The Forest in Medieval German Literature
Ecocritical Readings from a Historical Perspective- Authors:
- Publisher:
- 2015
Summary
By pursuing an ecocritical reading, The Forest in Medieval German Literature examines passages in medieval German texts where protagonists operated in the forest and found themselves either in conflictual situations or in refuge. By probing the way the individual authors dealt with the forest, illustrating how their characters fared in this sylvan space, the role of the forest proved to be of supreme importance in understanding the fundamental relationship between humans and nature. The medieval forest almost always introduced an epistemological challenge: how to cope in life, or how to find one’s way in this natural maze. By approaching these narratives through modern ecocritical issues that are paired with premodern perspectives, we gain a solid and far-reaching understanding of how medieval concepts can aid in a better understanding of human society and nature in its historical context. This book revisits some of the best and lesser known examples of medieval German literature, and the critical approach used here will allow us to recognize the importance of medieval literature for a profound reassessment of our modern existence with respect to our own forests.
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Bibliographic data
- Copyright year
- 2015
- ISBN-Print
- 978-0-7391-9518-5
- ISBN-Online
- 978-0-7391-9519-2
- Publisher
- Lexington, Lanham
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 243
- Product type
- Book Titles
Table of contents
- Contents No access
- Acknowledgments No access
- Introduction and Theoretical Reflections No access Pages 1 - 38
- 1 Hartmann von Aue’s Concept of the Forest No access Pages 39 - 62
- 2 The Forest as Staging Ground for the Heroic Protagonist No access Pages 63 - 80
- 3 The Forest in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Works No access Pages 81 - 102
- 4 The Forest in Gottfried von Straßburg’s Tristan and in Alternative Tristan Versions No access Pages 103 - 120
- 5 The Forest in Der Melerantz von Frankreich by The Pleier No access Pages 121 - 138
- 6 The Forest as the Transitional and Transformative Space in Konrad von Würzburg’s Partonopier und Meliur No access Pages 139 - 164
- 7 The Ambivalence of the Forest: Exile or Safe Haven? No access Pages 165 - 182
- 8 Forest in Thüring von Ringoltingen’s Melusine No access Pages 183 - 210
- Epilogue No access Pages 211 - 216
- Bibliography No access Pages 217 - 240
- Index No access Pages 241 - 243





