1.
Ganerbschaft
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A Ganerbschaft, according to old German inheritance law, was a joint family estate, mainly land, over which the co-heirs only had rights in common. In modern German legal parlance it corresponds to a community of joint ownership, ganerbschafts arose as a result of the simultaneous nomination of several co-heirs to the same estate, this occurred mainly in the Middle Ages for reasons of family politics. Subject of such relationships was usually a jointly-built or conquered castle or palace. Ganerbschaften were established in order to keep an important family property, like a castle, although the initially very close community of co-heirs tended to become looser over the decades, the unity of the estate to the outside world was maintained. This often expressed itself through the use of a common family, another form of inheritance which permitted similar arrangements, was the fee tail. In the late 11th century, the von Stein family, owners of Künzelsau, was about to die out, one of the last members of the family, Mechthild von Stein, donated a large portion of her estates to Comburg Abbey. On her death, the part of the estate went to her close relatives, the lords of Künzelsau. Over the centuries, the divisions of the estate were inherited, around 1500 the lords of Stetten owned 25% of Künzelsau, 20% belonged to the House of Hohenlohe and 15% to the imperial town of Schwäbisch Hall. Another 10% was owned by the Archbishopric of Mainz, the Bishopric of Würzburg owned 10%, in the period that followed the division of the estate changed hands many times. Following the Tierberg Feud of 1488 a burgfrieden treaty was agreed in 1493 that governed the joint management of the estate under a Gemeinschaftlichen Ganerben-Amts-Schultheißen, the co-heirs pledged themselves henceforth only to transfer their share of the estate to one another, not to anyone outside the community. Only Comburg Abbey was allowed, in 1717, to buy the share of the estate belonging to the lords of Stetten, because they had formerly been members of the Ganerbschaft. In 1802 the estate lost its status as a Ganerbschaft in the wake of secularisation, however, in 1806 the whole estate was seized by the Duke of Württemberg and became part of the Kingdom of Württemberg. In the 13th century Trappstadt was divided by the counts of Henneberg, three hundred years later in 1524, there were already twelve Ganerben issued. The possession of the Ganerben quarters were divided as follows, The residents of Wurzburg had 22 houses, nine houses since 1524 were owned, Schott, Echter, Faust von Stromberg, Grafen von Eltz until 1824). Friedrich Karl Alsdorf, Untersuchungen zur Rechtsgestalt und Teilung deutscher Ganerbenburgen, lang, Frankfurt am Main,1980, ISBN3820464085. In, Horst Wolfgang Böhme, Burgen in Mitteleuropa, theiss, Stuttgart,1999, ISBN 3-8062-1355-0, pp. 39–41. Johannes Hoops, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, walter de Gruyter, Berlin,1998, ISBN 3-11-015832-9, p.85 Helmut Naumann, Das Rechtswort Ganerbe. In, Mitteilungen des Historischen Vereins der Pfalz,71,1974, ISSN 0073-2680, pp. 59–153
2.
Altenstein Castle (Lower Franconia)
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Altenstein Castle is a ruined castle in Altenstein in the district of Haßberge in Lower Franconia, Germany. The castle was renovated around the turn of the millennium, the ruins of the hill castle lie commandingly over the village of the same name on a ridge in the Haßberge hills between Ebern and Maroldsweisach. The castle hill rises about 150 metres above the Weisach valley, the elongated ridge on which Altenstein Castle stands is also the site of other fortifications. The Bavarian State Office for Monument Protection has categorized it with the monument serial number D-6-5830-0006, a medieval motte south and below the castle on the Galgenberg. About two kilometres south of the ruins on the slopes there are two other heritage sites hidden in the forest and both called Altburg. Another four kilometres south is the large castle of Lichtenstein on the side of the valley. The site of the Teufelsstein rock castle below Lichtenstein Castle is the family seat of the two lines of the lords of Stein. Above the hamlet of Eyrichshof are the remains of Rotenhan Castle, the castle was the seat of the lords of Stein zu Altenstein. The Steins split into two lines around 1200, the Stein von Lichtenstein had their seat at the castle of Lichtenstein. The origin of family is thought to be the Teufelsstein. The originally free knightly family soon had to become vassals of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, from the early 14th century the Altensteins only appear as vassals of Würzburg, occasionally of Bamberg, but also had fiefs of the abbeys of Banz and Langheim. The castle appears to be first mentioned in the sources, indirectly, in one document at that time a Marquard Magnus de antiquo lapide is mentioned. In 1231, the castle is first directly referred to as a castrum with an ecclesia, over the succeeding centuries the place developed into a typical Ganerbenburg, a castle occupied and run by several branches of the family in common. In 1296 eight families lived at the fortress above the Weisach valley, as one of the earliest records of a so-called Ganerbschaft this fact is of particular interest for castle researchers. A Burgfrieden agreement in 1441 named ten brothers and cousins from five families, the von Altenstein family was able to establish a small territory for itself around the castle during the 14th and 15th centuries. This enabled the scattered lands of the family to be consolidated. The economic success of the castellans of the time can be seen from the structures of the castle that have survived. In 1525 Altenstein was damaged during the Peasants War, in 1549 Emperor Charles V granted the high court jurisdiction to the Altensteins
3.
Eltz Castle
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Eltz Castle is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the family that lived there in the 12th century,33 generations ago. Bürresheim Castle, Eltz Castle and Lissingen Castle are the castles on the left bank of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate which have never been destroyed. The castle is surrounded on three sides by the Elzbach River, a tributary on the side of the Moselle. It is on a 70-metre rock spur, on an important Roman trade route between rich farmlands and their markets, the Eltz Forest has been declared a nature reserve by Flora-Fauna-Habitat and Natura 2000. The castle is a so-called Ganerbenburg, or castle belonging to a community of joint heirs, only a very rich medieval European lord could afford to build a castle on his land, many of them only owned one village, or even only a part of a village. This was an insufficient base to afford a castle, such lords lived in a knights house, which was a simple house, scarcely bigger than those of his tenants. In some parts of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in the case of Eltz, the family comprised three branches and the existing castle was enhanced with three separate complexes of buildings. The main part of the consists of the family portions. At up to eight stories, these eight towers reach heights of between 30 and 40 metres and they are fortified with strong exterior walls, to the yard they present a partial framework. About 100 members of the families lived in the over 100 rooms of the castle. Platteltz, a Romanesque keep, is the oldest part of the castle, by 1157 the fortress was an important part of the empire under Frederick Barbarossa, standing astride the trade route from the Moselle Valley and the Eifel region. In 1472 the Rübenach house, built in the Late Gothic style, was completed, remarkable are the Rübenach Lower Hall, a living room, and the Rübenach bedchamber with its opulently decorated walls. Between 1490 and 1540, the Rodendorf house was constructed, also in Late Gothic style, the Kempenich houses were finished about 1530. Every room of this part of the castle could be heated, in contrast, the Rübenach and Rodendorf families homes in the castle are open to the public, while the Kempenich branch of the family uses the other third of the castle. The public is admitted seasonally, from April to October, visitors can view the treasury, with gold, silver and porcelain artifacts and the armory of weapons and suits of armor. From 1965 to 1992, an engraving of Eltz Castle was used on the German 500 Deutsche Mark note, the starting events of Le Feu de Wotan, a Belgian bande dessinée in the Yoko Tsuno series, take place in Eltz Castle. The castle was used as the exterior for the fictional American military lunatic asylum in the 1979 William Peter Blatty movie, The Ninth Configuration
4.
Moselle
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The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Moselle through the Sauer, the Moselle twists and turns its way between Trier and Koblenz along one of Germanys most beautiful river valleys. It flows through a region that has influenced by mankind since it was first cultivated by the Romans. Today, its hillsides are covered by terraced vineyards where some of the best Rieslings grow, Traben-Trarbach with its art nouveau architecture and Bernkastel-Kues with its traditional market square are two of the many popular tourist attractions on the Moselle river. The name Moselle is derived from the Celtic name form, Moseal, via the Latin Mosella, a form of Mosa, the Latin description of the Meuse. So the Mosella was the Little Meuse, the Moselle is first recorded by Tacitus in Book 13 of his Annals and in Book 4 of his Histories. The Roman poet, Decimius Magnus Ausonius, made it a theme as early as the 4th century. In his poem dated A. D. Ausonius describes flourishing and rich landscapes along the river and in the valley of the Moselle, the river subsequently gave its name to two French republican départements, Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle. The source of the Moselle is at 715 metres above sea level on the Col de Bussang on the slopes of the Ballon dAlsace in the Vosges. After 544 kilometres it discharges into the Rhine at the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz at a height of 59 metres above NHN. The length of the river in France is 314 kilometres, for 39 kilometres it forms the border between Germany and Luxembourg, and 208 kilometres are solely within Germany, the Moselle flows through the Lorraine region, west of the Vosges. Further downstream, in Germany, the Moselle valley forms the division between the Eifel and Hunsrück mountain regions. The average flow rate of the Moselle at its mouth is 328 m³/s, making it the second largest tributary of the Rhine by volume after the Aare and bigger than the Main and Neckar. The section of the Moselle from the Franco-German-Luxembourg tripoint to its confluence with the Saar near Konz shortly before Trier is in Germany known as the Upper Moselle. The section from Trier to Pünderich is the Middle Moselle, the section between Pünderich and its mouth in Koblenz as the Lower Moselle or Terraced Moselle. Characteristic of the Middle and Lower Moselle are its wide meanders cut deeply into the highlands of the Rhenish Massif, also typical are its vineyard terraces. From the tripoint the Moselle marks the entire Saarland-Luxembourg, the catchment area of the Moselle is 28,286 km² in area
5.
Salzburg Castle
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Salzburg Castle stands on the edge of a plateau above the town of Bad Neustadt an der Saale in Lower Franconia in southern Germany. The large Ganerbenburg is still occupied today and not all areas are accessible to the public. The castle was built about a kilometre east of Bad Neustadt on the end of the plateau above Neuhaus and is separated from the land in front of it by a roughly 160-metre-long neck ditch. Until the 19th century the whole hillside was cleared and was used as early as the High Middle Ages for viticulture, the present, thickly wooded ridge on which the castle stands is also the site of the extensive Franconian Clinic, which dominates the landscape. By the Carolingian era, the Salzgau around Neustadt was already very important, an imperial palace was even built here, it was given to the Bishopric of Wurzburg in 1000 A. D. by Emperor Otto III. This palace was probably on the site of the present village of Salz or in its immediate vicinity, a castle was built on the nearby Veitsberg hill, probably in Ottonian times during the period of the Hungarian invasions, to protect the local populace. A fortified enclosure of unknown date may have located on the site of the present castle of Salzburg. These fortifications, too, may have been upgraded in the first half of the 10th century into a castle in the face of attacks by the Magyars. The first record of the Salzburg occurs in a copy of a deed by Emperor Louis the Pious dated around 1160. Later on, the Veitsberg near Salz was generally reckoned to be the location of the palace while, today, friar Eberhard may have only knew of the new site of the castle and replaced the village name of Salz by the abbreviation Salzb. The walled stone castle replaced an older palisaded ditch hewn from the limestone rock and this discovery was only made in 1984 during an official excavation of the foundations. This originally wooden, protective rampart is about a metre behind the wall and was probably a provisional enhancement to protect the site. The oldest curtain wall was not fully developed. The elements of the fortified site datable to the first phase of construction are up to four metres high, whether the Bishop of Würzburg intended to form a major administrative centre or even a fortified village, here, remains speculative. List of castles in Bavaria Heinz Gauly, The Bonifatius-Kapelle auf der Salzburg, leonhard Hegewald, Neustadt an der Saale, Der Kaiserpfalz auf dem Schlossberg und Bad Neuhaus mit seinen Quellen – ill. The Kunstdenkmäler von Bayern, III,22, Bezirksamt Neustadt a. pp. pp. 166–193, klaus Leidorf, Peter Ettel, Burgen in Bayern –7000 Jahre Burgengeschichte im Luftbild. Programm für The Salzburgfest, The eilfte Säcularfeier The Stiftung fränkischer, thüringischer und hessischer Bisthümer through den heiligen Bonifacius auf d, georg Joseph Saffenreuter, Der eilfte Säcularfeier auf der Salzburg bei Neustadt an der Saale am 12. Otto Schnell, Salzburg-Führer – Geschichte u. Beschreibung d. alten Kaiserpfalz Salzburg a. d. fränk, august Voit von Salzburg, The uralte Kaiserburg Salzburg bei Neustadt an The Saale
6.
Curtain wall (fortification)
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A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two towers of a castle, fortress, or town. In medieval castles, the area surrounded by a curtain wall, the outermost walls with their integrated bastions and wall towers together make up the enceinte or main defensive line enclosing the site. In earlier designs of castle and town, the walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult. Evidence for curtain walls or a series of walls surrounding a town or fortress can be found in the sources from Assyria. Some notable examples are ancient Lachish and Buhen, enceinte Curry, Anne, Hughes, Michael, eds. The Popular Encyclopedia, or, Conversations Lexicon, I, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London, Blackie & Son, p.444
7.
Chivalric romance
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As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Popular literature also drew on themes of romance, but with ironic, satiric or burlesque intent. Still, the image of medieval is more influenced by the romance than by any other medieval genre, and the word medieval evokes knights, distressed damsels, dragons. Originally, romance literature was written in Old French, Anglo-Norman, Occitan, and Provençal, during the early 13th century, romances were increasingly written as prose. In later romances, particularly those of French origin, there is a tendency to emphasize themes of courtly love. Unlike the later form of the novel and like the chansons de geste, the earliest forms were invariably in verse, but the 15th century saw many in prose, often retelling the old, rhymed versions. Many influences are clear in the forms of chivalric romance, the epics of Charlemagne, unlike such ones as Beowulf, already had feudalism rather than the tribal loyalties, this was to continue in romances. The romance form is distinguished from the epics of the Middle Ages by the changes of the 12th century. This occurred regardless of congruity to the material, Alexander the Great featured as a fully feudal king. Chivalry was treated as continuous from Roman times, historical figures reappeared, reworked, in romance. The entire Matter of France derived from known figures, and suffered somewhat because their descendents had an interest in the tales that were told of their ancestors, unlike the Matter of Britain. Hereward the Wakes early life appeared in chronicles as the embellished, romantic adventures of an exile, complete with rescuing princess, fulk Fitzwarin, an outlaw in King Johns day, has his historical background a minor thread in the episodic stream of romantic adventures. The earliest medieval romances dealt heavily with themes from folklore, which diminished over time, morgan le Fay never loses her name, but in Le Morte dArthur, she studies magic rather than being inherently magical. Still, fairies never completely vanished from the tradition, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late tale, but the Green Knight himself is an otherworldly being. In Italy there is the story called Il Bel Gherardino and it is the most ancient prototype of an Italian singing fairy tale by an anonymous Tuscan author. It tells the story of a young Italian knight, depleted for its magnanimitas, other examples of Italian poetry tales are Antonio Puccis literature, Gismirante, Il Brutto di Bretagna or Brito di Bretagna and Madonna Lionessa. Another work of a second anonymous Italian author that is worth mentioning is Istoria di Tre Giovani Disperati e di Tre Fate, some romances, such as Apollonius of Tyre, show classical pagan origins. Tales of the Matter of Rome in particular may be derived from such works as the Alexander Romance
8.
Parzival
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Parzival is a medieval German romance written by the poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival, Parzival begins with the knightly adventures of Parzivals father, Gahmuret, his marriage to Herzeloyde, and the birth of Parzival. The story continues as Parzival meets three elegant knights, decides to seek King Arthur, and continues a spiritual and physical search for the Grail. A long section is devoted to Parzivals friend Gawan and his adventures defending himself from a murder charge. Among the most striking elements of the work are its emphasis on the importance of humility, compassion, sympathy, a major theme in Parzival is love, heroic acts of chivalry are inspired by true love, which is ultimately fulfilled in marriage. The romance was the most popular vernacular verse narrative in medieval Germany, Wolfram began a prequel, Titurel, which was later continued by another writer, while two full romances were written adapting Wolframs story of Loherangrin. Richard Wagner based his famous opera Parsifal, finished in 1882, Parzival is divided into sixteen books, each composed of several thirty-line stanzas of rhyming couplets. The stanza lengths fit perfectly onto a manuscript page, for the subject matter Wolfram von Eschenbach largely adapted the Grail romance, Perceval, the Story of the Grail, left incomplete by Chrétien de Troyes. Book I opens with the death of King Gandin, Parzivals grandfather and his oldest son, Galoes, receives the kingdom but offers his brother Gahmuret the land of Anjou in fief. However, Gahmuret departs to gain renown and he travels to the African kingdom of Zazamanc, whose capital is besieged by two different armies. Gahmuret offers his services to the city, and his offer is accepted by Queen Belacane and he conquers the invaders, marries Queen Belacane, and becomes king of Zazamanc and Azagouc. Growing bored with peace, Gahmuret steals away on a ship, Belacane later gives birth to a son, Feirefiz. In Book II, Gahmuret returns to the West, where he meets, ever restless, however, he soon returns to fight for the Baruch in the Far East, where he is later killed by a treacherous acquaintance. His seclusion is shattered by three knights passing who tell him of King Arthurs court at Camelot, enamored, he decides to go join Arthurs court. His mother is heartbroken at the news of his decision but allows him to depart, soon after his departure she dies, utterly bereft. The first part of the takes place completely in the world of King Arthur. After becoming entangled in courtly intrigue between Duke Orilus and his wife Jeschute he meets his cousin Sigune who reveals to him his true name, Parzival also fights and kills Ither, the red knight of Kukumerlant. Putting on the red armor he rides away from the court and meets Gurnemanz, from whom he learns the duties of a knight, especially self-control
