(Katie of Heilbronn or The Trial by Fire) (1807–1808) is a "great historical knightly play" (German: ) in five acts by the German playwright Heinrich von Kleist. The action of the drama takes place in Swabia during the Middle Ages.
Performances
The play was first performed at the Theater an der Wien on 17 March 1810 and then published in the same year. Originally, the first two acts appeared separately with the play Phöbus, also by Kleist. Although the play has gained respect among modern audiences, it was originally largely rejected. Goethe, who was director of the theatre at Weimar when it was written, refused at first to present it, calling it "a jumble of sense and nonsense." It was also passed over by the Dresdener Hoftheater and the Berliner Schauspielhaus, and in Germany the play was initially only seen in Bamberg's less famous theatre.
List of characters
The Emperor
Gebhardt, Archbishop of Worms
Friedrich Wetter Count von Strahl
Countess Helena, his mother
Eleonore, her niece
Knight Flammberg, the Count's vassal
Gottschalk, the Count's servant
Brigitte, Housekeeper in the Count's castle
Kunigunde von Thurneck
Rosalie, her chambermaid
Sybille, Rosalie's stepmother
Theobald Friedborn, Armorer from Heilbronn
Käthchen, his daughter
Gottfried Friedborn, her fiancé
Maximilian, Burgrave of Freiburg
Georg von Waldstätten, his friend
Ritter Schauermann, his first vassal
Ritter Wetzlaf, his second vassal
The Rheingraf vom Stein, Kunigunde's fiancé
Friedrich von Herrnstadt, Friend of the Rheingraf
Eginhardt von der Wart, Friend of the Rheingraf
Graf Otto von der Flühe, Counselor to the Emperor and Judge of the Secret Court
Wenzel von Nachtheim, Counselor to the Emperor and Judge of the Secret Court
Hans von Bärenklau, Counselor to the Emperor and Judge of the Secret Court
Jakob Pech, an innkeeper
Three gentlemen from Thurneck
Kunigunde's old aunts
A boy
A night watchman
Numerous knights
A herald, two coal miners, servants, messengers, pursuers, and people
Synopsis
Act 1 – In a cave of the Secret Court (Vehmgericht) lit by a single lamp
The play begins in the secretly convened court in which Theobald, a blacksmith in the town of Heilbronn, accuses Count von Strahl of bewitching Theobald's young and beautiful daughter Käthchen Theobald. Käthchen, says the blacksmith, shows an "unnatural possession" when Count von Strahl enters the shop, bowing before him "as if struck by lightning". Käthchen is also accused of following the Count and then throwing herself out of a second story window in his presence. Interrogated to the point of being bullied, Käthchen confesses to never having been bewitched. The esteemed Count is found not guilty of making advances toward Theobald's daughter, and the court dismisses the case against him entirely.
Act 2 – In a forest near the cave of the Secret Court. Later in the mountains near a coal miner's hut. It is night with thunder and lightning
At the beginning of Kleist's second act Count von Strahl yearns for Käthchen in a monologue. It becomes increasingly evident that he is not capable of acting on these feelings, given the vast social class divisions between them. We also learn of the Count's enemy, Kunigunde, whose impending lawsuits would take away much of Strahl's rightful lands. Kunigunde's former suitor, Maximilian Frederick, however, has kidnapped her. Strahl unknowingly defeats his enemy's capturer and frees Kunigunde. The rules of hospitality at the time require that he invite her back to his castle, whereupon she learns of a dream. The dream indicates that he will find his future bride in the daughter of the emperor. Kunigunde, aware of the information, presents herself as this prophesied woman. Soon, the Count is considering making Kunigunde his wife.