The Influence of India and Persia on the Poetry of Germany | Page 3

of Mediæval Europe Concerning India and

Persia--Travellers--India and Persia in Mediæval German Poetry.
The knowledge which mediæval Europe had of India and Persia was
mostly indirect, and, as might be expected, deficient both in correctness
and extent, resting, as it did, on the statements of classical and patristic
writers, on hearsay and on oral communication. In the accounts of the
classic writers, especially in those of Pliny, Strabo, Ptolemy, truth and
fiction were already strangely blended. Still more was this the case with
such compilers and encyclopædists as Solinus, Cassiodorus and
Isidorus of Sevilla, on whom the mediæval scholar depended largely
for information. All these writers, in so far as they speak of India, deal
almost entirely with its physical description, its cities and rivers, its
wealth of precious stones and metals, its spices and silks, and in
particular its marvels and wonders. Of its religion we hear but little,
and as to its literature we have only a few vague statements of Arrian,[1]
Aelian[2] and Dio Chrysostomus.[3] When the last mentioned author
tells us that the ancient Hindus sang in their own language the poems of
Homer, it shows that he had no idea of the fact that the great Sanskrit
epics, to which the passage undoubtedly alludes, were independent
poems. To him they appeared to be nothing more than versions of
Homer. Aelian makes a similar statement, but cautiously adds [Greek].
Philostratus represents the Hindu sage Iarchas as well acquainted with
the Homeric poems, but nowhere does his hero Apollonius of Tyana

show the slightest knowledge of Sanskrit literature.[4]
Nor do the classic authors give us any more information about the
literature of Persia, though the Iranian religion received some attention.
Aristotle and Theopompus were more or less familiar with Zoroastrian
tenets,[5] and allusions to the prophet of ancient Iran are not infrequent
in classic writers. But their information concerning him is very scanty
and inaccurate. To them Zoroaster is simply the great Magian, more
renowned for his magic art than for his religious system. Of the
national Iranian legends, glimpses of which we catch in the Avesta (esp.
Yt. 19), and which must have existed long before the Sassanian period
and the time of Firdausi, the Greek and Roman authors have recorded
nothing.

But Europe was not limited to the classic and patristic writers for
information about the Orient. The points of contact between the Eastern
and Western world were numerous even before the Portuguese showed
the way to India. Alexandria was the seat of a lively commerce between
the Roman Empire and India during the first six centuries of the
Christian era; the Byzantine Empire was always in close relations,
hostile or friendly, with Persia; the Arabs had settled in Spain, Southern
Italy and Sicily; and the Mongols ruled for almost two centuries in
Russia. All these were factors in the transmission of Oriental
influence.[6] And, as far as Germany is concerned, we must remember
that in the tenth century, owing to the marriage of the emperor Otto II
to the Greek princess Theophano, the relations between the German
and Byzantine Empires were especially close. Furthermore the
Hohenstaufen emperor, Frederick II, it will be remembered, was a
friend and patron of the Saracens in Italy and Sicily, who in turn
supported him loyally in his struggle against the papacy. Above all, the
crusades, which brought the civilization of the West face to face with
that of the East, were a powerful factor in bringing Oriental influence
into Europe. The effect they had on the European mind is shown by the
great number of French and German poems which lay their scene of
action in Eastern lands, or, as will be shown presently, introduce
persons and things from India and Persia.[7]

Of course it is as a rule impossible to tell precisely how and when the
Oriental influence came into Europe, but that it did come is absolutely
certain. The transformation of the Buddha-legend into the Christian
legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, the migration of fables and stories,
and the introduction of the game of chess furnish the clearest proofs of
this.

But direct information about the East was also available. A number of
merchants and missionaries penetrated even as far as China, and have
left accounts of their travels. Such an account of India and Ceylon was
given as early as the sixth century by Cosmas, surnamed Indicopleustes.
The names of Benjamin of Tudela (about 1160 A.D.) and of Marco
Polo (1271-1295) are familiar to every student of historical geography.
The Mongol rulers during the period of their dominion over China were
in active communication with the popes and allowed Western
missionaries free access to their realm. A number of these missionaries
also came to India or Persia, for instance Giovanni de Montecorvino
(1289-1293),[8] Odorico da Pordenone