The Quest for Happiness: Medieval Perspectives for Our Future: Philosophical and Literary-Historical Investigations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55121/prr.v1i1.190Keywords:
Happiness, Medieval Literature, Boethius, Marie de France, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Johann Peter Hebel, Hermann Hesse, Doris DörrieAbstract
Human life makes sense only if the individual can achieve a certain degree of happiness. In order to address this topic in an insightful and effective way, this paper turns to a selection of medieval literary narratives where the focus specifically rests on happiness that an individual might achieve when the circumstances and the ideals are right. As human beings, happiness does not simply come into our lives, at least not for adults. Instead, much intellectual education is required to gain the ability to distinguish between self-created meaning and relevance and alien control and enslavement as expressed in fake happiness. Hence, this paper intends to outline some preliminary thoughts and present literary and philosophical material from the Middle Ages where the issue of happiness has already been examined and discussed from various perspectives, inviting us to revisit them for our learning experience today and tomorrow. Since ancient times, philosophers have investigated the true meaning of happiness, offering the results of their experiences and insights. In order to reinvigorate the discourse on happiness, this paper draws from late antique philosophy, medieval verse narratives, and German literature from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including a modern-day movie. The quest for happiness has been ubiquitous, and it continues to matter for us universally across all cultures. The Humanities by themselves might not bring about happiness, but they certainly offer important perspectives toward the meaning of human life, individuality, the sense of community, communication, and compassion, all of which pave the way toward happiness.
References
[1] Kraut, R., 2022. Aristotle's Ethics. Available from: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2022/entries/aristotle-ethics/ (cited 11 December 2024)
[2] Haidt, J., 2006. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. Basic Books: New York, USA.
[3] Ho, L.S., 2014. The Psychology and Economics of Happiness: Love, Life and Positive Living. Routledge: London and New York.
[4] Ng, Y-K., 2022. Happiness – Concept, Measurement and Promotion. Springer Nature B.V.: Singapore.
[5] Badewien, J., 2011. “Alle Gelegenheit, glücklich zu werden, hilft nichts, wer den Verstand nicht hat, sie zu benutzen”: Johann Peter Hebel als Brückenbauer. Karlsruhe: Evang. Akad. Baden. (in German)
[6] Küpper, A., 2017. Heat: Johann Peter Hebel's Calendar Stories in the Context of the History of Science and Literature Pertaining to the Atmospheric Phenomenon from Antiquity to the Present. In: Büttner, U., Theilen, I. (eds.).Phenomena of the Atmosphere: A Compandium of Literary Meterology. J. B. Metzler: Stuttgart, Germany. pp. 433–446. (in German)
[7] Böttger, F., 1973. Hermann Hesse: Life - Work - Time. Verlag der Nation: Berlin, Germany. (in German)
[8] Cornils, I., 2009. A Companion to the Works of Hermann Hesse. Camden House: Rochester, NY, USA.
[9] Pansters, K., 2012. Franciscan Virtue: Spiritual Growth and the Virtues in Franciscan Literature and Instruction of the Thirteenth Century. Brill: Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston, USA.
[10] Contreras-Vejar, Y., Jen, J.T., Turner, B.S., 2019. Regimes of Happiness:Comparative and Historical Studies. Anthem Press: New York and London.
[11] Gössmann, H., Jaschke, R., Mrugalla, A., 2011. Intercultural Contacts in Literature, Film, and Television: A German-Japanese Comparison. Iudicium: Munich, Germany. (in German)
[12] Kreuzer, S., 2023. Doris Dörrie: Grimm-Poetikprofessur 2022. Königshausen & Neumann: Würzburg, Germany. (in German)
[13] Ziolkowski, J.M., 2022. Reading the Juggler of Notre Dame: Medieval Miracles and Modern Remakings. Open Book Publishers: Cambridge, UK.
[14] Classen, A., 2024. The Tumbler/Juggler of Notre Dame – The Medieval Source Story. The Literary Encyclopedia. 1.5.2.01. 500–1400.
[15] Waters, C.M., 2018. The Lais of Marie de France: Text and Translation. Broadview Press: Peterborough, UK.
[16] Burgess, G.S. 1987. Marie de France: Text and Context. The University of Georgia Press: Athens, GA, USA
[17] Bloch, H.R., 2003. The Anonymous Marie de France. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, USA, and London, UK.
[18] Classen, A., 2003. Marie de France. The Literary Encyclopedia. 1.5.2.01. 500–1400.
[19] Whalen, L.E. (ed.), 2011. A Companion to Marie de France. Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition. Brill: Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston, USA.
[20] Kinoshita, S., McCracken, P., 2012. Marie de France: A Critical Companion. D. S. Brewer: Cambridge, UK.
[21] Classen, A., 2024. Masculinity in Late Medieval German Literature: Toxicity or Virtue? The Case of Konrad von Würzburg's Heinrich von Kempten and Partonopier und Meliur. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 7(2), 91–102.
[22] Classen, A., 2015. Guildeluëc in Marie de France's “Eliduc” as the Avatar of Heloise? The Destiny of Two Twelfth-Century Women. Quaestiones Medii Aevii Novae. 20, 395–412
[23] Mustakallio, K., Krötzl, C. (eds.), 2009. De Amicitia: Friendship and Social Networks in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Instituti Romani Finlandiae: Rome, Italy.
[24] Classen, A., 2024. Friendship in Medieval and Early Modern Literature and Thought. In: Mäkinen, V., Knuuttila, S. (eds.). Moral Psychology in History: From the Ancient to Early Modern Period. Springer: Cham, Switzerland. pp. 293–315
[25] Archibald, E., 1991. Apollonius of Tyre: Medieval and Renaissance Themes and Variations. D. S. Brewer: Cambridge, UK.
[26] Edwards, C. (trans.), 2006. Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival and Titurel. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.
[27] Bumke, J., 2004. Wolfram von Eschenbach, 8th ed. Metzler: Stuttgart, Germany.
[28] Wolfram von Eschenbach, 1988. Parzival. The rest is the explanation: Student edition. Middle High German Text Based on the sixth edition by Karl Lachmann.. Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, Germany, and New York, USA. (in German)
[29] Classen, A. 2025. Communication, Community, Compromise, and Compassion: Fundamental Lessons from Late Medieval German Literature. Heinrich Kaufringer's Messages for Today. Available from: https://brill.com/view/journals/abag/85/1/article-p82_6.xml (cited 14 April 2025)
[30] Hasty, W., 1999. A Companion to Wolfram's Parzival. Studies in German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture. Camden House: Columbia, SC, USA.
[31] Strohschneider, P. (ed.), 2009. Literary and Religious Communication in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period: DFG Symposium 2006. Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, Germany, and New York, USA.
[32] Classen, A., 2002. Verzweiflung und Hoffnung. Despair and Hope: The Search for the Communicative Community in German Medieval Literature. Peter Lang: Frankfurt am Main. and Berlin, Germany. (in German)
[33] Classen, A., 2021. Tracing the Trails in the Medieval World: Epistemological Explorations, Orientation, and Mapping in Medieval Literature. Routledge: New York, USA.
[34] Gibson, M., 1981. Boethius: His Life, Thought and Influence. Blackwell: Oxford, UK.
[35] Glei, R.F., Kaminski, N., Lebsanft, F. (eds.), 2010. The Christian Boethius? Transformations of the “Consolation of Philosophy” in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, Germany, and New York, USA. (in German)
[36] Kaylor, N.H. Jr., Phillips, P.E. (eds.), 2016. Vernacular Traditions of Boethius's De Consolatione philosophiae. Research in Medieval Culture. Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University: Kalamazoo, MI.
[37] Relihan, J.C., trans., with intro. and notes. 2001. Boethius. Consolation of Philosophy. Hackett Publishing, Indianapolis and Cambridge, UK.
Downloads
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Albrecht Classen
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Make a Submission