Early medieval drama (in Latin) surprisingly focused very much on the theme of sexuality, as best illustrated by Hrotsvit of Gandersheim (10th century). She was most eager to compete with the Roman dramatist Terence and to create new Christian plays that were, on the one hand, basically determined by the theatrical strategies of Terence, and yet followed, on the other, early medieval Christian values as developed by the Church Fathers and desert hermits. Although Hrotsvit pursued strongly religious values throughout her works, she also revealed a keen interest in theatricality per se, irrespective of the religious paradigm characteristic of the Middle Ages. At the same time this tenth-century convent author demonstrated an incredible skill in exploring and utilizing a wide range of sexual themes in her plays and religious narratives. She consistently demonstrated a unique ability in creating theatrical works that aimed both for the basic entertainment of a convent audience and also for a fundamental clerical education that did not ignore the world of sexuality as a dangerous yet unavoidable aspect of human existence.1

Mauritius von Craun (ca. 1220-1230), one of the most controversial erotic love tales ever composed, deeply challenges our understanding of medieval courtly love literature. A comparative analysis with Otto of Freising's chronicle The Two Cities (1143-1157), with its pessimistic world vie M demonstrates that Mauritius also reflects this pessimism and might well have been influenced by Otto's negative perspective, as numerous similarities in the historical framework (Emperor Nero, general moral decline, history of knighthood) suggest. Mauritius's use of a deceptive ship to impress his lady and its subsequent destruction foreshadow the decline of his character and the failure of courtly love. The intertextual relationship between Mauritius and The Two Cities offers new insights into the severe criticism many of the leading 12(th)- and 13(th)-century intellectuals raised against the courtly world.

Late-medieval mæren offer a wealth of information about the history of mentality, the history of emotions, and especially about gender relations. In close parallel to medieval French fabliaux and medieval Italian novelle, this narrative genre served as literary entertainment for an urban and aristocratic audience and offered concrete didactic advice on how to abstain from vices and how to lead one's life according to the teachings of the church (Clements and Gibaldi; Fischer, Studien zur deutschen Märendichtung; Peters). Quite often we know neither the author's name nor anything about the biographical background, but we can be certain on the basis of a rich manuscript tradition that these works appealed to a wide audience (Mihm). In fact, these mæren continue to be highly fascinating narratives even today, in that they invite intensive discussions, trigger reflections about fundamental human values and morals, and shed significant light on power structures, social conflicts, cultural traditions, the treatment of marginalized groups, the relationship between the church and the laity, and economic aspects (Fischer; Ziegeler, "Ruprecht von Würzburg"). Many of these mæren would deserve to be incorporated into the curriculum in medieval literature classes, but often they are not available in good editions or translations.1 As is often the case today, the conflict between the genders plays a major role in these tales. Yet contrary to many modern assumptions, female protagonists in the mæren do not necessarily fare badly, and, more often than not, they are able to assert themselves in a surprisingly forceful and intelligent manner. [End Page 95] Late-medieval society was certainly dominated by patriarchal power struc-tures, but it would be erroneous to conclude that women were entirely muted and had no space in which they could operate more or less freely (Allen, esp. ch. 6; Becker-Cantarino 46–58; Wunder 220–24). Of course, the literary discourse does not necessarily reflect historical reality, but, whether it proves to be de-scriptive or prescriptive, the general awareness of the gender debate, hence of the various issues and concerns particularly regarding women's conditions, can certainly be identified through a literary analysis (Classen, "Gender Conflicts"). Considering that many poets of these Middle High German mæren dealt ex-tensively with women's performance, abilities, speeches, skilful handling of complex and delicate situations and thus directly addressed the women among their audiences, inviting them to identify with the heroines and their struggle against male manipulations, it would not be correct to characterize the entire corpus as misogynist or to read them exclusively from moralist, clerical, hence patriarchal perspectives (Beine; Millet). In fact, as will be argued here, even within a patriarchal context, female characters were at times attributed a moral, ethical, and intellectual position superior to that of their husbands, and they knew very well how to defend their honour, economic position, and public roles against male attempts at seducing, abusing, and subjugating them (Classen, "Love and Marriage"). A narrow feminist reading suggesting women's functionalization by a male power structure predicated on a traditional Christian moral system forcing women to submit themselves entirely to their husbands' rules would easily miss the point and would not do justice to the proper interpretation of individual texts that offer a multiplicity of perspectives regarding the gender relationship and women's opportunities to command their own agency. Certainly, late-medieval literature was often characterized by "normalized violence against women" and "acts of violence against women" (Weisl 117). However, the claim that "[w]hatever goes on in the foreground, the Canterbury Tales maintains a backdrop of a world physically antipathetic to the female sex" (Weisl 133) tends to mislead and blind us to significant alternatives, especially to sharp criticism of male behaviour and open praise of women...

Wellbery, David E., editor-in-chief. Judith Ryan, general ed. Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Anton Kaes, Joseph Leo Koerner, Dorothea E. von Mucke, eds. A New History of German Literature. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004.1004 pp. $45.00 hardcover. Auf den ersten Buck mochte man aufstohnen, nicht schon wieder eine deutsche Literaturgeschichte, als ob der Markt nicht langst damit gesattigt warel Dieser machtige Band beansprucht freilich, die gesamte deutsche Literaturgeschichte abzudecken, erstreckt sich also auf 975 Seiten von den Jahren 744 (Zauberspruche) bis 2001 (W G. Sebalds Austerlitz). Auserdem verfolgt der Herausgeber, der entscheidend von Judith Ryan, Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Anton Kaes, Joseph Leo Koerner und Dorothea E. von Mucke unterstutzt wurde, eine neue Konzeption, die faszinierend wirkt, zugleich aber auch Probleme aufwirft. Anstatt sich nach Epochen, Gattungen, Dichtergruppen oder -schulen zu richten, ist dieser Band nach historischen Daten orientiert, auch wenn diese manchmal nicht so prazise zu bestimmen sind oder einen langeren Zeitraum umfassen. Es soll also, erstaunlich, vielleicht aber auch erfrischend traditionell gedacht, die historische Dimension erneut in die Literaturwissenschaft integriert werden, wobei allerdings nicht blos der geschichtliche Hintergrund ausgeleuchtet, sondern der literarische Text als Reflex sozialer, politischer, religioser u.a. Entwicklungen beschrieben wird. Wellbery erklart seinen Ansatz damit, dass zwar auch das wissenschaftliche bzw. studentische Publikum angesprochen werden soll, diese Literaturgeschichte sich aber primar an den generellen, wenngleich gebildeten Leser wendet. Von daher erscheint es sinnvoll, Reinhart Fuchs als Ausdruck der hofischen Korruption, das Nibelungenlied als Spiegel der politischen Ubergangsphase von der heroischen, gewaltbestimmten Welt zur hofischen Kultur, Hans von Stadens Reisebeschreibung als Reflex der Eroberung Sudamerikas, Kleists Werke insbesondere im Zusammenhang mit dem Guerillakrieg gegen Napoleon, Raabes Stopfkuchen als Protest gegen den deutschen Kolonialismus etc. zu deuten. Nur z.T haben jedoch die einzelnen Autoren ihre Interpretationen stringent nach einer historischen Schiene ausgerichtet, und vielmals handelt es sich-notgedrungen-um relativ schlichte Inhaltszusammenfassungen mitsamt knappen Deutungen. Sowohl das 13. und 14. als auch das 16. und fruhe 17. Jahrhundert sind nicht genugend berucksichtigt worden und nur durch relativ wenige Dichter vertreten. Dafur stost man ofters auf Beitrage, die sprach- und kulturhistorische Aspekte berucksichtigen, womit der weitere Kontext in den Blick gerat und der Leser die Moglichkeit besitzt, Informationen auch uber nichtfiktionale Texte bzw. Ereignisse zu erhalten (z.B. Chroniken, mystische Berichte, technische Entwicklungen [Buchdruck], philosophische Auseinandersetzungen, padagogische Fragen, Opern, Filme, Kunstausstellungen, der Historikerstreit etc.). Prioritat scheint letztlich der historische Werdegang der deutschen Kultur zu haben, wofur die literarischen Werke als Zeugen einstehen sollen. Gerade fur die Moderne wirkt dieses Modell sehr uberzeugend, vor allem weil das 20. Jahrhundert sehr dicht behandelt wird (ein Text fast fur jedes Jahr), wuhrend die alteren Epochen insgesamt schlechter bedient sind. Einerseits werden vielmals geradezu beliebige Daten gewahlt, andererseits entdeckt man z.T. erschreckende Lucken (zwar das Nibelungenlied, nicht jedoch Diu Klage und Kudrun [abgesehen von namentlicher Erwahnung]) und gewinnt dort der historische, politische und soziale Hintergrund nicht den gleichen Stellenwert wie besonders die Zeit nach den napoleonischen Kriegen. …

Medieval Literature and Culture Brown, Phyllis R., Linda A. McMillin, and Katharina M. Wilson, eds. Hrotsvit of Gandersheim: Contexts, Identities, Affinities, and Performances. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. vii+313 pp. 160 cloth. As every reader of the Canoness Hrotsvit of Gandersheim's dramatic works and her various verse narratives and poems has agreed, she defies all expectations in a premodern woman writer and especially in a tenth-century convent woman who was actively involved in producing outstanding literary works. Not surprisingly, scholarship has made many efforts to establish a reliable, historical-critical edition, to publish translations, and to provide numerous interpretations of her works. Hrotsvit was also the topic at a NEH Summer Institute directed by Jane Chance at Rice University in 1997. participants continued with their discussions on Hrotsvit since then and finally translated those into publishable essays that are presented in this volume. It is divided into four sections: I. Constructing a Context; II: Forming Identities; III. Creating Affinities; and IV: Conducting Performances. Beginning in the first section, Jay T. Lees studies Hrotsvit's epic poem Gesta Ottonis as a remarkable poetic document in which Hrotsvit energetically defended the dynastic claims of the Ottonians to rule over Germany against Henry of Bavaria, almost serving as a propagandist for the royal family to which she belonged as well. Focusing on Hrotsvit's verse narrative Basilius, but also on the fourteenth-century English Piers Plowman, David Day highlights the principle concept of fraud versus faith (29) through which the Devil is regularly made a fool who cannot achieve his goals with a strong Christian. Linda A. McMillin examines the surprisingly detailed information about Muslim Spain as portrayed in Hrotsvit's legend Pelagius, although the poet deliberately recast the character of the ruler Abd al-Rahman III as an evil figure fighting the Christians (see also Lisa Weston, The Saracen and the Marty, Meeting the Foreign in the Middle Ages, ed. A. Classen, 2002; here not consulted). Florence Newman demonstrates that the poet presents the erotic female not as a threat to holy women's spirituality, but rather, as a means of illustrating the spiritual strength women exercise through the body (72). Daniel T Kline alerts us to the phenomenon that Hrotsvit specifically plays on the motif of childhood in her religious play Sapientia where the young martyred girls serve as instruments to ridicule the pagan Emperor Hadrian. But Kline seems to misread the religious framework of Sapientia, treating it as a historical document which reflects on medieval attitudes toward children as expandable (91)-definitely a specious revival of Philippe Aries's old thesis (1960). Although Sayientia's, children are terribly martyred, this does not mean at all, as Kline sees it, that the mother and her children do not enjoy an intimate, emotional relationship, particularly in face of death. Moreover, it seems problematic to argue, as Kline does, that the children's martyrdom is closely related to the preparation of a feast, and that hence the audience witnesses a kind of Eucharist. …

Contrary to the traditional paradigm originally established by Philippe Aries (L'Enfant et la vie familiale sons l'ancien regime, 1960), medieval authors often focused their attention on children and the parent-child relationship which was more often than not characterized by strong emotions. With the notable exception of James A. Schultz (The Knowledge of Childhood, 1995), however, the history of emotions concerning children, as it found its perhaps best expression in literary texts, has so far not been studied adequately. Depending on the text selection, we can find surprisingly intensive and emotional relationships between parents and children, or, respectively, little regard for the young sons and daughters. The examples of the anonymous Mai und Beaflor, the anonymous Prosalancelot, Konrad von Fu beta esbrunnen Die Kindheit Jesu, and Konrad von Wurzburg's Heinrich von Kempten demonstrate that those children who figure prominently as victims or actors enjoy great respect and are treated as what they are: as children. The thirteenth-century authors consistently portray them as lovable, innocent, vulnerable, and in great need of protection. They act as all children would act, and they are loved by their parents with great passion. These findings can also be extended to some earlier (Wolfram von Eschenbach's Titurel) and later texts (Johann von Wurzburg's Wilhelm von Osterreich). Moreover, the data gained from these Middle High German examples can also be confirmed through other medieval French and English texts. In light of this literary-social analysis, several conclusions can be drawn: the medieval history of emotions can be well identified and analysed through literary sources; love for children was a phenomenon that emerges in many medieval cultures, hence Aries' old thesis can finally be laid to rest.

Late-medieval German literature offers many highly intriguing examples of erotic narratives structured and motivated in the manner of the fabliaux and novelle. One of these maeren, Dis ist von dem Heselin, composed sometime around 1300, presents an account of a tryst between a naive peasant maid and a young knight who barters a hare for her love. The narrative lives from the charming contrast between this young woman's ignorance of the true meaning of the word minne, or 'courtly love,' and the moral decline of the nobility. Whereas she freely and openly grants her love to the knight and later tells everything to her mother, who severely punishes her for her seeming stupidity, the knight's noble fiancee proves to be highly cynical and morally untrustworthy. Mocking the peasant maid during the wedding celebration and emphasizing her own intelligent behavior in hiding her numerous sexual contacts with the family's chaplain, she deeply shocks her fiance, who then quickly changes the marriage arrangements and takes the peasant maid as his wife. The maid triumphs over the noble lady because of her simplicity, trustworthiness, and true love for the knight. Her moral infraction is easily forgiven because of her ignorance and naivety, whereas her highly respected competitor for the knight's hand loses because she knows nothing of true love and morality.