L'image de la société à travers les récits brefs du Stricker

par Marie Edith Krempf

Thèse de doctorat en Études allemandes

Sous la direction de Jean-Paul Allard.

Soutenue en 1997

à Lyon 3 .

mots clés

• Sociocritique
• Stricker, Der (12..?-1250?) -- Thèses et écrits académiques
• Sociocritique -- Thèses et écrits académiques

Résumé

Le stricker, poete moraliste et didactique de la premiere moitie du 13eme siecle, presente dans ses recits brefs les differents groupes qui constituaient la societe de son epoque (les sujets du seigneurs, ses conseillers, la cour et ses poetes, les chevaliers, les paysans et la bourgeoisie naissante), ainsi que leurs rapports avec le seigneur puisque c'est autour de lui que s'ordonne la societe medievale ideale. Or, dans ses recits brefs, le stricker oppose constamment une conception ideale de la societe a l'image de la societe telle qu'il semble la percevoir. Ainsi l'ideal de cohesion entrele seigneur et ses sujets se heurte-t-il a l'ambition sociale et aux revendications des differents groupes a cette epoque. Les conseillers qui entourent le souverain incitent par exemple ce dernier a ne plus utiliser ses richesses selon le principe de largesse mais bien davantage dans une perspective de thesaurisation. Les chevaliers eux, semblent subir les consequences des transformations economiques et sociales de leur temps puisqu'ils ne connaissent plus le meme prestige et ne jouissent plus de la traditionnelle largesse de leur seigneur. Face a cette situation precaire, certains se lancent dans des pratiques mercantiles incompatibles, selon le stricker avec leur honneur de chevaliers. Ce sont les premiers "chevaliers-marchands". L'image de la societe se trouve egalement bouleverse pars des paysans auxquels le stricker reproche de vouloir transgresser les limites fixees par leur statut et acceder ainsi a de plus hautes fonctions. Le role de l'argent et l'utilisation des richesses font partie des preoccupations essentielles du stricker. Le principe fondamental de largesse se voit detrone par une conception des richesses et de leur utilisation qui d'une part accorde aux marchands et aux usuriers une importance croissante et prefigure d'autre part l'emergence de la bourgeoisie.

Titre traduit

The image of society through the stricker's short narratives

Résumé

In his short narratives, the stricker, a didactic and moralistic poet from the first part of the 13th century, introduces the different groups that composed the society of his time-the lord's subjects his advisers, the court and the court poets, the knights, the peasants and the emerging bourgeoisie-as well as their relationships with the lord, who was the central character in the ideal medevial society. However in his short narratives, the stricker constantly opposes this ideal conception of society to society as he sees it. Thus, the ideal unity between the lord and his subjects is challenged by social ambition and the claims put forward by the different social groups at that time. The sovereign's advisers, for instance, discouraged him from disposing of his wealth according to the largesse principle, and encouraged him to start saving instead. As for the knights, they seemed to be the victims of social and economic changes since they did not enjoy the same prestige as they had in in the past, and did not benefit from their lord's traditional generosity anymore. Because of their precarious situations , some of them became involved in business practices, which according to the stricker, were incompatible with their honour as knights. They were the first "merchant-knights". The image of society was further transformed by the peasant's ambitions, whom the stricker accuses of wanting to break the limits imposed by their status, in order to rise to higher functions. The role played by the money and the use of riches are the main sources of concern for the stricker. The once fundamental largesse principle is being replaced by a new notion, in which the riches are used in such a way that they contribute to increasing the importance of merchants and usurers on the one hand and prefigure the emerging of the bourgeoisie on the other hand.