Placeholder text

Go to cart

The German Hero

By Brian Murdoch

Product Image: The German Hero

The German Hero

By Brian Murdoch

0 - Default Title
Description
In this study, the author looks at the role the warrior-hero plays within a set of predetermined political and social constraints. The hero if not a sword-wielding barbarian, bent only upon establishing his own fame; such fame-seekers (including some famous medieval literary figures) might even fall outside the definition of the Germanic hero, the real value of whose deeds are given meaning only within the political construct. Individual prowess is not enough. The hero must conquer the blows of fate because he is committed to the conquest of chaos, and over all to the need for social stability. Even the warrior-hero's concern with his reputation is usually expressed negatively: that the wrong songs are not sung about him. The author discusses works in Old English, Old and Middle High German, Old Norse, Latin and Old French, deliberately going beyond what is normally thought of as "heroic poetry" to include the German so-called "minstrel epic" and a work by a writer who is normally classified as a late medieval chivalric poet, Konrad von Wurzburg, the comparison of which with "Beowulf" allows us to span half a millennium.
Product details
Number of Pages:
200
Release Date:
1996-05-01
Publication Date:
1996-07-01
Publisher:
Bloomsbury 3PL
Languages:
Original: English
ISBN10:
1852851430
ISBN13:
9781852851439
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
[email protected]
Weight:
390 g
Height:
145 cm
Width:
222 cm
Thickness:
14 cm
Buy on Amazon
Currently sold out