Osprey - General Military - Knight - The Warrior and ... - Brego-weard

Ulrich von Lichtenstein, depicted in the 13th-century Manesse Codex. He is shown riding to tournament, his lance
tipped by a coronel and displaying his heraldry on surcoat, shield and comparison. (Mary Evans Picture Library)
single combat and mass melee, breaking a total of
307 lances and awarding 271 rings. His fame spread
throughout the region, yet even this was not enough
for his lady. He was to suffer further indignities in her
pursuit, including dressing as a leper and being
urinated on by a watchman whilst in hiding outside
her castle, but it was only when he undertook to go
on crusade that she finally offered her love, although
Ulrich refrains from telling us how she did so.
Whether Ulrich's tale is true or not, it was most
certainly exaggerated and composed primarily for
the amusement and entertainment of his fellow
courtiers. It embodies the combination of courtly
love and knightly virtue that lay at the heart of
chivalry in the high middle ages, and his exploits, at
least as he recounts them in his book, far surpass
those of his namesake on the silver screen.