Welcome to the Chair of German Medieval and Renaissance Literature and Culture

The Chair of German Medieval and Renaissance Literature and Culture explores German literature and culture of the Middle Ages from the beginnings of written records in German (around 800 AD) to the end of the 16^th century. Medieval studies and early modern research cover a wide range of texts, from literature in the narrower sense to non-fictional texts. Medieval literature, which was centered around the courts of different sovereigns, expanding cities, and also monasteries, is characterized by its closeness to the exercise of power as well as the mixture of secular and spiritual references. Embedding the literary texts in these contexts and understanding their close relationship to medieval and early modern culture is one of the key objectives of the degree program. Since we are no longer familiar with the Middle Ages or with the early modern period and their social and cultural order, the texts can only be understood in relation to the culture surrounding them. At the same time, they teach us about the limits of our own culture. The examined texts range from medieval biblical and legendary texts, teachings on nature, secular love poetry, heroic epics, court novels and spiritual dramas to Reformation writings and the prose novel of the early modern period. In order to be able to work with these diverse types of texts, fundamental methodological and theoretical knowledge is taught.