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Recent debates about the future of academia have focused primarily on teaching the STEM subjects. This is certainly a valuable call for action, but it also threatens to ignore the significant contributions of the humanities and other fields. This article presents a workable alternative by way of looking at more technical writings by 18th-century German Jesuit missionaries in Sonora (today Mexico and Arizona), which invites a critical analysis of the data provided by those authors about the natural environment and the social conditions and also a thorough examination of "literary" texts at the same time from a humanistic perspective. Those narratives also serve as meaningful documents for all German students in the Southwest because they indicate the importance of the German language for the study of the local history going back almost two hundred years.

In the late Middle Ages, aristocratic and urban circles competed against each other for esteem, legitimacy, authority, and fame. Family chronicles gained significant importance in that process, but we can also identify a definite discourse on dynastic interests in historiographical terms in contemporary literature. This study illuminates in three cases how individual authors conceived of the notion of dynasty and traced the rise and/or fall of their protagonists. Even in the case of an utter demise, the topic itself, the emergence and development of a dynasty, appealed to the wider readership, as reflected in some of the major late medieval German prose narratives and novels. The concept of a mythical origin of the family was particularly attractive, but also the miraculous rise from a low social status to the rank of a king, unheard of in reality, of course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the historical importance of Low German in the northern region of Germany. It explains that Low German was widely used in literary, legal, and religious works until the seventeenth century when High German replaced it. Today, Low German is primarily spoken in rural areas, with some traces in cities like Lüneburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck, and Rostock. The article highlights various perspectives on the identity of the region and the significance of linguistic features in relation to political entities. It also explores specific examples of influential works in Low German, such as the Saxon Mirror and the epic Sassine. The article concludes by acknowledging the contributions of this volume to the study of Middle Low German history and literature. [Extracted from the article]

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed a tremendous growth of globalism, at least in terms of European outreach and interest. We can identify this phenomenon particularly well through two different and independent sources, first, the publication of Adam Olearius's Vermehrte Newe Beschreibung der Muscowitischen vnd Persischen Reyse, 1647, and then the growth of Jesuit reports about their missionary activities all over the world carefully collected and published by Joseph Stoecklein ca. hundred years later in his highly popular Welt-Bott, compiled and published since 1726. Globalism is, of course a complex term, both for today and for the past. Everything depends on the narrator's perspective, the engagement with the other culture/s, and the reciprocity. Olearius appears to have achieved a major breakthrough with his travels to Russia and then later to Persia, introducing much of Persian culture to Germany. The Jesuits (Eusebio Kino, Ignaz Pfefferkorn, Joseph Och, et al.) provided their German (!) readers with astoundingly precise comments and reports about the New World in northern Mexico and in the province of Sonora (today, partly Arizona), while their many colleagues globally contributed their own reports about all four corners of this world. Combining these two perspectives, we can identify a very early but already very strong effort to learn more about the foreign world, to overcome the otherness (from a Eurocentric perspective), and to create a global platform far beyond what travelogue authors such as Marco Polo or Odorico da Pordenone had achieved in the fourteenth century, irrespective of their extraordinarily extensive travels to China. This paper, however, will begin, after I have reflected on the latest theoretical approaches to Global Studies, with a most unusual eye-witness account from ca. 1350, and then pursue the discourse on globalism as it developed over the following centuries, crossing several periodical barriers and bridging different narrative genres within the Germanlanguage context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout time, alcohol has been used by people all over the world, and its negative effects have commonly been the subject of many comments by critics and poets. Medieval literature is actually filled with references to wine and its excessive consumption. This paper examines the evidence we can find primarily in medieval German literature, but it also includes parallel remarks by didactic and religious writers, along with those by some English, French, and Italian contemporaries who addressed the same issue. While the criticism voiced is loud and clear, the literary treatment of drinking of wine ‒ rarely of beer, mead, or ale ‒ allows us to gain a deeper insight into the basic everyday-life conditions at that time. Reports about excess only reflect the common consumption of wine especially among aristocrats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We always face a certain danger when we investigate cultural-historical situations or conditions. Our chronicles and other documents tend to emphasize dramatic, if not tragic cases that color our understanding in rather dark light. This also applies to the relationship between Jews and Christians during the late Middle Ages, which has been discussed already from many different perspectives. Less consulted have been late German medieval verse narratives (verse-couplets, or mæren), where we encounter a number of times quite remarkable frameworks which situate the Jews in a much more mundane, ordinary context. As much as the poets endeavored, of course, to present the possibility of converting Jews to Christianity, as much they thereby also reveal a variety of different relationships characterized by a surprising degree of normalcy, free from the usual anti-Judaic hostility. We gain additional support for our approach by way of including two prose novellas by Boccaccio in his Decameron (ca. 1350). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite renewed efforts to establish world literature, most of the presently available theoretical models do not provide solid concepts as to the meaning and relevance of this approach. After a critical review of recent publications, this article analyzes a unique and most revealing case, the reception of medieval Persian literature (Sa'dī) through translations into European languages beginning in the seventeenth century, primarily by the German diplomat, traveler, librarian, philologist, and linguist Adam Olearius. Here we can observe what truly constitutes world literature, with Sa'dī serving as a major literary inspiration for early modern reflections on virtues and vices, relevant also for Western audiences. He was not a Christian, but the poet's truly noble ideals were to have a deep impression on his future readers in East and West, especially since the early modern age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a review of how the western world has viewed Persia and Persian culture since the turn of the eighteenth century, this article explores older forms of reception of Persia, first during the seventeenth century, but then, which is the main focus, in the high and late Middle Ages. As far as I can tell, Middle High German poets seem to have been at the forefront within the European context of engaging with the topic of Persia in their romances and other genres. Many of those references, of course, constitute nothing but fiction, and they were most likely not based on practical travel experiences or personal encounters. Nevertheless, we can identify a significant interest in that part of 'the East,' probably determined by the strong impact of the myth of Alexander the Great and his conquest of the Persian empire in the third century BCE on medieval literature. However, most of the references to Persia go far beyond that ancient topic and might signal a significant opening up toward non-European culture to the east already during the high and late Middle Ages. The thematic approach identified here facilitates the combination of a number of different texts from the late twelfth to the late fifteenth and even sixteenth century and intends to provide a new puzzle piece to the exploration of the notion of the Global Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dominican priest from Bern, Ulrich Bonerius, composed his collection of fables, Der Edelstein, at exactly the same time when Boccaccio created his collection of tales, Decameron, 1350. Even though there is no direct evidence of any kind of personal contacts between these two poets, the strong similarities between both works in formal and conceptual terms prove to be striking. This article illustrates the reasons why we would be justified to call Bonerius, more than just playfully, a Germanlanguage Boccaccio, since he created the first major compilation of narratives (in verse), framed by a prologue and an epilogue, in the history of late medieval German literature. While Boccaccio has ten storytellers entertain each other over ten days (ten stories per day = 100) reflecting on eroticism, love, adventures, or anticlericalism, Bonerius offers one hundred didactic fables illustrating human failings, shortcomings, and vices. Both contemporaries thus aimed at criticizing and improving their society through surprisingly similar literary means. Bonerius thus emerges as one of the most important fourteenthcentury poets in the German tongue who deserves to be placed close to Boccaccio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative research focused on medieval literature continues to be characterized by many desiderata, especially with regard to the fruitful relationships between late medieval verse narratives, mæren, and the famous Italian storyteller Boccaccio and his Decameron. This paper brings to light four significant Middle High German verse narratives from the 13th or early-14th century that demonstrate remarkable similarities with stories contained in Boccaccio's Decameron. While the study of Boccaccio's sources has traditionally been focused primarily on Old French (fabliaux) or Latin sources, here I introduce a number of texts that were composed just a few decades earlier and which express, in surprising parallel, strikingly similar themes that could be straight from the textbook the Italian poet might have drawn from. We have, of course, no specific evidence as to Boccaccio's direct familiarity with late-medieval German literature, but the motif analysis reveals major parallels between the examples in The Decameron and in those mæren. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world of book publishing is currently undergoing a major paradigm shift, but this was already fully under way in the 1990s. In the German novel Abstieg vom Zauberberg, published in 1997 by an anonymous author under the pseudonym Jens Walther, we are given an excellent insider view of the concrete situation within literary publishing houses and how they operate behind the scene and in public to secure the best possible titles and to fend off manuscripts that appear to be trivial literature. The author proves to be highly educated in the history of German and western literature at large and also demonstrates great expertise regarding book fairs, book reviews, and book prizes, framing all this by a somewhat twisted love story involving a young author, Anna Becker, and two men, first the young Johannes Rieger, then his father Helmut Rieger, both representing the fictional publishing house Engsfeld. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medieval literature is filled with references to criminal acts, to evil characters, and so also to murder. This paper examines the complex of killing as depicted in four medieval texts, Herzog Ernst, the Nibelungenlied, Heinrich Kaufringer's "Die unschuldige Mörderin," and Elisabeth von Nassau-Saarbrücken's Königin Sibille, attempting to discriminate between manslaughter, assassination, and murder. In each case, the act of murder is rationalized and explained through a different lens, depending on the literary context. As the analysis demonstrates, already pre-modern writers were fully aware of the rich discourse on law, for which murder constituted the most egregious case. Not every murder, however, is simply condemned because at times the perpetrator seeks justified revenge, at other times the killing is condoned, if not even approved, by the king himself in order to preserve the honor of the court. Kaufringer even goes so far as to present a case where multiple murders are explained as a form of self-defense according to God's laws, whereas Elisabeth simplifies and vilifies the killing to an extreme once again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research has been done on the figure of the Carolingian emperor Charlemagne, who has certainly left an indelible mark on posterity. This study focuses on the reception history in late medieval German and Italian/Latin literature, including some references to artworks mirroring Charlemagne. Drawing on theoretical reflections on the universal process of mythmaking (Cassirer, Weber), we can recognize how much the historical figure of this mighty ruler became idealized and transmogrified throughout time and, in its charismatic function, could serve many different functions for the various writers and artists, such as Petrarch, Hans Waltheym, Elisabeth von Nassau-Saarbrucken, Hans Schondoch, Albrecht Durer, and Hans Sachs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Futhark is the property of Revista Futhark and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents discussion of the discipline and methodology of 16th-century German historical scholarship and research as of 2009 and reflects on possible changes which could occur within the field in the following 40 years. Details are particularly given noting the beginnings of a paradigm shift in literary studies outside of the traditional dialectic of the Protestant-Catholic conflict. Several changing elements in literary scholarship are highlighted, such as the examination of popular music, and travel literature. Predictions are offered suggesting the field will broaden to include a wider diversity of themes.

Even though the phenomenon of 'sarcasm' seems not yet to have existed in the pre-modern world, a careful selection of relevant texts from medieval and early modern German, Anglo-Norman, Middle English, and Latin texts amply proves the opposite. Sarcasm is possibly the worst form of comedy or humor, being biting, angry, and reflecting a sense of desperation. While previous scholarship has extensively worked on irony, satire, and parody, the existence of sarcasm at that early time also deserves to be taken into account, since it often appears to undermine harshly the idyllic impressions of courtly life and threatens to destroy the last shreds of social harmony and to remove any hope for the reconstruction of a happier form of cohabitation and collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meaning of space with respect to human beings finds vivid expression in literary texts throughout world history. But even though literary protagonists travel on a regular basis and thus experience themselves and the reality around them quite dramatically, space remained a rather vague dimension far throughout the Middle Ages. By the fifteenth century, however, we recognize a noteworthy paradigm shift regarding the perception and relevance of space as a relevant entity determining the individual's life, as reflected by poets and writers across Europe. After reviewing how most medieval poets dealt with space, this phenomenon is then discussed particularly in light of Eleonore of Austria's Pontus und Sidonia (ca. 1450-1460), where the western world of Europe in its geo-political dimension emerges perhaps more clearly than ever before and where space in concrete geo-political terms matters significantly, setting a new tone which would lead over to the early modern age and facilitated an astounding popularity of this novel far into the eighteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author focuses on the use of memory as cultural identity of German literary historians. Topics include how memory can maintain the connections between the present and the past, the important role of memory in shaping the future of individuals and literary history, and how literary historians can achieve their goal of connecting individual text with historical events.

While the experience of shipwreck can almost be called archetypal, and while poets throughout time have placed their protagonists in such dangerous and life-threatening situations, we do not know much about how late-medieval German writers reflected on it. This article examines the motif of shipwreck and personal disaster in a number of heretofore little considered works, especially the poems by Oswald von Wolkenstein, those by Michel Beheim, Heinrich von Neustadt's 'Apollonius', and Emperor Maximilian's 'Theuerdank'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent discussions on living space and practiced space in medieval and early-modern cultures provide good theoretical concepts for a better understanding of some of the late-medieval German travelogues to the Holy Land, such as Arnold von Harff's report from 1496 to 1498. Von Harff approached space differently in his descriptions of Cairo versus Jerusalem—an Islamic versus a Christian city—the religious orientation limited the urban space in the Christian world to a rigid time-space continuum, whereas Islamic cities offered considerable freedom for the Christian spectator to elaborate on new concepts of urban space determined primarily by political, mercantile, and social criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article talks about the geographic and spiritual isolation in German literature in the Middle Ages. Different representations of an island in several literary works, including the goliardic epic Herzog Ernst, Hartmann von Aue's religious legend "Gregorius," and Konrad von Würzburd's "Partonopier und Meliur," are discussed.

In this article, the author offers an introduction to late-medieval German poet Heinrich der Teichner. He was actually at the forefront of attacking failings and vices among all social classes of his time. The author discusses a range of representative works of Teichner. He also develops a picture of Teichner as a whistle-blower, a trouble-maker, and a rebel.

The history of emotions in the Middle Ages has been the subject of much debate in recent research. The essential question proves to be whether the display of emotions can be considered to be purely an aspect of performance and ritual, or whether it is also a significant feature in literary works. Whereas modern literary scholarship has assumed that the sentimental novel did not emerge prior to the eighteenth century, stressing the significance of emotions as key components in the texts of this period, the anonymous Mai und Beaflor from the late thirteenth century can be shown to be based on the development of and approaches to emotions as the most central bond underlying the human community. The social, moral, and ethical value of the characters is here defined by the degree and authenticity of their emotions, a feature which forces us to re-evaluate this previously neglected and negatively viewed late medieval romance. Moreover, the emphasis on emotions as critical elements in the development of plot points to a need to establish the specific criteria relevant to the literary genre if we are to do justice to Mai und Beaflor, rather than assessing its literary-historical value in terms of the classical Middle High German texts of an earlier period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late-medieval German literature offers many highly intriguing examples of erotic narratives structured and motivated in the manner of the fabliaux and novelle. One of these maeren, Dis ist von dem Heselin, composed sometime around 1300, presents an account of a tryst between a naive peasant maid and a young knight who barters a hare for her love. The narrative lives from the charming contrast between this young woman's ignorance of the true meaning of the word minne, or ‘courtly love,’ and the moral decline of the nobility. Whereas she freely and openly grants her love to the knight and later tells everything to her mother, who severely punishes her for her seeming stupidity, the knight's noble fiancée proves to be highly cynical and morally untrustworthy. Mocking the peasant maid during the wedding celebration and emphasizing her own intelligent behavior in hiding her numerous sexual contacts with the family's chaplain, she deeply shocks her fiancé, who then quickly changes the marriage arrangements and takes the peasant maid as his wife. The maid triumphs over the noble lady because of her simplicity, trustworthiness, and true love for the knight. Her moral infraction is easily forgiven because of her ignorance and naiveté, whereas her highly respected competitor for the knight's hand loses because she knows nothing of true love and morality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]