Abstract
Abstract The courtly literature of the European Middle Ages addresses the economic problems of the nobility primarily as a consequence of aristocratic succession practices, military defeats, or the habit of conspicuous consumption, with some texts suggesting a direct reference to reality in concretely detailed scenarios of aristocratic ruin. However, it is precisely these texts in which economic problems of the nobility are linked with socio-ethical doctrines of aristocratic dominion, courtoisie/triuwe, or status rationality to such a degree that the literary theme of aristocratic impoverishment functions less as a seismographic index of textual economic knowledge and more as a decidedly positive signal of aristocratic hegemony.
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