With Gregorius, written around 1190, Hartmann von Aue created a masterpiece of courtly saintly life that builds on the tradition of French sources while enriching it with original, mythical elements. Hartmann vividly portrays the extreme twists of an Oedipal destiny faced by the eponymous hero, Gregorius, with striking dramatic intensity while simultaneously expanding the narrative beyond its medieval settings to explore mythical dimensions of guilt, atonement, and divine grace - an enduring fascination that resonates to this day.
The new introduction synthesizes the latest scholarly debates and offers innovative perspectives on the complex themes of Gregorius. A novel, pedagogically designed layout facilitates access to this central work of medieval literature while situating it within a broader context of medieval adaptations of the ancient Oedipus myth.