DOCSLIB.ORG

Kenneth Fockele (Berkeley)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Kenneth Fockele (Berkeley) Kenneth Fockele (Berkeley) PERSPECTIVES ON THE SELF: HEINRICH VON VELDEKE AS AUTHOR Through a survey of Heinrich von Veldeke's lyric, I show that the juxtaposition of distinct voices provides the audience with multiple perspectives on the speakers of the songs and thus projects an implied author who commands many domains of intellectual and aesthetic knowledge and skill. Rather than promulgating any one ethical or aesthetic ideology, he has mastered the possibilities of all. A comparison with Peter ofBlois sharpens the contours ofVeldeke's specific form of authorship, which remains removed from clerical preoccupations. Minnesang scholarship has paid too little attention to Heinrich von Veldeke. He has often been considered a special case, tangential to the main body of the German Minnesang tradition. 1 He gained this reputation in part because he came from near Maastricht in Limburg, a region far from most poets of the Minnesang. Rather than representing the culture ofthe Low Countries or of Germany univocally, he straddled both over a varied career. His lyrics have been overshadowed by the reception ofhis majornarrative work, Eneit, translated from the Old French Roman d'Emias into Middle High German. Less studied is his legend of St. Servatius, translated from the Latin into a Maaslandic dialect of Low German. His linguistic abilities, as well as the allusions in his works, suggest that Veldeke received some education at a cathedral or monastery school. 2 In part because Veldeke attributes the impe­ tus for his translations of the two narratives to several historically attested patrons, Countess Agnes of Loon, Sexton Hessel of the monastery of Serva­ tius in Maastricht, and Count Palatine Hermann (who became Landgrave Hermann I) in Thuringia, his career has been the subject ofmuch biographi­ cal interest and speculation.3 Yet despite the scholarly focus on his Eneit and 1 See Bemd Bastert, "Möglichkeiten der Minnelyrik. Das Beispiel Heinrich von Veldeke", in: Zeitschrift for deutsche Philologie 113 (1994), pp. 321-344, here pp. 321-326. 2 Renate Kistler has demonstrated how weil Ve1deke knew the Latin antecedents for his Eneit. Renate Kistler, Heinrich von Veldeke und Ovid, Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1993. 3 See The Life ofSaint Servatius. A Dual-Language Edition ofthe Middle Dutch Legend of Saint Servatius by Heinrich von Veldeke and the Anonymaus Upper German Life 242 Kenneth Fockeie his life, Veldeke's lyric oeuvre is, in both its themes and genres, one ofthe most varied and sophisticated in all of Minnesang. It is commonplace to see the lyric ofWalther von der Vogelweide as a project of self-fashioning that extends beyond the fictive roles within his songs to Walther himself.4 As I will argue, the fashioning of an authorial persona is not new in Walther's lyric: it can already be seen in the songs of Veldeke before him. The contrasts in tone, form, aesthetic tradition, philosophy of Iove, and the identity of the speaking voice that appears in his varied songs generate a productive tension in Veldeke's oeuvre. This tension gives the impression there is someone behind the scenes pulling the strings, a figure who has a privileged position of insight. Thus the poet casts hirnself in the role of a skilled and knowledgeable man who has mastered the aesthetic and moral possibilities inherent in courtly lyric: in other words, an author. 5 In particular, Veldeke demonstrates how a lyric poet can carve out an identity for hirnself as an author not through consistency, but through variety. Contrary to scholarly preoccupations, he does not simply transmit new of Saint Servatius, trans., with Commentary and lntroduction by Kim Vivian et al., Lewiston, NY et al.: Edwin Meilen Press, 2006, pp. 229 f., lines 2927 f., 2943-2945; Heinrich von Veldeke, Eneasroman, Mittelhochdeutsch/Neuhochdeutsch, ed. and trans. by Dieter Kartschoke, Stuttgart: Reclam, 1986, lines 353,14-20. On the histo­ rical details that can be gleaned about Veldeke's life, see especially Joachim Bumke, Mäzene im Mittelalter. Die Gönner und Auftraggeber der höfischen Literatur in Deutschland. 1150-1300, München: Beck, 1979, pp. 113-118,356, n. 306. A thorough overview ofthe facts and the speculation may be found in John R. Sinnema, Hendrik van Veldeke, New York: Twayne, 1972, pp. 11-33. On Hermann's court as a literary center, see Ursula Peters, Fürstenhof und höfische Dichtung. Der Hof Hermanns von Thüringen als literarisches Zentrum, Konstanz: Universitätsverlag Konstanz, 1981. 4 See, for example, Horst Wenzel, "Typus und Individualität. Zur literarischen Selbstdeutung Walthers von der Vogelweide", in: Internationales Archiv für Sozialgeschichte der deutschen Literatur 8 (1983), pp. 1-34, here pp. 28-34; Watther von der Vogelweide, The Single-Stanza Lyrics, ed. and trans., with Introduction and Commentary by Frederick Goldin, New York/London: Routledge, 2003, p. 2; Mary M. Paddock, "Speaking of Spectacle: Another Look at Walther's 'Lindenlied"', in: The German Quarterly 77 (2004), pp. 11-28, here pp. 12 f.; Peter Gilgen, "Singer of Himsetf', in: David E. Wellbery et al. (eds.), A New History of German Literature, Cambridge, MA et. al.: Betknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004, pp. 102- 106, here p. 103; Lydia Miklautsch, "Das verstellte Ich. Heinrich von Morungen und Watther von der Vogelweide", in: Matthias Meyer I Alexander Sager (eds.), Verstellung und Betrug im Mittelalter und in der mittelalterlichen Literatur, Göttingen: V&R unipress, 2015, pp. 157-174, here p. 167. 5 Wayne Booth has defined a similar concept for fiction, which he calls the "implied author", a version ofthe seifthat the author creates in his prose. Wayne C. Booth, The Rhetoric of Fiction, Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 2 1983 [1961], pp. 67-77. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mouvance and Authorship in Heinrich Von Morungen
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/87n0t2tm Author Fockele, Kenneth Elswick Publication Date 2016 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang by Kenneth Elswick Fockele A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in German and Medieval Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Niklaus Largier, chair Professor Elaine Tennant Professor Frank Bezner Fall 2016 Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang © 2016 by Kenneth Elswick Fockele Abstract Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang by Kenneth Elswick Fockele Doctor of Philosophy in German and Medieval Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Niklaus Largier, Chair Despite the centrality of medieval courtly love lyric, or Minnesang, to the canon of German literature, its interpretation has been shaped in large degree by what is not known about it—that is, the lack of information about its authors. This has led on the one hand to functional approaches that treat the authors as a class subject to sociological analysis, and on the other to approaches that emphasize the fictionality of Minnesang as a form of role- playing in which genre conventions supersede individual contributions. I argue that the men who composed and performed these songs at court were, in fact, using them to create and curate individual profiles for themselves.
    [Show full text]
  • Ann-Kathrin Deininger and Jasmin Leuchtenberg
    STRATEGIC IMAGINATIONS Women and the Gender of Sovereignty in European Culture STRATEGIC IMAGINATIONS WOMEN AND THE GENDER OF SOVEREIGNTY IN EUROPEAN CULTURE EDITED BY ANKE GILLEIR AND AUDE DEFURNE Leuven University Press This book was published with the support of KU Leuven Fund for Fair Open Access Published in 2020 by Leuven University Press / Presses Universitaires de Louvain / Universitaire Pers Leuven. Minderbroedersstraat 4, B-3000 Leuven (Belgium). Selection and editorial matter © Anke Gilleir and Aude Defurne, 2020 Individual chapters © The respective authors, 2020 This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Non-Derivative 4.0 Licence. Attribution should include the following information: Anke Gilleir and Aude Defurne (eds.), Strategic Imaginations: Women and the Gender of Sovereignty in European Culture. Leuven, Leuven University Press. (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) ISBN 978 94 6270 247 9 (Paperback) ISBN 978 94 6166 350 4 (ePDF) ISBN 978 94 6166 351 1 (ePUB) https://doi.org/10.11116/9789461663504 D/2020/1869/55 NUR: 694 Layout: Coco Bookmedia, Amersfoort Cover design: Daniel Benneworth-Gray Cover illustration: Marcel Dzama The queen [La reina], 2011 Polyester resin, fiberglass, plaster, steel, and motor 104 1/2 x 38 inches 265.4 x 96.5 cm © Marcel Dzama. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner TABLE OF CONTENTS ON GENDER, SOVEREIGNTY AND IMAGINATION 7 An Introduction Anke Gilleir PART 1: REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMALE SOVEREIGNTY 27 CAMILLA AND CANDACIS 29 Literary Imaginations of Female Sovereignty in German Romances
    [Show full text]
  • Legitimating Limburgish: the Reproduction of Heritage
    4 Legitimating Limburgish The Reproduction of Heritage Diana M. J. Camps1 1. Introduction A 2016 column in a Dutch regional newspaper, De Limburger, touted the following heading: “Limburgse taal: de verwarring blijft” (Limburgian lan- guage: the confusion remains). In its introduction, Geertjan Claessens, a jour- nalist, points to the fact that it has been nearly 20 years since Limburgish was recognized as a regional language under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML2) but asks “which language is recog- nized?” (Claessens 2016). In 1997, Limburgish, formerly considered a dialect of Dutch, was acknowledged by local and national authorities as a regional language under the ECRML. In his editorial, Claessens points to the multi- plicity of dialects that constitute Limburgish as a regional language, each with their own unique elements and nuances. As such, expert opinions about how to conceptualize Limburgish as a “language” still widely differ, and nego- tiations and tensions about how to write Limburgish continue. Despite the creation of an official spelling standard in 2003, Claessens asserts that these discussions about spelling norms will not see an end any time soon. Spelling was also highlighted in a Limburgian classroom I observed in 2014, where nearly a dozen adult students focused on the reading and writ- ing of their local Limburgian dialect. Rather than framing spelling as a potential point of debate, however, the teacher presents an instrumentalist view, stating: dit is een spelling en dat is als ‘t ware een technisch apparaat om de klanken zichtbaar te maken want dao geit ‘t om [. .]en dat is ‘T grote idee van de spelling [pause] de herkenbaarheid this is a spelling and that is in essence a technical device to make the sounds visible because that is what it is about [.
    [Show full text]
  • Der Eneasroman Heinrichs Von Veldeke Eine Analyse Der Dido-Eneas-Geschichte in Der Bilderhandschrift Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Mgf 282
    Corso di Laurea magistrale in Scienze del Linguaggio Tesi di Laurea Der Eneasroman Heinrichs von Veldeke Eine Analyse der Dido-Eneas-Geschichte in der Bilderhandschrift Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, mgf 282 Relatrice Ch.ma Prof.ssa Anna Cappellotto Correlatore Ch. Prof. Massimiliano Bampi Laureanda Silvia Ballestrazzi Matricola 868019 Anno Accademico 2018 / 2019 Inhaltsverzeichnis Einleitung ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Kapitel I: Die Antikerezeption im Mittelalter ............................................................................... 9 1.1. Translatio imperii und translatio studii ............................................................................. 9 1.2 Die Rezeption der antiken Autoren ................................................................................... 10 1.3. Der thüringische Hof als Zentrum der Antikerezeption ................................................... 19 Kapitel II: Heinrich von Veldeke und sein Werk ........................................................................ 31 2.1. Die Servatiuslegende ........................................................................................................ 33 2.2 Die Lieder .......................................................................................................................... 35 2.3 Der Eneasroman ...............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Of the Codex Manesse
    The crests and coats-of-arms in the Grosse Heidelberger (Manesse) and Weingartener Liederhandschriften M A N Cod.Palat.Germ.848 Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek W L H HB XIII 1 = Poet.Germ. 1 Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek Edited by Steen Clemmensen CONTENTS: Introduction 2 Manuscripts and editorial approach 2 Date, content and relations 3 References 6 Grosse Heidelberger (Manesse) Liederhandschrift 8 Weingartener Liederhandschrift 26 Ordinary of arms 28 Name index 30 © Steen Clemmensen, Farum, Danmark, 2008, www.armorial.dk Introduction: The miniatures with scenes of chivalry and coats-of-arms from the Codex Manesse or Grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift are probably the most used illustrations for both fiction and non- fiction books and articles on the Middle Ages. As such many of these are well-known to both armorists and interested members of the general public. The Manesse and the related Weingartner manuscript are collections of german medieval romantic poetry (Minnesang) with illustrations of the authors of the poems selected. All miniatures from both manuscripts are published in full colour and with extensive comments, and the Manesse is also available at the website of the Heidelberg University. This short editions of the coats of arms is merely intended as a key to the arms in the two manuscripts with short descriptions of the minstrels and notes on their relations to other armorials. The manuscripts and editorial approach The Grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift or Codex Manesse, MAN, BGH #3, Heidelberg Universitätsbibliothek, Cod.Palat.Germ.848, is written on parchment, 250 x 355 mm, presently of 426 folios, with ancient pagination in arabic numerals and some legends (omitted) in thin black ink, and contain 6000 verses by 140 poets living c.1150-c.1230, and 137 miniatures, numbered in roman numerals in heavy red ink, with 117 coats-of – arms by 4 illuminators.
    [Show full text]
  • MARS Facsimile Resources: Carleton College Gould Library Special Collections
    MARS Facsimile Resources: Carleton College Gould Library Special Collections Version 1.1. Produced by J. O’Brien, August 2008. This numbered list of facsimile documents is organized in chronological order according to the production of the original. There are currently unused numbers in each chronological bracket for future additions. To access further catalog information on any of the facsimiles, simply enter the provided call number into the online Bridge catalog. To access the facsimiles themselves, please contact the library’s Special Collections Department. You may find the following index of suggested document groups to be a helpful starting place: Biblical Manuscripts: Full Bibles: 45, 47, 93. OT texts : 1, 95. Psalters: 13, 17, 60. Gospels: 2, 8, 12, 16, 36. Apocalypses: 15, 54, 57. Books of Hours: 76, 90. Carolingian Manuscripts: 13, 15-23. History of Cartography: 53, 66, 82, 85, 87, 96, 98, 134, 136 History of Medicine: 30, 50, 55, 68, 69, 131. Incunabula: 105-119. Middle English Literature: 65. 67, 78, 79, 80, 86. Middle High German Literature: 48, 49, 51, 56, 58, 59. -5th C. 1. Codex Washingtonensis: Deuteronomy and Joshua, Early 5th C. Greek OT. BS764 .W29 1910 2. Codex Washingtonensis: The Four Gospels, early 5th C. Greek NT. BS2551 .W37 1912 3. Vergilius Vaticanus, c. 400. Major fragments of the Georgics, bks. 3-4, and of the Aeneid, with notable ilustrations. PA6804 .A73 1980 4. Vergilius Augusteus, c. 500 Fragments of the Georgics. PA6804 .A7 1976 5-7th C. 8. Rabbula Gospels, completed 586. Syriac gospels. ND3359.R3 S3 9. Leonine Sacramentary, 7th C.
    [Show full text]
  • Legitimating Limburgish 4
    4 Legitimating Limburgish The Reproduction of Heritage Diana M. J. Camps1 1. Introduction A 2016 column in a Dutch regional newspaper, De Limburger, touted the following heading: “Limburgse taal: de verwarring blijft” (Limburgian lan- guage: the confusion remains). In its introduction, Geertjan Claessens, a jour- nalist, points to the fact that it has been nearly 20 years since Limburgish was recognized as a regional language under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML2) but asks “which language is recog- nized?” (Claessens 2016). In 1997, Limburgish, formerly considered a dialect of Dutch, was acknowledged by local and national authorities as a regional language under the ECRML. In his editorial, Claessens points to the multi- plicity of dialects that constitute Limburgish as a regional language, each with their own unique elements and nuances. As such, expert opinions about how to conceptualize Limburgish as a “language” still widely differ, and nego- tiations and tensions about how to write Limburgish continue. Despite the creation of an official spelling standard in 2003, Claessens asserts that these discussions about spelling norms will not see an end any time soon. Spelling was also highlighted in a Limburgian classroom I observed in 2014, where nearly a dozen adult students focused on the reading and writ- ing of their local Limburgian dialect. Rather than framing spelling as a potential point of debate, however, the teacher presents an instrumentalist view, stating: dit is een spelling en dat is als ‘t ware een technisch apparaat om de klanken zichtbaar te maken want dao geit ‘t om [. .]en dat is ‘T grote idee van de spelling [pause] de herkenbaarheid this is a spelling and that is in essence a technical device to make the sounds visible because that is what it is about [.
    [Show full text]
  • Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang by Kenneth Elswick Fockele a Dissertation Submitted in Partial Satisfacti
    Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang by Kenneth Elswick Fockele A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in German and Medieval Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Niklaus Largier, chair Professor Elaine Tennant Professor Frank Bezner Fall 2016 Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang © 2016 by Kenneth Elswick Fockele Abstract Songs of the Self: Authorship and Mastery in Minnesang by Kenneth Elswick Fockele Doctor of Philosophy in German and Medieval Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Niklaus Largier, Chair Despite the centrality of medieval courtly love lyric, or Minnesang, to the canon of German literature, its interpretation has been shaped in large degree by what is not known about it—that is, the lack of information about its authors. This has led on the one hand to functional approaches that treat the authors as a class subject to sociological analysis, and on the other to approaches that emphasize the fictionality of Minnesang as a form of role- playing in which genre conventions supersede individual contributions. I argue that the men who composed and performed these songs at court were, in fact, using them to create and curate individual profiles for themselves. The project of these poets is to persuade the audience of their own ethical insight and aesthetic skill. Each, in his own way, seeks to portray himself as the master of all possibilities offered by courtly song. In chapter one, using the manuscript versions of a song by Heinrich von Morungen, I develop a new concept of authorship for the unstable medium of medieval lyric.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Veldeke Im Druck 1477–2020 Dieses Verzeichnis Ist Keine
    Veldeke im Druck 1477–2020 Dieses Verzeichnis ist keine eigentliche Veldeke-Bibliographie. Es umfasst bei seiner ersten Veröf- fentlichung 1000 Einträge aus einem Zeitraum von 543 Jahren. Sie haben dies gemeinsam, dass sie alle Veldeke (oder eine mit ihm identifizierte Person wie den Grafen ‚Veldeneck‘) mindestens ein- mal namhaft erwähnen. Es handelt sich ausschließlich um Drucke oder vergleichbare Veröffentli- chungen. Die wenigen nicht gedruckten Einträge sind maschinengeschriebene, in öffentlichen Bib- liotheken zugängliche Hochschulschriften. Magisterarbeiten wurden nicht verzeichnet. Alle Einträ- ge sind mit einem oder mehreren Links versehen. Sie führen in erster Linie zu frei abrufbaren Digi- talisaten, gewöhnlich direkt zur betroffenen Seite. Vor 1900 erschienene Drucke gehören in ihrer großen Mehrheit zu dieser Kategorie, alle bis JONCKBLOET 1870. Einige jüngere Drucke sind durch Vorschau auszugsweise abrufbar, viele andere nur bedingt abrufbar. Das bedeutet, dass sie entwe- der durch Logins von Universitäten und Bibliotheken, wie Aufsätze von ‚JSTOR‘ [Wikipedia ] und ‚DigiZeitschriften‘ [Wikipedia ], oder durch die Websites der Verleger gegen Gebühren zugänglich sind. Auf Digitalisate, die nur aus den USA abrufbar sind, wird nicht hingewiesen. Die meisten Drucke aus der Zeit zwischen Anfang und Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts sind in Europa noch nicht abrufbar. Ein Link führt in solchen Fällen zum ‚Gemeinsamen Verbundkatalog‘ [ GVK ] oder ‚Wor- ldCat‘ [ Wikipedia ]. Die Bibliographie verzeichnet mehrheitlich Forschungsliteratur, aber auch populärwissenschaftliche Schriften, allgemeine Literaturdarstellungen und spezielle Rezeptionszeugnisse wie Gedichte und Erzählungen über Veldeke (z. B. KOENEN 1923 und KEMP 1956). Für die Zeit vor 1800 wurde Voll- ständigkeit angestrebt, besonders für die Zeit vor GOTTSCHED s Schrift von 1745, welche den An- fang der eigentlichen Veldeke-Forschung markiert.
    [Show full text]
  • German Studies
    596 German Studies MEDIEVAL LITERATURE By Nigel W. Harris, University of Birmingham 1. General The two-volume Encyclopaedia of German Literature, ed. Matthias Konzett, Chicago–London, Fitzroy Dearborn, xxii + 1136 pp., includes up-to-date articles, with select bibliographies, on the follow- ing medieval authors: Sebastian Brant (N. Harris), Gottfried von Strassburg (W. McConnell), Hartmann von Aue (F. G. Gentry), Heinrich von Veldeke (R. Fisher), Hildegard von Bingen (A. Classen), Hrosvitha von Gandersheim (H. W. Kraft), Konrad von Regens- burg/Pfaffe Konrad (S. Calomino), Mechthild von Magdeburg (E. A. Andersen), Meister Eckhart (B. Morgan), Neidhart (G. Ehrstine), Oswald von Wolkenstein (N. Harris), Otfrid von Weissenburg (L. Archibald), Rudolf von Ems (S. Coxon), Walther von der Vogelweide (R. Fisher) and Wolfram von Eschenbach (M. E. Gibbs). Anonymous works dealt with are the Annolied (G. Dunphy), Ezzolied (R. E. Walker), Heliand (W. Hempel), Hildebrandslied (R. E. Walker), Ko¨nig Rother (S. Calomino), Ludwigslied and Merseburger Zauberspru¨che (both B. Murdoch), and the Nibelungenlied (W. McConnell). There are also entries on Arthurian romance (E. A. Andersen), biblical drama and Minnesang (both M. Chinca), Meistersang ( J. L. Flood), mystery plays ( J. E. Tailby) and Sangspruchdichtung (G. Dunphy); and separate articles are allotted to OHG and MHG (L. Archibald and W. Whob- rey), the Carolingian period (B. Murdoch), court culture ( J. Ashcroft), humanism (M. Reinhart), medieval manuscripts (W. Whobrey), mysticism (A. Classen), and indeed religion and literature (L. Archib- ald). Inevitably there are some puzzling omissions ( Johannes von Tepl, Konrad von Wu¨rzburg, Der Stricker, Kudrun), but the value of this massive encyclopaedia to the undergraduate and general reader is clear.
    [Show full text]
  • The Style and Structure of Minnesang
    THE STYLE AND STRUCTURE OF MINNESANG A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Adam Oberlin IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Professor Anatoly Liberman, Advisor May 2012 © Adam Oberlin 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation arose from discussions with my advisor and committee chair, Professor Anatoly Liberman. His tireless dedication to the full spectrum of Germanic philology was the deciding factor in my application to the University of Minnesota, and it is with gratitude that I recall five years of advice, commentary, and encouragement. I owe thanks similarly to the members of my committee, Professors Kaaren Grimstad, Ray Wakefield, and Andrew Scheil, all of whom have impacted my scholarship and interests significantly, and whose examples as teachers and mentors are worthy of emulation. Without the generous and enthusiastic support of the faculty and staff of the Department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch; the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute; the Center for Medieval Studies; the Center for German and European Studies; and other departments and institutes I would not have finished this project and several others as quickly or with as much ease. The aid of people too numerous to list here was indispensable in obtaining many fellowships, grants, teaching positions, and other opportunities. For productive conversation and convivial fellowship I wish to thank the following friends and colleagues: Val Pakis, Paul Peterson, Erik Carlson, Sharin’ Schroeder, Elissa Hansen, Chris Flack, Adrienne Damiani, Ben Utter, Basit Qureshi, Jim Frankki, Josh Davis, Doug VanBenthuysen, Steve Carey, Ilya Sverdlov, Richard Harris, Evelyn Meyer, and all of the kind and helpful people I have met at conferences across the continent.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Sara S. Poor, Alison L. Beringer, and Olga V. Trokhimenko Introduction One would be hard pressed to find a person today, in 2021, particularly a scholar, who has not heard of gender and feminist studies. Its methodology and vocabulary are so familiar, so widely applied in, and so deeply interwoven with numerous disci- plines from literary criticism to history, cultural studies, and art history (to say noth- ing of social sciences like anthropology and sociology) that it is hard to imagine a time when terms such as “gender,”“femininity,” or “masculinity” sounded innovative or even radical. This collection of essays, Gender Bonds, Gender Binds,honorsAnn Marie Rasmussen, a scholar whose book, Mothers and Daughters in Medieval German Literature (1997), appeared at a time when using this vocabulary to frame the argu- ment of a study of medieval German literature was in fact a courageous act. The book was among the first studies in the field of medieval German literary criticism to use gender as a central category of analysis. 2017 marked the twentieth anniversary of this fascinating and deeply thorough analysis of several well- and also (at the time) lesser- known medieval German texts featuring mothers and daughters in conversations about love and/or sex. Yet, going beyond what German scholarship calls Motivge- schichte [thematic study], Mothers and Daughters did more than simply draw the read- er’s attention to the plight of female characters in premodern literary texts as the victims of patriarchal society. Its innovation lay rather in the author’s willingness to examine the complexity of the workings of gender in these medieval texts.
    [Show full text]