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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 article compares depictions of objects of memory in medieval German literature including "Gregorius" by Hartmann von Aue, "Parzival" by Wolfram von Eschenbach, and "Melusine" by Thüring von Ringoltingen. The powers and cultural aspects of the various objects described in the literature are analyzed.

The motivation to study one or more foreign languages can be vastly improved through a travel experience. But I propose a structured travel course through various European countries focusing on a specific topic, such as the history of the Middle Ages. As part of this travel experience, students also acquire basic knowledge of various languages and gain a new understanding of the wealth of linguistic differences in the global community. This article analyzes a questionnaire handed out to a group of students at the end of a three-week summer travel course and argues that a multi-language exposure can have tremendous, long-term effects on students because they gain a new degree of inspiration and motivation to acquire more than one, if not many, foreign languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies social contacts between Europeans and representatives of other races that may have facilitated the development of the idea of tolerance. Latent imperialistic elements illustrated by the portrayal of the Saracen princess in medieval French texts; Portrayal of Saracen princesses as ideal characters deserving to be admired for their character, morality, beauty and inner strength in the literary works of German writer Wolfram von Eschenbach.