GERST 4285 - Introduction to Medieval German Literature

(crosslisted) MEDVL 4295
(HB) (LA-AS)

Spring. 4 credits. Student option grading.

Anchor Course. Taught in English. Reading knowledge of Middle High German is not required; some exposure to the language will be facilitated with the aid of bilingual editions.

E. Born.

This course introduces the canon of medieval German literature: lyric poetry (Minnesang), Arthurian romance (Gottfried’s Tristan, Wolfram’s Parzival, Hartmann’s Iwein), and the heroic epic (Nibelungenlied). With a focus on twelfth-century courtly culture, we will investigate medieval problems of form, genre, and representation, as well as post-medieval approaches to materiality, hermeneutics, and textuality. Our larger questions, centering on the controversial concept of medieval alterity, will address the contested legacy of the Middle Ages in German modernity.