Zwischen Distanzierung und Annäherung - Zum Umgang mit Mittelalterlichem Erzählen in Neuerzählunge Mittelalterlicher Erzähltexte

Abstract

That dissertation focuses on the narrative strategies of adaptations and re-narrations of medieval narratives. Detailed narratological analyses examine, in how far the adaptations approach the medieval narrative structures that are – according to a wide consensus among literary scholars and studies – very different from narrative structures that are common in the 21st century. The dissertation relies on a constructive dialogue between narrative theory and medieval studies, two sub-disciplines of German Studies. Only through this dialogue it becomes possible to unveil the complex relations between “hypertext” and “hypotext” (Genette).Following the different analyses, this dissertation argues that the adaptations can be of great use in literature lessons taking place in German secondary schools. Based on Claire Kramsch’s concept of symbolic competence, the study develops different approaches to the adaptations considering the findings from the narratological examinations in the previous chapters. In doing so, this dissertation is different from many other works in this field that tend to neglect adaptations of medieval texts as subjects of literature lessons. The last chapter then discusses the possibility of expanding the dialogue between ‘modern’ and medievalist narratological theory to analyze modern texts that do not have any connection to the so-called ‘middle ages’, even in the widest sense of the word’s meaning. The results imply that an analysis that does not only employ traditional narratological, but also considers medievalist approaches to literary texts can lead to new perspectives on fictional texts and their narratives.