in this context: their seven degrees. The fourth degree is the Lion. Where the fourth principle—the Lion—awakens in a higher sense, it strives toward the fifth and seeks to be freed from the third, the Dragon.

[ 15 ] These works of poetry sprang from immense depths; this period lasted until the sixteenth century. With the Copernican revolution, poetry became more secular. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, there was immense esoteric depth.