Bücher von Albrecht Classen

The Middle Ages were not only times of military conflicts, the formation of nations, and the rise of the Catholic Church, but also an era defined by profound exploration of what is magnificent and sublime in all aspects of life, including spirituality, aesthetics, architecture, ethics, religion, and philosophy. Rather than focusing extensively on historical events, as is done in many traditional textbooks on the Middle Ages, Medieval Answers to Modern Problems instead focuses on critical issues that have concerned people throughout time, and illustrates how studying the Middle Ages from an interdisciplinary perspective can shed light on contemporary efforts to deal with these issues. Topics covered in this book include the mind-body dichotomy, the relevance of the divine in material existence, interpretations of death and how to cope with death constructively, the pursuit of love in spiritual and earthly terms, and the ideals of honor. Initially the Middle Ages seem completely alien to modern ways of thinking, yet they still speak deeply to our need for both human and divine values, and inner growth. The broad range of documents presented in the book will challenge readers, provoke thought, and demonstrate just how much can be learned from the past. Dr. Albrecht Classen is a university distinguished professor of German studies at the University of Arizona, where he teaches and researches medieval and early modern European literature, culture, and art history. He has published close to ninety scholarly monographs, editions, translations, critical volumes, and textbooks, and more than 600 articles. Most recently he published Sexual Violence and Rape in the Middle Ages (2011); Sex im Mittelalter (in German, 2011); War and Piece: Critical Issues in European Societies 800-1800 (2011); Friendship in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age (2011); Mental Health, Spirituality, and Religion in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age (2014); The Forest in Medieval German Literature (2015); and Reading European Medieval Women Writers (2016). In 2010, he published the standard-setting three volume Handbook of Medieval Studies, followed by the Handbook of Medieval Cultures (2015). He serves as editor of the journals Mediaevistik and Humanities. He has received numerous teaching and research awards, most notably the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Band (Order of Merit) from the German government in 2004 and the 2012 Arizona Professor of the Year in 2014.

Literatur setzt sich aus vielen verschiedenen Texten zusammen - solchen, die zum Kanon gerechnet werden, und solchen, die, trotz ihres quantitativen Übergewichts, am Rande an gesiedelt sind, d.h. insbesondere Trivialliteratur, die wir gerade aus literatursoziologischer Sicht nicht ignorieren dürfen. Das Schlagwort ,trivial' fällt leicht, aber es genau zu definieren erweist sich als problematisch. Gab es z.B. Trivialliteratur auch schon in der Vormoderne? Warum entstehen überhaupt triviale Texte? Welche Bedürfnisse befriedigen sie? Welche Gestaltungs techniken werden dort eingesetzt? Was sagt die Trivialliteratur über das Lesepublikum bzw. deren Autoren aus? Diese und weitere Fragen werden von den Beiträgern zu diesem Band kritisch unter die Lupe genommen und anhand von exemplarischen Fällen sorgfältig analysiert.

Some of the articles in this volume tackle theoretical issues as illustrated by translation examples, highlighting major flaws and successes in translation practice, while other contributors approach the phenomenon of translation from a more socio-cultural, ideologically critical angle, thus reflecting the current wide scope of theoretical and practical aspects of literary translation. The practical aspects include various kinds of literary discourses, which are analysed with a view toward gaining a good understanding of the characteristics of the literary genres involved. In sum, this volume embraces a whole range of topics that are currently discussed both in university classes as well as in most well known translation journals. The present collection of papers is a good introduction to topical work carried out in literary translation and its applications.

Gehst du gerne auf Mittelalterfeste, vielleicht sogar verkleidet als glorreicher Ritter oder strahlendes Burgfräulein? Das Mittelalter mit seinen mächtigen Burgen und tosenden Kämpfen, seinen aufregenden Geschichten rund um furchterregenden Drachen, listige Zauberer und mutige Helden, aber auch dem oft nicht einfachen Alltagsleben von Rittern, Knappen, Gauklern, edlen Damen, Gelehrten, Bauern und natürlich den Kindern war eine absolut faszinierende Zeit.Mittelalterexperte Albrecht Classen nimmt dich mit auf eine spannende Reise durch das Mittelalter und zeigt dir, wie es damals wirklich war.Aus dem Inhalt: Gar nicht so finster! Von Geistlichen, Rittern und Bauern Tempelritter und andere Orden Turnier, Rüstung und Bewaffnung Städte, Kirchen und Klöster Liebe und Ehe im Mittelalter Der Alltag der Kinder Lecker! Die Speisekarte im Mittelalter Dichtung, Sprache und Heldensagen Extras: Großes Mittelalter-Quiz

This study discusses medieval texts that contain profound statements determined by wisdom. These continue to be of timeless relevance, such as fables, verse narratives, and didactic tales. Using the lens of 'wisdom,' this book brings to light the enormous value of medieval literature for the modern quest for truth and the meaning of life.

This is an anthology of literary, religious, and philosophical texts from the entire Middle Ages and the early modern age that address already quite explicitly religious toleration and even tolerance.

This book offers the first complete English translation of the poems by the late-medieval German (Tyrolean) Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376/1377-1445). German scholarship and musicologists have long recognized the extraordinary strength and power of Oswald s Middle High German songs, both in terms of his poetic imagery and his musical performance.

By pursuing an ecocritical reading, The Forest in Medieval German Literature examines passages in medieval German texts where protagonists operated in the forest and found themselves either in conflictual situations or in refuge. By probing the way the individual authors dealt with the forest, illustrating how their characters fared in this sylvan space, the role of the forest proved to be of supreme importance in understanding the fundamental relationship between humans and nature. The medieval forest almost always introduced an epistemological challenge: how to cope in life, or how to find one's way in this natural maze. By approaching these narratives through modern ecocritical issues that are paired with premodern perspectives, we gain a solid and far-reaching understanding of how medieval concepts can aid in a better understanding of human society and nature in its historical context. This book revisits some of the best and lesser known examples of medieval German literature, and the critical approach used here will allow us to recognize the importance of medieval literature for a profound reassessment of our modern existence with respect to our own forests.

The study takes the received view among scholars that women in the Middle Ages were faced with sustained misogyny and that their voices were seldom heard in public and subjects it to a critical analysis. The ten chapters deal with various aspects of the question, and the voices of a variety of authors - both female and male - are heard. The study opens with an enquiry into violence against women, including in texts by male writers (Hartmann von Aue, Gottfried von Straburg, Wolfram von Eschenbach) which indeed describe instances of violence, but adopt an extremely critical stance towards them. It then proceeds to show how women were able to develop an independent identity in various genres and could present themselves as authorities in the public eye. Mystic texts by Hildegard of Bingen, Marie de France and Margery Kempe, the medieval conduct poem known as Die Winsbeckin, the Devout Books of Sisters composed in convents in South-West Germany, but also quasi-historical documents such as the memoirs of Helene Kottaner or Anna Weckerin's cookery book, demonstrate that far more women were in the public gaze than had hitherto been assumed and that they possessed the self-confidence to establish their positions with their intellectual and their literary achievements.

Presentation and critical reading of medieval women writers on a pan-European level. This book brings us up-to-date on research pertaining to women in the pre-modern era and highlights the strong impact, which women poets enjoyed after all.