A detailed, contextualized picture of the very beginnings of writing in German from around 750 to 1100.
This second volume of the set not only presents a detailed picture of the beginnings of writing in German from its first emergence as a literary language from around 750 to 1100, but also places those earliest writings into a context. The first stages of German literature existed within a manuscript culture, so careful consideration is given to what constitutes the actual texts, but German literature also arose within a society that had recently been Christianized — through the medium of Latin. Therefore what we understand by literature in Germany at this early period must include a great amount of writing in Latin. Thus the volume looks in detail at Latin works in prose and verse, but with an eye upon the interaction between Latin and German writings. Some of the material in the newly written German language is not literary in the modern sense of the word, but makes clear the difficulties and indeed the triumphs of the establishing of a written literary language. Individual chapters look first at the earliest translations and functional literature in German (including charms and prayers); next, the examination of heroic material juxtaposes the
Hildebrandlied with the Christian
Ludwigslied and with Latin writings like
Waltharius and the panegyrics; Otfrid’s work — the Gospel-poem in German — is given its due prominence; the smaller German texts and the later prose works are fully treated; as is chronicle-writing in German and Latin. Old High German literature was a trickle compared to the flood of the Latin that surrounded (and influenced) it, but its importance is undeniable: that trickle became a river.
Contributors: Linda Archibald, Graeme Dunphy, Stephen Penn, Christopher Wells, Jonathan West, Brian Murdoch.
Brian Murdoch is Professor of German at the University of Stirling, Scotland.
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Introduction –
Into German: The Language of the Earliest German Literature – Jon West
Charms, Recipes, and Prayers –
Latin Prose: Latin Writing in the Frankish World, 700-1100 – Linda Archibald
Latin Verse – Stephen Penn
Heroic Verse –
Otfrid of Weissenburg – Linda Archibald
The Shorter German Verse Texts – Christopher Wells
Historical Writing in and after the Old High German Period – R. Graeme Dunphy
Late Old High German Prose – Jon West
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BRIAN MURDOCH is Emeritus Professor of German at Stirling University, Scotland. He is the author of many books, including titles for both Camden House and D.S. Brewer.
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