Medieval Literacy and Textuality in Middle High German: Reading and Writing in Albrecht’s Jüngerer Titurel

206 Pages·2007·1.002 MB·English

by  Annette Volfing (auth.)

MEDIEVAL LITERACY AND TEXTUALITY
IN MIDDLE HIGH GERMAN
ARTHURIAN AND COURTLY
CULTURES
The dynamic field of Arthurian Studies is the subject for this book series, Arthurian and Courtly Cultures,
which explores the great variety of literary and cultural expression inspired by the lore of King Arthur,
the Round Table, and the Grail. In forms that range from medieval chronicles to popular films, from
chivalric romances to contemporary comics, from magic realism to feminist fantasy—and from the sixth
through the twenty-first centuries—few literary subjects provide such fertile ground for cultural elabo-
ration. Including works in literary criticism, cultural studies, and history, Arthurian and Courtly Cultures
highlights the most significant new Arthurian Studies.
Bonnie Wheeler, Southern Methodist University
Series Editor
Editorial Board:
James Carley, York University
Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, George Washington University
Virginie Greene, Harvard University
Siân Echard, University of British Columbia
Sharon Kinoshita, University of California, Santa Cruz
Alan Lupack, University of Rochester
Andrew Lynch, University of Western Australia
MEDIEVAL LITERACY AND
TEXTUALITY IN MIDDLE
HIGH GERMAN
READING AND WRITING IN ALBRECHT’S
JÜNGERER TITUREL
Annette Volfing
MEDIEVALLITERACYANDTEXTUALITYINMIDDLEHIGHGERMAN
Copyright © Annette Volfing, 2007.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007 978-1-4039-7017-6
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2007 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
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Union and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-53177-6 ISBN 978-0-230-60722-4 (eBook)
DOI10.1057/9780230607224
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Volfing, Annette.
Medieval literacy and textuality in Middle High German : reading and writing
in Albrecht’s Jüngerer Titurel / Annette Volfing.
p. cm.—(Arthurian and courtly cultures)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Albrecht, von Scharfenberg, 13th cent. Jüngere Titurel—Criticism, Textual.
2. Romances, German. I. Title.
PT1501.A4T4347 2007
831(cid:2).22—dc22 2007061458
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: September 2007
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Katinka and Anja
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
I The Narrative Universe
1 Literacy and Textual Culture: Letters, Lettering, and Literature 13
2 First and Second Language: Names, Etymologies, and
Natural Phenomena 33
3 The Brackenseil and the Grail: Chasing the Texts 51
II The Narrators and the Author
4 ‘Albrecht,’ ‘Wolfram,’ and vrou Aventiure: Arguing
with the Text 75
5 Justifying the Text: The Poetological Program 97
Conclusion 125
Notes 129
Bibliography 181
Index 197
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Iwould like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council for awarding me
a term of special research leave to enable me to complete this book.
I have received valuable input from a large number of friends and colleagues.
I am particularly grateful for the continuous stream of advice and help which I have
received from Undine Brückner, Alastair Matthews, Stephen Mossman, Nigel
Palmer, and the other members of the Medieval German Seminar at Oxford.
I would also like to thank Henrike Lähnemann, Timothy McFarland, and Kerstin
Rüther for their comments on draft chapters.