This book offers the first complete English translation of the poems by the late-medieval German (Tyrolean) Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376/1377-1445). Oswald von Wolkenstein was one of the leading poets of his time and created some of the most exciting, experimental, and also deeply religious-conservative poetry of the entire Middle Ages and far beyond. German scholarship and musicologists have long recognized the extraordinary strength and power of Oswald s Middle High German songs, both in terms of his poetic imagery and his musical performance. This book proves Oswald's uvre to be one of the most idiosyncratic and individualistic in the entire late Middle Ages. Classen reveals how Oswald continued the medieval tradition, yet was a true innovator, exploring new attitudes toward love, sexuality, travel, war, politics, language, music, and, above all, his own individuality.

The Poems of Oswald Von Wolkenstein: An English Translation of the Complete Works (1376/77–1445) (The New Middle Ages)

Literature & Fiction

Classen, Albrecht

History & Criticism

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

Tracing the Trails in the Medieval World (Routledge Studies in Medieval Literature and Culture)

"Only a highly comparative study of medieval literature can help us to comprehend how much fundamental ideas and concepts were shared throughout the entire period. The idea of the trail as an epistemological vehicle for the protagonists proves to be critical in reaching a deep understanding of medieval values and ideals"--

Routledge

Every human being knows that we are walking through life following trails, whether we are aware of them or not. Medieval poets, from the anonymous composer of Beowulf to Marie de France, Hartmann von Aue, Gottfried von Strassburg, and Guillaume de Lorris to Petrarch and Heinrich Kaufringer, predicated their works on the notion of the trail and elaborated on its epistemological function. We can grasp here an essential concept that determines much of medieval and early modern European literature and philosophy, addressing the direction which all protagonists pursue, as powerfully illustrated also by the anonymous poets of Herzog Ernst and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Dante's Divina Commedia, in fact, proves to be one of the most explicit poetic manifestations of the fundamental idea of the trail, but we find strong parallels also in powerful contemporary works such as Guillaume de Deguileville's Pèlerinage de la vie humaine and in many mystical tracts.

The history of the United States has been deeply determined by Germans throughout time, but hardly anyone has noticed that this was the case in the Southwest as well, known as Arizona/Sonora today, in the eighteenth century as Pimería Alta. This was the area where the Jesuits operated all by themselves, and many of them, at least since the 1730s, originated from the Holy Roman Empire, hence were identified as Germans (including Swiss, Austrians, Bohemians, Croats, Alsatians, and Poles). Most of them were highly devout and dedicated, hard working and very intelligent people, achieving wonders in terms of settling the native population, teaching and converting them to Christianity. However, because of complex political processes and the effects of the ‘black legend’ all Jesuit missionaries were expelled from the Americas in 1767, and the order was banned globally in 1773. As this book illustrates, a surprisingly large number of these German Jesuits composed extensive reports and even encyclopedias, not to forget letters, about the Sonoran Desert and its people. Much of what we know about that world derives from their writing, which proves to be fascinating, lively, and highly informative reading material.

Early History of the Southwest through the Eyes of German-Speaking Jesuit Missionaries: A Transcultural Experience in the Eighteenth Century

History

Americas

Lexington Books

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.

The Forest in Medieval German Literature: Ecocritical Readings from a Historical Perspective (Ecocritical Theory and Practice)

Cultural and literary historys are always somehow determined by natural history. The role of the forest in medieval German literature proves to be of supreme importance since the protagonists constantly find themselves in the dense realm of woods. Some of the woods challenge the characters existentially, while others provide shelter and protection to the protagonists. Pursuing an ecocritical reading, this monograph examines critical passages in some of the most important works in medieval German literature where protagonists operate in the forest and find themselves either in a conflictual situation or in a refuge. The natural environment of the fest, as presented by medieval German authors, offers new perspectives which will make the reading of this important corpus of premodern literature most relevant once again for the postmodern world. Both our current concerns with the forest as the green lungs of the entire environment and our past fascination with the forest in texts such as fairy tales connect us directly with the observations about the forest by medieval German poets. The special angle pursued in this study will allow us to reread some of the most important Middle High German narratives from a fresh perspective, shedding significant light on the hidden messages conveyed by the poets in their quest for meaning in human existence.

Love, Life, and Lust in Heinrich Kaufringer's Verse Narratives (Volume 467) (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies)

Poetry

ACMRS Press

Violence in Courtly Medieval Literature

Water in Medieval Literature: An Ecocritical Reading (Ecocritical Theory and Practice)

Ecocritical thinking has sensitized us more than ever before to the tremendous importance of water for human life, as it is richly reflected in the world of literature. The great relevance of water also in the Middle Ages might come as a surprise for many readers, but the evidence assembled here confirms that also medieval poets were keenly aware of the importance of water to sustain all life, to provide understanding of life’s secrets, to mirror love, and to connect the individual with God. In eleven chapters major medieval European authors and their works are discussed here, taking us from the world of Old Norse to Irish and Latin literature, to German, French, English, and Italian romances and other narratives.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Classen, Albrecht. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Classen, Albrecht

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Classen, Albrecht. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Poems of Oswald Von Wolkenstein: An English Translation of the Complete Works (1376/77–1445) (The New Middle Ages)

Tracing the Trails in the Medieval World (Routledge Studies in Medieval Literature and Culture)

Tracing the Trails in the Medieval World (Routledge Studies in Medieval Literature and Culture)

Early History of the Southwest through the Eyes of German-Speaking Jesuit Missionaries: A Transcultural Experience in the Eighteenth Century

The Forest in Medieval German Literature: Ecocritical Readings from a Historical Perspective (Ecocritical Theory and Practice)

The Forest in Medieval German Literature: Ecocritical Readings from a Historical Perspective (Ecocritical Theory and Practice)

Love, Life, and Lust in Heinrich Kaufringer's Verse Narratives (Volume 467) (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies)

Violence in Courtly Medieval Literature

The Poems of Oswald Von Wolkenstein: An English Translation of the Complete Works (1376/77–1445) (The New Middle Ages)

Water in Medieval Literature: An Ecocritical Reading (Ecocritical Theory and Practice)