Rudolf von Ems

Rudolf von Ems (c. 1200 – 1254), also called in English Rudolf of Ems, was a mediaeval Austrian epic poet.

Rudolf von Ems was born in the Vorarlberg in Austria. He took his name from the castle of Hohenems near Bregenz, and was a knight in the service of the Counts of Montfort. His works were written between 1220 and 1254. He is thought to have died whilst accompanying King Conrad IV on his advance into Italy.

He was one of the most learned and also most productive poets of his time, although not all his works are preserved. Those that are, were distinguished by grace and sincerity in the narration, strict morality and technical mastery. He himself describes Gottfried von Strassburg as his ideal; this is quite credible, as he sometimes quotes literally from "Tristan". He also adopted Gottfried's technique of making literary excursuses in which he names works of contemporaries and of his own.

He is thought to have died in Italy in 1254.

Of his surviving works, the tale Der gute Gerhard (Gerhard the Good) is the oldest and also the best regarded, a depiction of Christian humility, probably based on a Latin source.

This was followed by Barlaam and Josaphat, dating from approximately 1225 to 1230, taken from a Latin translation of a Greek version of the story of the conversion of an Indian prince to Christianity (a story which is believed in fact to be that of the Buddha, at many removes); and by Wilhelm von Orlens, the story of the childhood love of Willehalm and Amelie, who are among the most famous lovers of the Middle Ages.

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