Publication:

Von der Leiblichkeit eines ,gegürteten Textkörpers‘. Die ,Expositio in Cantica Canticorum‘ Willirams von Ebersberg in ihrer Überlieferung (2006)

Author(s): Lähnemann H, Rupp M

    Abstract: In his ,Expositio in Cantica Canticorum‘, Williram of Ebersberg renders the physical appeal of the Song of Songs quite apparent through his distinctive usage of the metaphor of the text's ,body‘. The passages of Latin and German translation and commentary which flank the central Vulgate-text are thus designed as a unity. This ,girdling‘ of the textual body means that the various parts of the work function only if seen as an organic entity. In the process of transmission, this unity is repeatedly analysed and then resynthesized according to prevailing interests; and the ensembles of texts to emerge out of the organic body each have a different emphasis. All of these ,versions‘ tend to show that Williram's experimental treatment of different languages and genres sustained fascination with the ,physicality‘ of the Song of Songs throughout the Middle Ages and into the Early Modern period.

      • Book Title: Text und Text in lateinischer und volkssprachiger Überlieferung des Mittelalters. Freiburger Kolloquium 2004
      • Volume: 19
      • Pages: 95-116; ill. 6-11
      • Publisher: Erich Schmidt Verlag
      • Publication type: Book chapter
      • Bibliographic status: Published

      Keywords: medieval literature; Latin and German; text-theory

      Staff

      Professor Henrike Laehnemann
      Professor of German Studies