SOURCE: "An Interpretation of Hartmann's Iwein" in The Germanic Review, Vol. XXXVI, No. 1, 1961, pp. 5-26.

Sacker has written several critical studies of Medieval German literature, including An Introduction to Wolfram's "Parzival" (1963). In the following essay, Sacker insists that, in Iwein, Hartmann did not portray Arthur's court as the symbol of virtue, but rather made changes to the Chrétien story in order to depict ironically a moral code that differs from that professed by the narrator and the characters.

Bell on the Secular and Religious Themes in Hartmann's Poetry:

The poet's thoroughgoing change from the worldly material of the Arthurian epic to the religious legend and then back again is a remarkable one. It doubtless reflects the cross-currents of his soul, which embraced a whole world of conflicting moods. The opposition between secular and religious forces, which moved this whole age, left its mark upon Hartmann's life and...