Representation of the plot of the novel "Iwein, or the Knight with the Lion" in Western European iconographic programs of the XIII-XIV centuries.

Khripkova Elena ORCID: 0000-0002-8101-680X PhD in Art History Docent, the department of Theory and History of Art, Russian State University for Humanities 111399, Russia, Moscow,RUSSIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOR THE HUMANITIES, Chayanova Street 15, ê.5, office #303 samary@inbox.ru Other publications by this author

   The purpose of a more extensive study, of which this article is a part, is to identify the specifics of the visual language of medieval Western European art in various versions of its manifestation, in various monuments dedicated to the visualization of religious and secular subjects. At the same time, the focus of attention is mostly focused on monuments of art based on religious texts, since the art of this era is, first of all, the art of the Christian church. In this regard, there are much more monuments representing religious subjects, and their pictorial programs are based on the texts of Holy Scripture, liturgical texts and sermons.

As is known, the tradition of extracting several levels of meaning from the texts of Holy Scripture, characteristic of the medieval exegetical tradition, originates "in the depths of Hellenistic science" ^{[1, p.79]}, and also continues the Judaic tradition of interpreting sacred texts. It is picked up by Origen ^[2], developed by St. Jerome and St. Augustine after St. John Cassian, who proposed four ways of interpreting Holy Scripture: historical, allegorical, tropological and anagogic, which becomes an important part of medieval exegesis ^{[3, p.518]}). A detailed analysis of the methods of interpretation of the text of the Holy Scripture can be found in the article by V. Ya. Savrey ^[4]. Iconographic programs of the Romanesque era based on the texts of Holy Scripture, according to K. Kendall, can also be considered by analogy with the text of Holy Scripture itself in the context of extracting several levels of meanings from them, according to the Christian exegetical tradition ^{[5, p.3-17]}. For monumental temple decorations, a number of semantic connotations can be added to these levels of interpretation, among which a very important role should be assigned to liturgical texts and symbols ^{[6, pp.180-193]}. In this case, it is very useful to consider also the structure and functions of iconographic programs of this time devoted to the illustration of secular subjects, without which the picture would be incomplete.

The famous medieval novel in verse by the French poet Chr?tien de Troyes "Yvain or the Knight with the Lion" (Chr?tien de Troyes "Yvain ou le chevalier au lion"), the plot of which became extremely popular in medieval Western European society in the following centuries was written between 1176 and 1181 ^[7].   Image  Yvaine or the Lion Knight became a role model and upbringing.  At the beginning of the XIII century (ca. 1203), the author's translation of this text into German was made by the knight - poet Hartmann von Aue, who completely preserved the storyline of Chretien de Troyes ^[8].  The text of Hartmann von Aue, in turn, formed the basis of the German monumental fresco cycles of the XIII century, which have come down to us in Thuringia (Schmalkalden) and in South Tyrol (Rodenegg). As for the manuscripts, Harman von Aue's "Evaine" has come down to us in 13 complete manuscripts and 17 fragments dated to the XIII - XVI centuries ^{[9, pp.129-130]}.

The text of Yvaine's story as presented by Chretien de Troyes and Hartmann von Aue can be divided into two parts: 1 – the conquest of a beautiful lady and a return to chivalrous amusements, 2 – the destruction of a former life, madness, transformation and the birth of a valiant and just hero – defender of the weak and champion of justice.  In the first part, Evaine restores the honor of his relative Kalogrenan, fighting with the knight of the magic spring, the way to which is indicated to him by a forest shepherd who manages wild animals. Pursuing Ascalon (Esclados), the knight of the spring, he gets into his castle, where the entrance gate grating cuts his horse right after the saddle, and Evaine gets stuck in the gate. Fortunately, he meets his old acquaintance Luneta, the lady-in-waiting of the mistress of Lodina Castle, who gives him a magic ring that made him invisible, which allows him to hide from Lodina's people looking for him. Lodina's husband Esclados dies of wounds and Lodina is inconsolable. Evaine watches the grieving Lodina and falls in love with a beautiful widow, with the help of Lunette he manages to marry her. This is followed by King Arthur's visit to the magic spring, where Arthur's Kay – seneschal causes a storm by pouring water on the magic spring, just as Evaine did at the time. Evaine, who, having become a knight of the spring, inherited from the defeated enemy not only his wife and castle, but also the duty to protect the wonderful spring, fights with the sharp-tongued Kay, knocking him off his horse, hands the horse to King Arthur and invites everyone to the castle, where after a feast and entertainment, knight Gawain, his friend from Arthur's inner circle, persuades him to return to chivalrous amusements, leave his wife and go in search of adventures. Lodina releases Yvaine on the condition that he will return exactly one year later on the appointed day. This is where the first part ends. Evaine spends a year in entertainment and tournaments, and forgets about the promise given to his wife. Soon, Lodina's messenger reminds him of the broken promise and informs him that he has now been rejected and Lodina no longer wants to know him. Suddenly realizing that the love of his wife, so thoughtlessly lost by him, was the main meaning of life for him, Evaine goes crazy from grief and wanders in the forest like a wild man, having lost his clothes, sometimes feeding at the hermit. In the end, another noble lady finds him sleeping and with the help of a healing potion returns his mind and health, after which Yvaine's transformation comes – he remembers that he is a knight and becomes a defender of the weak, performing various feats, starting with the liberation of the lion from the dragon snake. The lion saved by him becomes his constant companion and friend.  Finally, having accomplished many feats, with the help of a cunning trick of the same Lunette, he receives the final forgiveness of Lodina. 

   This detailed secular plot, in which a large place is given to the exploits and spiritual transformation of Yvaine, can also be considered from the standpoint of revealing its theological basis. In F. Tobin's article "Hartmann's Theological Environment" ^[10], devoted to the search for a religious basis in the texts of Hartmann von Aue's novels, the author draws several important conclusions.  Firstly, he states that Hartmann von Aue shows a religious basis in all his works, but in the text of "Yvaine" this theological component, from his point of view, is manifested to a lesser extent than in the other two ("Erec" and "Poor Heinrich").  Secondly, F. Tobin notes that the nature of the "theology" and religiosity of Hartmann von Aue's texts is connected with religious ideas transmitted through preaching from the priesthood to the laity. At the same time, the focus of the author's attention when analyzing the texts of Garman von Aue is focused on the relationship of knights and their lovers, on the realization of an uncontrollable physical desire to possess a beautiful lady, depriving the knight of reason and contributing to his fall, which leads to the statement of the sinfulness of human nature, weakness of mind and the need for divine help ^[10].

   Despite the fact that the text of "Yvaine", from the point of view of F. Tobin is inferior to other works by Garman von Aue in its religious basis, however, the idea of this approach to the history of Yvaine can be very productive. This is due to the fact that in addition to analyzing individual characters and objects (a forest shepherd controlling wild animals – which can be compared to wild, unrestrainedly entertaining and fighting knights who need the guidance of a good shepherd; a magic spring; a tree with birds descending on it; a lion; a dragon snake, etc.), causing certain biblical associations. The plot of "Yvaine" itself, in which a considerable place is given to the description of the mental states of the hero, very vividly shows the key theme of Christian visual programs - the theme of the Fall and Redemption, and could serve not only to glorify knightly valor, but also as an edifying example of the spiritual transformation of the hero. As F. observes Tobin ^{[10, p.10]}, the human intellect, because of Adam's offense, is "clouded to such an extent that he can easily fall into a mistake, even a moral mistake, if left to himself," which is demonstrated by Yvaine's behavior. His "fall" begins in the second part of the plot, namely with the perjury of a knight who forgot about the promise he made to his wife, the beautiful lady Lodina, with whom the first part of the story ends.

   The realization of this offense leads him to the lowest point of the spiritual state – insanity and savagery, but from this almost animal state, the rebirth of Yvaine begins. The beginning of this process is his meeting with the hermit, while the life of the madman Yvaine, who forgot his own name, is somewhat similar to the life of a hermit: it is even more ascetic, without clothes, food and shelter, but unlike the hermit, Yvaine's life passes at this moment in a fog, in unconsciousness, in unconsciousness and lack of self-identification.

   This period of unconsciousness, which ended with sleeping in the nude, ended with a meeting with a lady who recognized him, healed him with her mistress's medicine, and brought him clothes. This unconsciousness, sleep and new clothes preceding healing are a kind of allusion to the birth into a new life, more precisely to the rebirth, transformation and transformation of Yvaine. From a "wild knight", overcome by passions, subordinated entirely to the traditions of court life, for the sake of which he even leaves the most precious thing for him – as he realizes later - the beloved woman and loses her love, he turns into a defender of the weak, a snake fighter, like St. George and the arch. To Mikhail. Like the holy hermits, he saves the lion, and the lion becomes his constant companion. This battle of Yvaine with the serpent and the salvation of the lion look very symbolic in the context of well-known hagiographic texts about the life of saints ^{[11, p.263; 12, p.362-368]}.  Choosing between a serpent and a lion, Evaine, as it were, makes a choice between vice and virtue, overthrowing the serpent - he overthrows vice and begins his ministry and his spiritual growth. Next, Evaine performs other feats, facing directly in battle with demonic forces, freeing 300 maidens, fighting a giant on a mountain and freeing Luneta from the impending execution. At the same time, the lion always remains his companion and assistant. Being the opposition to the serpent, he symbolically represents virtue, and the very possibility of choosing between a fighting serpent and a lion reminds of the theme of the battle of vices and virtues, based on Prudentius' "Psychomachy", so popular in the visual programs of the XII-XIII centuries.

   Yvaine's story has become a source of inspiration for a number of visualizations. For the XIII century, these are two large monumental illustrative cycles of murals in the castles of Rodenegg and Schmalkalden, which will be the focus of our attention, as well as two cycles of miniatures of the beginning of the XIV century.  In addition, there are very short cycles – a maximum of two images or representations of one scene or figure of Yvaine., which fall mostly on the XIV century. These include:

· A small ivory panel (Fig.1) made in Paris in 1330-1350 (9.7 x 5.8 cm), possibly part of a casket depicting Yvaine at the spring and a forest Shepherd, which was first in the collection of Baron Robert von Hirsch, but in 1978 was acquired by a private collector in Washington ^[13].  The scene shows Yvaine with a horse standing on one side of the spring and a forest shepherd covered with hair instead of clothes and sitting on the other side of the spring. Behind the shepherd holding a baton in his hand, a crenellated tower with a barred window rises at the extreme right edge of the panel, and a stream of water flows from the fountain bowl in front of him.  Opposite the savage, on the other side of the fountain bowl, stands Evaine and holds a bowl in his right hand, where another stream of water flows from the top of the fountain.

·          

Fig. 1. Evaine at the spring and the Shepherd. Ivory from Paris, XIV century. Image source: ^{[13, p.57, fig.1]}.

· Fragment (two scenes) of a carpet by Anna Malterer (from the monastery of St. Katharina zu Adelhausen, circa 1320) (Fig.2). Wool embroidery on linen, (63 x 485 cm.), representing the battle of Yvaine with Ascalon, and a Lunette with a ring representing Yvaine Lodine ^{[14, 36a]};

Fig.2. A fragment of the history of Yvaine. Anna Malterer Carpet (from the monastery of St. Katharina zu Adelhausen,

about 1320. (Augustinermuseum, Freiburg im Breisgau). Image source:^{[14, s.36a]}.

· Runkelstein Castle in Bolzano: the image of three knights of King Arthur as role models - Yvaine, Gawain and Lancelot on the balcony of Runkelstein Castle (Bolzano).

Fig.3 A fragment of the history of Yvaine. The decoration of the choir seats in Chester Cathedral. Image source: URL:  http://www.misericords.org.uk/chester.html

· Several English misericordia - carved ornaments of seats for the monastic choir in Lincoln, Chester, Oxford, representing one very expressive scene from the history of Yvaine – the lattice of the castle of Ascalon (Esclados) and the back of the unfortunate horse (Fig.3).

    When analyzing visual programs devoted to this subject, we encounter a significant difference in the representation of the history of Yvaine in monumental painting and in handwritten sources.

   The cycles of Yvaine in the monumental painting of the XIII century – in Rodenegg Castle and in Schmalkalden - illustrate mainly only the first part of the story. These German murals are dated 1220-1230, the creative author's translation by Hartmann von Aue of the novel by Chretien de Troyes "Evaine or the Knight with the Lion", which forms the basis of these murals, was made around 1204 or a little earlier. 

   No earlier illustrative examples than the fresco cycles of the XIII century have been found. Of the illuminated manuscripts of the XIII-XIV centuries, there are only two French manuscripts representing illustrations to Yvaine with varying degrees of detail. These manuscripts illustrate not only the initial stage of history, but also its end. The most detailed cycle is preserved in a 14th-century French manuscript from the Biblioth?que Nationale in Paris (MS. Francais 1433, ca. 1320- 1330).  Unlike the fresco cycles in castles, the illustrative series of this manuscript brings the story to a happy end, depicting in some detail the exploits of the "transformed" Yvaine. The program that we see in the castle fresco cycles ends much earlier.

The cycle of the history of Yvaine at Rodenegg Castle

   The first illustrative cycle in Rodeneg Castle has not been preserved in full detail, but it is quite a real task to get an idea of its program.  Some fragments of scenes have been lost, but a lot of material has been preserved, so we can talk not only about iconography, but also about the style of painting.

The painting begins on the entrance wall from the right corner, far from the entrance, if you stand inside, facing the front door, and ends with the presentation of Yvaine Lodine.  The order of the scenes is shown in the diagram (Fig.4.).

Fig. 4 The history of Yvaine. Scheme of murals in Rodenegg Castle. Image source: ^{[15, s.46, Abb.5]}.

The remaining space on the wall does not imply the possibility for further detailed development of the plot – there were 3-4 scenes on the wall (Fig.5).

Fig.5 History  Yvaine. A fragment of the painting of Rodenegg Castle. 

Tyrol. Image source: ^{[15, Abb.XII]}.

The first scene is poorly preserved. Apparently, this is a scene with a lady standing in the doorway, who accompanies a knight sitting on horseback, which represents the beginning of the story in the castle of a hospitable host who sheltered first Kalogrenan for the night, and later Yvaine himself, after which their path lay to the forest shepherd.  It is quite possible that this may be Kalogrenan, with whose defeat in the battle with Ascalon and his return to the hospitable castle, the story begins. On the next wall, the artist depicts the meeting of Yvaine with the forest shepherd, Yvaine at the magic spring and his battle with the knight of the spring, in which Yvaine inflicts a mortal wound on the enemy.

Fig. 6 Evaine and the forest shepherd. Evaine is at the source. Yvaine's battle with the Knight of the Well.

A fragment of the painting of Rodenegg Castle. Tyrol. Photo of the author.

   The following are presented: the return to the castle of the wounded Ascalon and the pursuing Yvaine; Ascalon's death in the castle; the lover Yvaine, spying on Lodina with the help of a Lunette when she gives the order to find her husband's killer; the unsuccessful search for Yvaine in the castle by Lodina's people. This cycle ends with a scene when Luneta brings Yvaine to Lodina, persuading her to consider his candidacy as a future husband and defender of the castle. At the same time, Lodina is sitting in deep sadness – she has yet to decide to marry her husband's killer.

   Thus, the main episodes of the program are scenes dedicated to the glorification of the knightly prowess of Yvaine and Ascalon, and scenes unfolding in the castle of Ascalon, which also include very expressive and emotional characters – stupid courtiers of Lodina, clumsy and unable to cope with the tasks assigned to protect the castle, search for Yvaine and revenge their master (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7 The history of Yvaine. A fragment of a painting in Rodenegg Castle. Tyrol. Photo of the author.

   The cycle of frescoes in Rodenegg Castle visualizes only the first part of Yvaine's story, before his marriage to Lodina.  This question is directly related to the dating of frescoes, the problem of which, as well as the question of the artist and the customer remains in the field of discussion ^{[16, s.6]}. Nicolo Rasmo, who was engaged in the restoration of murals in Rodenegg Castle, first proposed to date these frescoes to the period 1200-1220 ^{[17, s.71, 13]}, but soon inclined to the opinion that an earlier dating is possible - around 1200 ^{[18, s.26]}. The possibility of earlier dating is also supported by X . Shklenar ^{[19, s.179f.]}, V. Mertens ^{[20, s.72f]} and A. Masser ^{[21, s. 394-397]}. Volker Shoop, leaving the final solution of the dating issue to the stylistic analysis of the frescoes, shares the assumption that such an abbreviated program of the cycle may be related to the earlier dating of the Rodenegg frescoes and the possibility of their creation based on an unfinished version of the novel that could have been known in Rodenegg Castle, even before its completion ^{[16, S.6]}.

The cycle of the history of Yvaine in Schmalkalden Castle

The second cycle dedicated to the history of Yvaine is a painting dating from the period 1220-1230, which decorated the vault and walls of a small room on the ground floor in the Hessenhof in the city of Schmalkalden (Thuringia) ^[22]. The cycle of frescoes in Hessenhof is not available for visiting due to the state of preservation, but copies of the frescoes have been recreated in a similar architectural space in the Wilhelmsburg Castle Museum (Schmalkalden).  The vault of the room is divided into seven tiers, in which the narrative scenes smoothly flow into one another, the feast scene is presented separately on the wall in the arcosolium. The iconographic program of the painting consists of the following episodes ^{[15, Abb.XIII; 20]}:

1st register – the celebration of Pentecost at the court of King Arthur (scene in the royal chambers); Evaine sets out and meets a forest shepherd with wild animals; the next episode, perhaps, should represent hospitality in the castle, but the preservation of the painting leaves this question open.

2nd register – Evaine at the magic spring; Battle with Ascalon; Evaine pursues Ascalon; Evaine gets stuck in the castle gate; Luneta gives him a magic ring that makes him invisible.

3rd register - Lodina mourns Ascalon, who lies on his deathbed; Ascalon's people are looking for  Yvaine; Luneta advises Lodina a new marriage; Yvaine appears before Lodina (Fig. 8).

Fig.8. The history of Yvaine. Painting in Schmalkalden Castle (drawing). The first part.

Image source: ^{[15, Abb.XIII]}.

4th register. Lodina consults with her courtiers; Evaine and Lodina announce the upcoming marriage; marital peace.

A large wedding feast scene is presented separately in the arcosolium.

Fig.9. The scene of the wedding feast in the arcosolium. The story of Yvaine. Painting in Schmalkalden Castle (drawing).

Image source: ^{[15, p.107. Abb.10]}

5th register – King Arthur at the magic spring; Evaine fights with Kay; Evaine gives Kay's horse to the king; Lodina greets guests.

6th register – Evaine leaves Lodina, going on knightly exploits; Arthur's farewell; Evaine goes to meet adventures; Evaine fights with a snake.

In the 7th register, the images are lost.

Fig. 10 The history of Yvaine. Painting in Schmalkalden Castle (drawing).

 The second part. Image source:^{[20, tab.II]}.

The cycle ends with Yvaine's battle with the serpent and finding the lion as a friend and ally. A number of scenes that happened to Yvaine before his encounter with the lion and the serpent are omitted here. Thus, the cycle in Schmalkalden summarizes: going on exploits, Evaine fights evil and vice (the serpent) and finds goodness and glory, symbolically represented by a lion. No madness, loss of memory, violation of the oath and other negative fragments of history are presented here.

Cycles of illustrations of the history of Yvaine in manuscripts

    Of the known manuscripts of the period under consideration, representing the text of the history of Yvaine, there are only two known illuminated manuscripts - a manuscript of the late XIII – early XIV century from the library of Princeton University (Garrett125) and a French manuscript (fr.1433) from the Bibliotheca Nazionale in Paris of the first half of the XIV century.

    Comparing their visual interpretations of Yvaine's story, Nancy Black notes that an analysis of the scenery of medieval illuminated manuscripts showed that "certain illuminations or illuminating programs were, in fact, 'readings' or 'interpretations' of the text, which provide us with important clues as to how medieval readers understood certain written texts. While the decorations in some manuscripts seem to be simply decorative or perform mainly mnemonic or structural functions,"the illustrations of two famous manuscripts by Yvaine Chr?tien de Troyes are two additional examples of manuscripts, "the illustrations of which provide visual interpretations of the text; and because of their sharp differences from each other, represent examples of two opposite interpretations of the same text among medieval readers" ^[23]. She states that the earlier manuscript emphasizes themes "that relate to heroism and war, literally in the text; the later author of the program was mainly interested in love and human relationships," more expressive in general ^{[23, p.45]}.There are also differences in the arrangement of thumbnails on the page and in the distribution of visual space between the plots.

    In the Garrett 125 manuscript, as a rule, the miniature occupies most of the sheet and represents one scene, according to the principle "one miniature is one event", in manuscript 1433 – the miniature usually occupies half of the sheet, is enclosed in a rectangular frame and divided into independent compartments, each of which represents its own episode, and there is a a certain connection.

   In the Garrett 125 manuscript, Evaine is illustrated with seven illuminations, including one initial A and six miniatures. The manuscript was collected in the XIX century and the order of the sheets is not consistent, it includes three works, the sheets with the texts of which are mixed with each other, so there is no consistent presentation of the text. In addition, the manuscript lacks four leaves of Yvaine's text ^{[23, p.46]}. Nancy Black sees the programmatic basis of this illustrative cycle in the juxtaposition of love and hate, the ideas of harmony and disharmony, peace and war ^{[23, p.54-57]}.

   The program of illustrations of Yvaine's story in the Princeton Ms. Garriett 125 manuscript begins with the initial “A”, which shows how Kalogrenan tells about his journey to the source and defeat in battle. At the moment of the story, the queen comes out of the bedroom door, turning a hand gesture to the standing Kalogrenan with a request to continue the story. In the center of the stage, Kay, the royal seneschal, who did not have time to get up at the appearance of the august person, is sitting with a dissatisfied face, facing Kalogrenan. According to the text of Chretien de Troyes, Kay in this scene reproaches Kalogrenan for standing up first of all to greet the queen. The color scheme of the characters' clothes is limited to red and blue-purple shades, while the red color highlights the main characters of the scene – Kalogrenan, Kay and Queen Guinevere (MS Garrett 125, fol.40r). The next scene is dedicated to the marriage of Yvaine and Lodina (MS Garrett 125, fol.52r).

   Thus, the program of illustrating the story of "Yvaine" in this case includes only the beginning and the end of the first part of the narrative, after which, skipping all the scenes that relate to Yvaine's violation of the promise given to Lodina, his madness and wanderings in the forest, his miraculous salvation, the illustrator immediately turns to the scene of the lion's liberation from the serpent.  In such a visual interpretation of Yvaine's story there are no theological allusions: the ideas of "fall and redemption", a shepherd, a spring, a hermit supporting Yvaine during his madness, there is not even a battle with Ascalon (Hartmann von Aue) or Esclados (according to Chr?tien de Troyes). There is only a noble knight who, after marrying a beautiful lady, goes to perform feats. In the scene of the battle with the serpent and the liberation of the lion, Evaine is represented in armor, on a horse and with a shield on which the coat of arms in the form of a lion is already depicted, although the events associated with this image in the plot under consideration have not yet occurred (MS Garrett 125, fol.37r).

   Then, as expected, the knight's exploits are presented: the battle of Yvaine with a giant (MS Garrett 125, fol.56v); the battle of Yvaine with three opponents (one of whom would have to represent Kay, which is not reflected by the artist in any way!) in defense of Luneta (MS Garrett 125, fol.58v); Yvaine's battle with two demonic offspring (MS Garrett 125, fol.52r); Yvaine's final battle with Gawain (MS Garrett 125, fol.38r) (see URL: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9936584593506421 ). In all these scenes, the knight is represented with a sword, on horseback, in full military attire, but with an open face, and only in the scene of the battle of Yvaine with Gawain, both knights are represented in visors. This fact can easily be explained by following the illustrator's plot, according to which Evaine and Gawain fought without recognizing each other.

   In the manuscript of the beginning of the XIV century from the Paris National Library (fr. 1433), which can be found in digitized form on its website (URL: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b105096493 ), the illustrative cycle consists of ten miniatures, including nine illuminations enclosed in a rectangular frame, occupying about half a page, and one initial “L”, in which a rather abstract image of a knight on a white horse (fol.61r) is presented.  Just as in the Princeton manuscript, in the Paris manuscript the illustrations are placed in close connection with the text.  The illustrative series, however, begins somewhat earlier, with the story of Kalogrenan, a relative of Yvaine. The first scene represents the battle of Kalogrenan and Esclados, the knight of the spring (fol.65r), followed by the scene of Yvaine's visit to the hospitable castle (fol.67 v). The third miniature presents several scenes – the battle of Yvaine and Esclados, the scene of Yvaine's conversation with Lunette and the mourning of Exclados in the castle (fol.69v). The fourth scene represents the funeral of Esclados (fol.72v). The fifth miniature is dedicated to the battle of Yvaine with Kay in the presence of King Arthur (fol. 80v), the sixth miniature includes several scenes – a fatal message from Lodina; madness and savagery of Yvaine; treatment  Yvaine is a familiar lady and his first feat is the battle with the serpent and the liberation of the lion (fol.85). Next, the following miniature illustrates the main exploits of Yvaine: the meeting of Yvaine and Lunette, imprisoned in the chapel; the battle of Yvaine and the giant; the battle of Yvaine with three opponents and the liberation of Lunette (fol.90). Sheet 104 (fol.104) also shows a series of scenes: the arrival of Yvaine, together with a companion asking for protection, in a castle subject to demons, where the weaver maidens were imprisoned; the battle with demons and the release of 300 maidens, finally, the battle of Yvaine and Gawain, who do not recognize each other, their recognition and meeting.  Moreover, the last three scenes are included in one compartment of this miniature. The miniature itself consists of four parts, each of which is enclosed in its own frame. The final miniature illustrates in some detail the happy reunion of Yvaine and Lodina (fol.118).

   So, unlike the text of the novel by Chretien de Troyes, in which a rather complex plot unfolds, manifested both in events and in the relationship between the characters, the illustrative cycle of the Princeton manuscript (MS Garrett 125) completely lacks the idea of transformation and development of the hero and draws a fairly static image of the "noble knight", which is an example for imitation, which limits the moral aspect of this illustrative series. The author of the illustrations, in this case, presenting the plot, presents Yvaine in a literal and figurative sense as a knight clad in armor, showing only one of his main advantages – military valor. In comparison with this illustrative series, the image of Yvaine in the cycle of frescoes of Rodenegg Castle, shows the hero as an emotional, subject to spontaneous decisions of a person. It is no coincidence that the author of the program includes in it not only a battle scene with Ascalon, which certainly occupies a dominant place in the painting system of this hall, but also a small episode when the hero in love in confusion peeps at Lodina through a secret window with a Lunette (Fig.11).

Fig. 11. Evaine, spying on Lodina. Castle Rodenegg. 1200-1230gg. Tyrol.

Image source: ^{[15, Abb.XIVb]}.

   Evaine in the paintings of Rodenegg Castle appears not as an ideal generalized hero, but as a lively and emotional person. The other characters involved in the scenes in the castle of Lodina are also very expressive and emotional. They are partly grotesque characters, which leaves a vivid and vivid impression of the picturesque narrative on the wall.

   The program of the fresco cycle in Schmalkalden is somewhat more detailed, and longer than the program at Rodenegg Castle, here the wedding feast is shown, and the arrival of King Arthur with his retinue to the spring, and the battle of Yvaine with the arrogant Kay, who was knocked off his horse right in front of the monarch's eyes.  Evaine, however, fully corresponds here to the image of the ideal knight. Leaving his beautiful lady to serve the noble ideals of goodness and justice, he immediately enters into battle with the serpent and frees the lion. The scene of the wedding feast, occupying the entire space of the arcosolium on the wall, rhythmic paintings representing the entertaining story of the noble knight - all this would perfectly entertain guests during the feast, fully conforming to the possible wishes of the secular customer. However, such a program, however, as well as the program at Rodenegg Castle, does not demonstrate the spiritual transformation of the hero at all, and not only does not raise the theme of "fall - redemption", which forms the religious basis of the plot of Chretien de Troyes and Hartmann von Aue, but, on the contrary, as well as in the subsequent illustrative series of the Princeton manuscript, it seems specifically avoids all episodes in which the knight might not look too perfect.

   In the illustration of the manuscript from the Bibliotheca Nazionale in Paris (fr.1433), we find the most complete and detailed exposition of the plot, the most detailed and close to the text, compared with all three available detailed illustrative cycles. The story does not end with the happy marriage of Yvaine and Lodina and the departure of Yvaine, as in Rodenegg Castle, or the battle with the serpent and the liberation of the lion, as in Schmalkanden, but continues on, glorifying the knightly valor, fearlessness and compassion of Yvaine.  However, this illustrative cycle is not limited to demonstrating the exploits of Yvaine. It depicts in some detail the sad moments of his history, his madness and savagery, a happy recovery and finally, a reunion with his once abandoned wife. At the same time, we are dealing with the only secular program of illustrations of this plot, which came as close as possible to the transfer of the theological basis of the text of the poem and its structure, which can be compared with the structure of the religious text, and to identify in this visual program historical, allegorical (in the context of parallels of the secular plot with religious analogues) and tropological or moral aspects.  However, even in this case, even in the most detailed presentation, the visualization of this plot can hardly claim to complicate the semantic structure of the iconographic program, remaining at the level of three interpretative levels.

  Thus, it should be stated that, unlike the cycle of miniatures of the Paris manuscript of the XIV century, the monumental programs of the XIII century dedicated to illustrating the history of Yvaine, located in the premises of castles, are significantly simplified and demonstrate only an illustration of the most expressive and entertaining episodes of the plot, using it as an entertaining narrative. At the same time, the pictorial series is not at all overloaded with a series of events that require theological reflection or spiritual work. On the contrary, the pictorial space is devoted to the depiction of scenes of equestrian duels, the exploits of the hero – the ideal knight, or the presentation of the story of his winning the hand and heart of a beautiful lady. Such a simplified structure of the program of secular murals can be explained, apparently, by the key role of the customer, his preferences and the task of decorating the room in order to entertain guests and demonstrate the power, wealth and military prowess of the knight - owner of the castle.