Opinions on Socail Differnces
In his novel, Grimmelshausen speaks of the utter despair that the social differences caused among the people. He has suggested that the peasant class actually were to blame themselves for some of the ills that visited them regularly. He speaks of many derogatory things that the peasants undertook, and they received the same rewards. This behavior is characteristic of the soldiers who formed the peasant class and can be used by Historians who need to study the social class of medieval Germany. It must be remembered that sufficient mobility existed among the peasant class who could take up different professions in their social class.
For gluttony and drunkenness, hunger and thirst, wenching and dicing and playing, riot and roaring, murdering and being murdered, slaying and being slain, torturing and being tortured, hunting and being hunted, harrying and being harried, robbing and being robbed, frighting and being frighted, causing trouble and suffering trouble, beating and being beaten: in a word hurting and harming, and in turn being hurt and harmed- this was their whole life (Chapter xv).
Again the noble class despised the peasant class because they lacked dedication and determination in fighting for a cause. The nobility believed that peasants were not dependable, were treacherous, and would run away at the first chance in a battle. The author has narrated that it was this reason that soldiers from the peasant class were never promoted or rose to higher posts.
“thou old cripple, is not true that nobly born officers be better respected by the soldiery than they that before time have been but servants? And what discipline in war can ye find where no respect is? Must not a general trust a gentleman more than a peasant lad that had run away from his father at the plow-tail and so done his own parents no good service?” (Chapter xvii)
The author also speaks of Jews who he portrays as greedy and treacherous who would as well betray a friend as a foe. When the vagabond who has come to wealth seeks the services of a Jew to sell his possessions and is cheated by him (Chapter xxii)
Grimmelshausen is of the very firm opinion that a person from the peasant class is destined to remain in his own social class, and it would take only the intervention of the nobility to help a peasant from his class to a higher one. He speaks of how Melchior, who was a swineherd by birth and profession, rose to be a Jester and then as a Huntsman when he ventured into the garrison town of Hanau, where he is captured by the soldiers, who want to imprison him. It is only at the intervention of the pastor that Melchior is released and given a job as a court jester in the role of a calf. The irony and the bitterness are underplay here as the vagabond realizes that a calf is always fattened up before its slaughter. His role as a jester provides him an opportunity to talk with impudence with his master, the Governor of Hanau. The jester berates the Governor and calls him the most troubled man in the town since the Governor, in addition to his work, is answerable for this misdeed of the garrison soldiers for whom loot and banditry are perfectly acceptable. The Governor cannot sleep at night because of the burden of managing the town, and there is the added misery that he does not know how much money has been looted and how much he would actually get. The author also speaks of the delusion that the peasant class suffers and the blind hopes and aspirations they have.
“tis not untrue that I have often fancied I must have drawn my birth from some great lord or knight at least, as being by nature disposed to follow the nobleman’s trade had I but the means and tools for it. ‘Tis true, moreover, without jesting, that my birth and upbringing can be compared to that of a prince if we overlook the one great difference in degree. How ! did not my dad (for so they call fathers in the Spessart1) have his own palace-like any other, so fine as no king could build with his own hands, but must let that alone forever. ‘Twas painted with lime, and in the place of unfruitful tiles, cold lead and red copper was roofed with that straw whereupon the noble corn doth grow(Chapter xxvii)”.
Historical Social References in the Novel
To a great extent, many events that are enacted in the novel speak of the 30-year war. Many minor battles and skirmishes have been mentioned in the war, and while the exact dates have not been given, the effects of the war have been given in detail, and these events can be used by Historians. In the book, the author speaks of Nordlingen, a city in southern Germany, and the hardship that Melchoir faced.
Now when lately the Battle of Nordlingen6 was lost and I, as thou knowest, was cleanly stripped of all and also evilly handled, I fled hither for safety; besides, I had here my chief possessions (Chapter xxii).
How Historians can use the novel
The novel dwells at length on the various social conditions, social hierarchies, and class structures of medieval Europe and Germany. It has depicted in detail how the peasant class made of farmers, soldiers, tradesmen, cart drivers, and others managed to eke a living. It also brings to light the utter callousness that of the nobility towards these people. To a certain extent, the novel can serve as a log of events of the social structure and interactions that existed in those times. Many incidents and wars narrated in the novel can be verified, and this lends authenticity to the story. Overall, the condition of the lower classes and the social stratification between the rich and poor, and the various forces in the society can be taken as approximations of medieval German society. But it should be remembered that the author was a novelist, and he was writing a work of fiction. To what extent he invented the quirks and behavior of the society can be only guessed or estimated by checking other works of the same period.
References
The Simplicissimus Project (2002), ‘H.J.C von Grimmelshausen, The Adventurous Simplicissimus, trans. A.T.S. Goodrick: London: Heinemann, 1912.