The Service of Ladies

by Ulrich von Liechtenstein, J.W. Thomas (Translator), Kelly DeVries (Introduction)

Ulrich von Liechtenstein's extraordinary account of his adventures as a knight-errant is one of the most vivid images of chivalric life.

Ulrich von Liechtenstein's extraordinary account of his adventures as a knight-errant is one of the most vivid images of chivalric life to have come down to us. His knightly autobiography was written in the mid-thirteenth century,and gives an account of the "journey of Venus" which he undertook in 1226 in honour of his lady, in which he claimed to have broken 307 spears in jousts against all comers in the space of a month. Some of it is obviously quietlyexaggerated, written for his friends' entertainment many years later, and he is not above a sly dig at the conventions of courtly love, but he completely accepts its basic ideas. It is full of lively episodes and good stories, aswell as verses in honour of his lady; if the tale has been polished up for effect, it is nonetheless a thoroughly entertaining account of how a knight saw his ideal career in the jousting field.
If the name is unexpectedly familiar to modern readers, it is because it was borrowed by the hero of the film A Knight's Tale; Ulrich would have certainly approved of his exploits.
Introduction by KELLY DEVRIES.

Genres: Medieval, Classics, Literature, Historical, Poetry, Nonfiction, 13th Century

189 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this for school. It was awful.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Service of Ladies
Ulrich Von Liechenstein
Read it in paperback at 172 pages including a biblio of sorts.

Ulrich was a squire for a beautiful lady in his youth and as he became a knight later in life he still never dropped his infatuation with her, it seems to have haunted him throughout his life. This document of sorts is an autobiography that he penned to tell of his deeds in her name to impress her, it's kind of like a medieval mix tape.

Its got hot bars professing his devotion and love to the cause:

"This I heard the wise men say:
None can be happy, none can stay
Contented in this world but he
Who loves and with such loyalty
A noble woman that he'd die
If it would save her from a sigh.
For thus all men have loved who gain
The honor others can't obtain."

Its got gritty action sequences:

"The joust was splendid, I declare.
I knocked his helmet through the air.
The veil he'd fastened to his lance
Was hanging from my shield, by chance;
A broad and gaping hole now marred
The shield where it was meant to guard
The shoulder bone on my left side.
It was a joust to suit his pride."

Overall it's kind of a weird story to be truthful. He repeatedly tries to court her but she is already married loyally. He seems to tell himself that doesn't really matter and gets his aunt to run messages back and forth awkwardly, he gets his cleft pallet fixed on her request with some hearty medieval surgery, he cross dresses as a women and goes on a jousting tour in her honor, he pretends to be a leper, and he eventually sends her his finger after it's amputated after a joust and still she spurns him. It's kind of sad but then you remember that Ulrich is happily married too and then it just kind of gets weird.

A lot of fun if you're into this kind of thing.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as entertaining as I was expecting.

[Lulu]

The collection was finished in 1255

https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/h...

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite the rip-roaring adventure of Orlando Furioso, but fun to read (and grimace at the protagonist and his foolish devotion).