Vernacular and Latin Literary Discourses of the Muslim Other in Medieval Germany (The New Middle Ages)

Little attention has been focused on the representation of Muslims in medieval Germany. Proceeding from a grounded use of contemporary cultural theory and close textual analysis, this study analyzes the role of Muslims in several core texts representing drama, epic, and lyric written by the most important writers of medieval Germany. Far from simply adding medieval Germany to the growing scholarly list of the ‘pre-post-colonializing’ European cultures, this study provides important new perspectives. Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 8 Copyright......Page 9 Contents......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 18 1 Ludus as Prelude......Page 20 2 Discourses of the Muslim Other......Page 30 3 Muslims in Hrotsvit’s “Pelagius” and the Ludus de Antichristo......Page 66 4 Mandatory Muslim Metamorphosis in Middle High German Epic......Page 78 5 Wolfram von Eschenbach, Gyburc, and Tolerance......Page 116 6 Walther von der Vogelweide, Crusader Lyric, and the Discourse of the Muslim Other......Page 142 7 A Twelfth- Century Paradigm Shift?......Page 166 Notes......Page 186 Bibliography......Page 232 Index......Page 250

Little attention has been focused on the representation of Muslims in medieval Germany. Proceeding from a grounded use of contemporary cultural theory and close textual analysis, this study analyzes the role of Muslims in several core texts representing drama, epic, and lyric written by the most important writers of medieval Germany. Far from simply adding medieval Germany to the growing scholarly list of the ‘pre-post-colonializing’ European cultures, this study provides important new perspectives.

Little attention has been focused the representation of Muslims in medieval Germany. Proceeding from a grounded use of contemporary cultural theory and close textual analysis, this study focuses Muslims in several core texts representing drama, epic, and lyric written by the most important writers of medieval Germany. Far from simply adding medieval Germany to the growing scholarly list of the'pre-post-colonializing'European cultures, the study provides important new perspectives. Preface Ludus as prelude Discourses of the Muslim other Muslims in Hrotsvit's Pelagius and the Ludus de Antichristo Mandatory Muslim metamorphosis in crusader epic Wolfram von Eschenbach, Gyburc, and tolerance Walther von der Vogelweide, crusader lyric and the discourse of the other A twelfth-century paradigm shift.