Gregorius – the Holy Sinner

A medieval tale of incest and redemption by Hartmann von Aue (ca. 1200)

Hartmann's astonishing story, 'Gregorius', recounts how a young man, at first unaware of the curse of his incestuous origins, searches for his path in life, comes close to death, and finally finds redemption, reunited in spiritual harmony with the woman who is at once his mother, aunt, and wife.

Benjamin Bagby, leiken, Jasmina Črnčič

The story in brief: Gregorius begins life as a nobleman's son in Aquitaine, secretly born of incest between twins, brother and sister, and as a newborn is put out to sea in a small boat, left to fate, provided with gold and a note about his aristocratic origins. He is later found by a fisherman, survives, and thrives in a monastery, becoming a promising scholar and the favorite of the abbot who nurtured him. But he turns his back on a spiritual life, following instead his dream to become a knight. The young knight rescues an unmarried noblewoman and her people from an attacking army, and marries her, but later realizes that his marriage is incestuous – he has married his own mother, who had given him up as a baby. Horrified, he flees into the wilderness to live as a starving hermit, seeking forgiveness from God. A fisherman agrees to abandon him on a lonely rock in the sea, even locking him in leg irons. After 17 years of this cruel penitence, his presence is revealed in visions to high churchmen in Rome, who seek a holy man to become the next Pope. Discovered, emaciated and near death, he is brought back to Rome and declared Pope, triumphing over his dark past. This humble penitent performs miracles and heals the sick, and Rome's church bells ring of their own accord in rejoicing. Finally, he is reunited with his mother/aunt/wife, who is also searching for release from her sins. They live out their days with forgiveness, grace, and a completion of the circle of love.

This ancient story reaches far into the past, where we sense the tragic presence of Oedipus and even the unwavering, transformative spirit of Job in its most fateful moments. Hartmann confronts us with one of the most difficult transgressions imaginable (two cases of incest), a basic human taboo made more deeply painful since it was unintentional and remained hidden. But he shows us that even such a dark sin can be forgiven, as long as the believer never yields to despair – it is despair alone which pushes all sinners outside the loving circle of divine forgiveness and grace. Hartmann teaches us, through his powerful story, about the need of the soul to heal itself, responding to the worst snares of the Devil with the transformative power of self-knowledge, perseverance, and love.

This tale has remained alive throughout the ages. As late as the mid-20th century, Hartmann's Gregorius inspired the Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann to re-tell the story in modern prose, published under the title of 'Der Erwählte' (The Chosen One) in 1952.

Although the medieval version by Hartmann von Aue survives in multiple text manuscripts, his tale was not intended for silent reading but was usually told orally: sung, spoken, and accompanied, for courtly gatherings of sophisticated listeners who could never get enough of a good, long 'series' performed by professional minstrels. Sequentia's reconstruction of Hartmann's masterpiece features three singers (performing in the original Middle High German verse), two of whom also play Romanesque harps, to retell this story in the same style which captivated binge-listening courtly audiences in the years around 1200.

The musical sources for our reconstruction include the masterful large-scale creations of the Minnesänger Heinrich von Meissen (a.k.a. Frauenlob), who drew on a long tradition of modal music creation in Germany. His monumental setting of the Song of Songs is based on a repeating cycle of the eight musical modes and has inspired our work. We have also accessed the musical works of the itinerant Spruchdichter, including satirical and philosophical poets such as Meister Alexander.