Thesis (MA) -- Stellenbosch University, 1975. / No Abstract Available

Exactly a hundred years after the publication of Lutwin's Eva und Adam for the first time, this study hopes to revive interest in a work which can be regarded as part of an important European literary tradition: the translation into the vernacular of the Latin apocryphal account of the postlapsarian lives of Adam and Eve. In view of this a translation into English of the Middle High German text has been included, in order to assist in the comparison of the various versions of the legends in the vernacular. In recent years translations have been made of Old Irish and Old French versions but not of any of the Middle High German versions. Of these Lutwin's poem is the most extensive and arguably the most interesting. A late copy of the work is all that has come down to us, but the mid-fifteenth century Codex Vindob.2980 contains twenty-nine illustrations which occupy a virtually unique place within Adam and Eve iconography and need no justification for their inclusion in this study.

Von der großartigen Kultur des Erzählens im Mittelalter zeugen noch heute die höfischen Romane. Wenig aber weiß man von der Praxis des Erzählens: Wo, wann und zu welchen Anlässen wurde erzählt? Welche sozialen Funktionen erfüllte das Erzählen? Welche Regeln des Erzählens galten in den Vortragssituationen? ... Der Fokus dieses Beitrages richtet sich auf das 'Erzählen beim Reiten', das hinsichtlich seiner Bedingungen und Funktionalität zu analysieren sein wird. Ziel dieser Untersuchung ist es, Erkenntnisse über textimmanentes Erzählen zu gewinnen, die Aussagen über die erzähllogische und handlungslogische Funktionalität von Metadiegesen zulassen, und - perspektiviert auf noch zu schreibende synchron und diachron angelegte, vergleichende Analysen - ein mittelalterliches Verständnis vom 'Erzählens' (in Erzählungen) rekonstruieren zu können.

The introduction contains separate studies of the manuscripts, their orthographies, the rhymes, metre and treatment of source material. Both the orthographic studies and the rhyme—grammar reveal Athis to be a CG poem with no real evidence of Rhenish provenance. The metrical studies, dealing with vowel collision and units of one and three syllables, show how the <u>Athis</u> poet pursued various legitimate rhythmic options in his attempt to introduce variation to the tedium of regular alternation. The most positive results emerge from the comparison of <u>Athis</u> with its OF source, the <u>Roman d'Athis</u>. The dependence of the German text on the OF poem can be proved through misunderstandings of lines and part—lines of the <u>Rd'A</u> enshrined in proper names in the German text. By far the most important aspect of the German poet's adaptation is his sense of history. Ancient Rome and Athens are presented in an entirely different way in the German text. In particular, the large scale descriptions of ceremonies and major events are scenically developed under the influence of medieval historiographic ideas. Further supplementary source material is provided by a Pseudo—Ovidian treatment of <u>Pyramus and Thisbe</u> and a number of medieval military and judicial customs associated with Roman models. In general <u>Athis</u> is shown to be indebted to a medieval German self—awareness of <u>Romanitas</u>.

In this thesis, a literary historic path on the development of the lyric expression of courtly love will be created. The path will take us from the Provence through Germany and Sicily, and up to the Tuscany of the thirteen's century. The poetic characteristics of the hohe Minne and dolce stil novo will be particularly highlighted in order to facilitate the comprehension of their similarities and differences. It is understood that it will not be possible to offer a complete interpretation of the two lyric expressions. Rather, this thesis wishes to offer a basis for the development of further comparative studies between the German and Italian lyric expressions that were inspired by the Provencal courtly love. As representatives of the evolution of the poetry of love in Germany and Italy, Walther von der Vogelweide and Guido Cavalcanti were chosen for the innovative character of their poetry and the artistic quality of the results they achieved.

This thesis is the first book-length study of Johannes Schiltberger's Reisebuch, the German-language account of the Bavarian crusader's approximately 30-year captivity and enforced travels in the Middle East under the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I (r. 1389-1403), the Turko-Mongolian warlord Timūr (r. 1370-1405) and his successors. It investigates the Reisebuch's representation of the Orient. My reexamination of the manuscript and print transmission from c. 1450 to 1600 has shown that there were various versions of the Reisebuch in circulation, and I base my reading of the work on this basic multiplicity and variety. This variance is pertinent for a literary interpretation of the Reisebuch because the manifest narrative and material transformations go hand in hand with differing thematic foci, narratological and representational strategies, so that one can confidently contend each version of the Reisebuch negotiates a distinct relationship with the eastern 'other'. I argue that the transmission diverges into three strands as (1) an abridged chronicle that emphasises the complexity of political and military relations in the East; (2) a proto-ethnographic account with a focus on religious diversity; and (3) six paratextual reconceptualisations of the Reisebuch as Turcica in early print. In short, my study engages with the transmission and transformation of material, on the one hand, and with the consequences of this creative process for cultural ideas, on the other: it asks what role 'rewriting' - deliberate and inventive adaptation - plays in the Reisebuch's portrayals of the East. My thesis therefore provides not only the first in-depth reading of Schiltberger's Reisebuch as a 'medieval multi-text' (a term coined by Iain Macleod Higgins to indicate the inter-textuality and intra-textuality common to the medieval travel account) but highlights its representational process as multiple, polyvocal and dynamic.

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This research report deals with the function of the figure of Death in German literature from the 14th to the 16th century and its early Latin predecessors. This thesis aims to give an overview of such texts, written predominantly in Latin until the first half of the 15th century and also in German from the second half of the 15th century. From the overview of the texts, it is evident that the figure of Death was employed mainly by reform-oriented groups within the Church in texts whose contents had a socio-religious bias. This, together with an analysis of the possible recipients of the texts, provides support for the thesis that these groups must have used the figure of Death within the social context of the period (from the 12th to the 16th century) in an attempt to protect the interest of the Church as an institution as well as its strong influence on society. The time span from the 14th to the 16th century is then subdivided into two epochs. The first epoch encompasses the period from the 14th century to the beginning of the Reformation; the second epoch encompasses texts dating from the beginning of the Reformation. Several texts from each epoch are analysed in detail in order to prove the thesis. The choice of texts takes into account the dominant church reform groups as well as the most relevant genres of the time. This investigation shows that the church established its hold on society, on the one hand, by keeping the higher clergy and the nobility in the place assigned to them by the concept of "ordo", and on the other hand, by directing social criticism at the people of high standing, and so appeasing the lower classes who were looking to heretical groups for the realization of their spiritual needs and social ambitions. Reform was thus seen by the reform-oriented people within the Church as upholding the "God-given" social order, related to the Great Chain of Being, by all estates. The more this order crumbled because the real political power-brokers had changed, the more universal the criticism of the figure of Death became. After the Reformation, however, the universality of social criticism was increasingly restricted to the local level, being mainly aimed at rich individuals within the city population. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1989.