The Legend of Saint George in Jindřichův Hradec (Neuhaus) and the Problem of Ambivalence in Courtly Culture 193 I room’s decoration, it is necessary to note its position. Firstly, it is placed below the narrative strips with the hagiographic narrative; secondly, it is hidden on the rear side of a double niche, so that it is not immediately apparent from all directions. Such a location can be understood as an expression of hierarchical thinking – earthly love, even if recognised as important and celebrated by courtly poets – has to be understood as something less important in comparison with the legend of the saint. This hierarchical reasoning would have consequences for the functions of images in real life – the knights, departing for their military actions, had to sacrifice temporary earthly pleasures in favour of their higher mission, represented by the heroism of the saint. Before discussing the forms and functions of this heroism in more detail, it is useful to recall a second, library in Amiens.23 Earlier monumental examples of this iconography in public spaces include the tympanum of the cathedral in Ferrara (1135).24 There were two main directions in which this sequence of scenes could be read. The first was rooted in the context of chivalric culture, based on the values of courtly love, which was represented in Hradec by a lively tradition of minnesang. The Minnesänger Ulrich von Liechtenstein and the poet Ulrich von Eschenbach had served the patron’s father, Ulrich II of Hradec († before 1312).25 A similar range of meaning is usually associated with a disputed scene in the niche opposite the window in the same room, depicting two kneeling figures facing each other: a young man is pointing to a lady with uncovered long blonde hair (fig. 9). When trying to understand the meaning of this scene in the system of the Fig. 9 Jindřichův Hradec, castle, great hall, north-eastern wall, niches with depiction of a couple (photo: open source/Matěj Baťha) Fig. 7 Jindřichův Hradec, castle, great hall, south-eastern wall, St George meets the Virgin on the Mountaing (photo: I. Gerát) Fig. 6 Jindřichův Hradec, castle, great hall, south-eastern wall, Farewell to the Virgin (photo: I. Gerát) Fig. 8 Jindřichův Hradec, castle, great hall, south-eastern wall, St George’s Dragon Fight (photo: I. Gerát)
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