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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.
A collection of fresh essays examining the wide scope and
significance of early Germanic culture and literature. The first
volume of this set views the development of writing in German with
respect to broad aspects of the early Germanic past, drawing on a
range of disciplines including archaeology, anthropology, and
philology in addition toliterary history. The first part considers
the whole concept of Germanic antiquity and the way in which it has
been approached, examines classical writings about Germanic origins
and the earliest Germanic tribes, and looks at thetwo great
influences on the early Germanic world: the confrontation with the
Roman Empire and the displacement of Germanic religion by
Christianity. A chapter on orality -- the earliest stage of all
literature -- provides a bridgeto the earliest Germanic writings.
The second part of the book is devoted to written Germanic --
rather than German -- materials, with a series of chapters looking
first at the Runic inscriptions, then at Gothic, the first Germanic
language to find its way onto parchment (in Ulfilas's Bible
translation). The topic turns finally to what we now understand as
literature, with general surveys of the three great areas of early
Germanic literature: Old Norse, Old English, and Old High and Low
German. A final chapter is devoted to the Old Saxon Heliand.
Contributors: T. M. Andersson, Heinrich Beck, Graeme Dunphy, Klaus
Düwel, G. Ronald Murphy, Adrian Murdoch, Brian Murdoch, Rudolf
Simek, Herwig Wolfram. Brian Murdoch and Malcolm Read both teach in
the German Department of the University of Stirling in Scotland.
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