Lexikon der antiken Gestalten in den deutschen Texten des Mittelalters

Abstract

The occupation with Classical Antiquity had a seminal influence on the medieval history of ideas. Classical themes, motifs and texts played a decisive role in the development of the vernacular novel. Classical mythology is constantly present throughout the Middle Ages in a broad tradition of exemplars and comparisons. The Lexikon der antiken Gestalten is structured as a dictionary of names, and for the first time gives a systematic overview of the reception of Classical Antiquity in the German High Middle Ages. It registers all the characters from classical mythology and history which occur in secular, sacred and historiographic literature from approx. 1100-1350. The articles are divided into a documentation section with information on the contents, and a commentary, which presents the base-lines and fault lines in the reception, together with links to the reception of Classical Antiquity in Medieval Latin and Romance literature. This comprehensive reference work is completed with an exhaustive bibliography and several indexes.