Awakening of the Spirit: Wartburg

A w a k e n i n g o f t h e S p i r i t :
W a r t b u r g

H i g h a b o v e
E i s e n a c h , a b o v e
t h e d a r k f o r e s t s
o f T h u r i n g i a ,
" t h e g r e e n h e a r t
o f G e r m a n y " ,
r i s e s t h e
i m p o s i n g
s i l h o u e t t e o f
W a r t b u r g C a s t l e ,
" t h e m o s t
G e r m a n " o f a l l
c a s t l e s .

1 0 0 0 y e a r s o f t u r b u l e n t h i s t o r y h a v e
s h a p e d t h i s s i t e , w h i c h u n i t e s t h e
m o s t d i v e r s e c u r r e n t s o f s p i r i t u a l
a n d c u l t u r a l l i f e i n o u r c o u n t r y .

B u t w h a t i s t h e m a g i c o f t h e W a r t b u r g ,
w h o s e s i g h t s o c a p t i v a t e s t h e b e h o l d e r ?

The most illustrious names in German spiritual life are associated with this site:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was enthralled by the ancient building in its
picturesque setting, which he visited several times and captured in drawings.
King Ludwig II of Bavaria was also captivated by the aura of the place. During
his visit to Wartburg Castle in 1867, he asked to be allowed to visit the
magnificent halls alone, so that he could let the flood of impressions take effect on
him without being influenced.
And Richard Wagner found the appearance of the myth-laden fortress a "ray of
light" and made it the setting for his Tannhäuser.

M a r t i n L u t h e r , f l e e i n g f r o m t h e e m p e r o r ' s
h e n c h m e n , h a d a l r e a d y f o u n d r e f u g e
w i t h i n t h e w a l l s o f t h e f o r t r e s s .

"As soon as the gold in the casket rings,
the rescued soul to heaven springs"
i s s a i d t o h a v e b e e n p a i n t e d o n t h e m o n e y b o x t h a t t h e
i n d u l g e n c e p r e a c h e r a n d D o m i n i c a n m o n k J o h a n n T e t z e l
u s e d i n t h e M a g d e b u r g r e g i o n a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 1 6 t h
c e n t u r y o n b e h a l f o f P o p e L e o X a n d C a r d i n a l A l b r e c h t o f
B r a n d e n b u r g t o c o l l e c t t h e p r o c e e d s o f h i s d e a l i n g s w i t h
t h e s a l v a t i o n o f t h e f a i t h f u l .
F o r g i v e n e s s o f s i n s a g a i n s t p a y m e n t , b a s e d o n f i x e d
t a r i f f s . F o r e x a m p l e , a m u r d e r c o u l d b e a t o n e d f o r w i t h
f o u r d u c a t s . E v e n a d o c u m e n t t h a t g u a r a n t e e d f u l l
f o r g i v e n e s s o f s i n s f o r r e l a t i v e s w h o h a d a l r e a d y d i e d w a s
a v a i l a b l e f o r p a y m e n t o f t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g s u m .
S o u r c e E n g l i s h q u o t e :
J o h a n n T e t z e l - C a l l i p e d i a ( m i r a h e z e . o r g )

A f t e r f u t i l e p r o t e s t s a g a i n s t t h e s e i m m o d e r a t e
e x c e s s e s , M a r t i n L u t h e r r e s o r t e d t o a d r a s t i c m e a n s :
a c c o r d i n g t o t r a d i t i o n , a t d a w n o n 3 1 O c t o b e r 1 5 1 7
h e n a i l e d a d o c u m e n t w i t h 9 5 t h e s e s a g a i n s t
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l a b u s e s t o t h e d o o r o f t h e c a s t l e
c h u r c h i n W i t t e n b e r g . W i t h t h i s a c t t h e A u g u s t i n i a n
m o n k h e r a l d e d a n e w e r a : T h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e
R e f o r m a t i o n , t h e r e n e w a l m o v e m e n t o f t h e e n t i r e
c e n t u r y .
O n e o f t h e 9 5 t h e s e s r e a d :
" T h e t r u e t r e a s u r e o f t h e C h u r c h i s t h e M o s t H o l y
G o s p e l o f t h e g l o r y a n d g r a c e o f G o d . "
Source German quote : https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/95_Thesen

The disputes with the German dignitaries and the Pope in Rome,
Leo X, ultimately led to the event that made Martin Luther worldfamous:
On 18 April 1521, in the presence of Emperor Charles V, before
the highest representatives of the secular and ecclesiastical
powers, he proclaimed the historic sentence:
"Here I stand. I have no other choice.
God help me!
Amen."
The emperor then imposed the imperial ban on the monk,
which was practically tantamount to a death sentence.

"My
conscience
remains
captive
in God's
Word"

"My conscience remains captive in God's Word"
This quotation from the original wording of Luther's speech
sounds somewhat less imposing than the historical saying,
but it reveals what he was actually thinking:
The willingness, in his refusal to bow to the teachings of the
ecclesiastical authorities, which he recognised as wrong, and
thus rather lose life and limb than renounce allegiance to
God's Word, which would have meant placing himself
outside God's laws.
That is how powerful the voice of his conscience had
become.

Perhaps it is this attitude that still motivates
millions of people today to follow the traces
of his work?
Luther's study at Wartburg Castle.

For, perhaps, each of us in our lives is sometimes faced
with the decision to give in to the powerful pressure of
family, hierarchical, governmental or ecclesiastical
authorities or to follow what we have recognised in our
inner being as right.

On 4 May 1521, Luther, who was practically outlawed after the imposition
of the imperial ban and could be killed by anyone, arrived at Wartburg
Castle disguised as "Junker Jörg".

T h e r e , i n j u s t 1 0 w e e k s , h e
t r a n s l a t e d t h e N e w T e s t a m e n t
f r o m H e b r e w a n d G r e e k i n t o
G e r m a n . N o h i g h o f f i c e
G e r m a n , i n t e n d e d o n l y f o r
s c h o l a r s , a s b e f o r e , b u t M a r t i n
L u t h e r f o r m e d a l a n g u a g e t h a t
w a s u n d e r s t o o d b y e v e r y o n e .
A t t h e s a m e t i m e , h e c r e a t e d a
u n i f i e d l a n g u a g e o u t o f t h e
c o u n t l e s s i n d i v i d u a l d i a l e c t s
a n d t h u s p r e p a r e d t h e g r o u n d
f o r t h e g r e a t a g e o f t h e " p o e t s
a n d t h i n k e r s " .

"For Thine is
the kingdom, the power
and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen!"
With this jubilant confession, Martin Luther completes his translation of the
Lord's Prayer and thus takes up an established custom, for in Judaism and at
the time of Jesus, too, the prayers ended with praise in honour of the Creator
and Supreme Ruler of all worlds.

But it is not only this experience that is etched
into the walls of the fortress.

On the occasion of the restoration of the historical sites in the 19th
century, the painter Moritz von Schwind revived the glorious history
of the past since the founding of Wartburg Castle by Ludwig the
Leaper of 1067 in colourful frescoes.

At the same time the murals tell the story
of another rebel:
Elisabeth of Thuringia (1207 - 1231), who was later canonised, preferred a
life of renunciation and poverty to the courtly customs of her nobility.
Elisabeth, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary, was married to
Landgrave Ludwig IV of Thuringia at the age of 14. She refused to adorn
herself with the insignia of her high position, preferring to devote her life to
caring for the poor and needy, entirely in the spirit of her great role model,
Francis of Assisi, and in accordance with the saying that has come down to
us from her:
"How can I wear a golden crown when the Lord wears a crown of
thorns!"
Source of quote in German: https://www.aphorismen.de/zitat/90569

Elisabeth's Bower

One of the greatest myths in German history is the legendary Singers'
quarrel at Wartburg Castle, which is said to have begun in 1206.
Moritz von Schwind artist QS:P170,Q551901, Wartburg Saengerwettstreit, als gemeinfrei gekennzeichnet, Details auf Wikimedia Commons
Fresco by Moritz von Schwind.

Above all, the participation of the greatest minnesingers
and poets of their time, such as Walter von der Vogelweide
or Wolfram von Eschenbach, lends the event of the Singers'
quarrel a special radiance.
For during this stay at Wartburg Castle, Wolfram von
Eschenbach probably also wrote large parts of his
most famous work, the verse novel "Parzival", in
which he continued and expanded the theme of the
French poet Chrétien de Troyes' "Perceval, the Story
of the Grail".

Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France
http://expositions.bnf.fr/arthur/grand/fr_12577_018v.htm
Arrival of Parzival at the Grail Castle. He receives the sword from the hands of
the Fisher King.

While in this period of the Crusades of the early Middle Ages the
elite of Christendom sought to force their way into Jerusalem
through bloody battles, the knights and noblemen in the hymns
and novels at Wartburg Castle sought to come closer to their ideal
through a life pleasing to God.
The heroes of these poems seek not only glory and honour, but
virtue and morality, purification and redemption....in the quest for
the Holy Grail.
For, even if he feels he can never fully grasp the high,
unattainable, the human spirit will always strive for it.

One of the first to be attracted by the representation of these high
ideals was King Ludwig II of Bavaria: In 1867, shortly after the
end of the restoration of the entire structure, he visited Wartburg
Castle and was so taken with the magnificent decoration of the
chambers and halls with their colourful frescoes, mosaics and
golden columns that he had his planned Neuschwanstein Castle
built on this model.

Richard Wagner
As early as on his return journey from Paris, in 1842, when he
caught sight of the silhouette of the fortress from afar,
"unreachable, so close to heaven," the decision must have matured
in Richard Wagner's mind to make the place the setting for his
romantic opera Tannhäuser.
With this stage work, which was also inspired by the singers'
quarrel at Wartburg Castle, Wagner created a moving memorial to
the noble contest of the 13th century.
In particular, the festive hall in which regular performances of
"Tannhäuser" still take place today has thus gone down in history.

“Joyfully we welcome the noble hall…”
("Tannhäuser" - Entry of the guests of the singers' quarrel into the banquet hall,
Act 2, Scene 4 )

But it was again Richard Wagner who had taken up the theme of the
Grail quest from Wolfram's "Parzival" under a slightly different name
and with an emphasis on religious motifs.
As early as 1865, King Ludwig II of Bavaria had asked Wagner to
realize the project.
Thus, on 26 July 1882 the first performance of the Consecration play
"Parsifal" took place in Bayreuth, composed by Richard Wagner, who
understood like no other how to give voice to the human longing for
the high, eternally unattainable:

With the exception of the images on pages 26 and 28 and the quotations:
Photos and text – copyright © 2021 - Manfred Peter Luef - www.luef.co.at