Ulrich von Zatzikhoven
German poet and writer
Ulrich von Zatzikhoven was the author of the Middle High German Arthurian romance Lanzelet. Ulrich's name and his place of origin (Zezikon in Switzerland) are only known definitively from the work itself. However, it is generally accepted that Ulrich is the same person as a lay priest ("Leutpriester") from Lommis in the canton of Thurgau by the name of Uolricus de Cecinchoven, who occurs as a witness to a deed of gift dated 29 March 1214, executed by the family of the Counts of Toggenburg in favor of the monastery of St. Peterzell.
The Middle High German verse romance Lanzelet is Ulrich's only known work, and is an imitation of an unknown Old French Arthurian romance. The hero of the work is Sir Lancelot, whose story had also been told a little earlier by Chrétien de Troyes in his Le Chevalier de la Charrette (Knight of the Cart). However, the content of Ulrich's Lancelot romance differs considerably from that of Chrétien's. Ulrich himself calls his model daz welsche buoch von Lanzelete ("the Welsh book of Lancelot"), and claims that it came to Germany in the luggage of the Anglo-Norman nobleman Hugh de Morville, one of the hostages held alongside King Richard the Lionheart. Richard was imprisoned by the Staufen Emperor Henry VI from 21 December 1192 to 4 February 1194, so Ulrich would have had to become acquainted with the book during this period. By extension, it is presumed that Lanzelet was produced not long after 1193 in an unknown place.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ulrich von Zatzikhoven” as german poet and writer. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as german poet and writer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 15, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q70392. VIAF identifies the subject as 95222765. The Library of Congress control number is n50061687. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1214, 1192, 1194 and 1193.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ulrich von Zatzikhoven”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ulrich von Zatzikhoven primary sources, Ulrich von Zatzikhoven archive and Ulrich research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ulrich von Zatzikhoven”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ulrich von Zatzikhoven” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.