Till Eulenspiegel, Mechthild von Magdeburg, Rudolf von Ems und Herzog Ernst

Abstract

In the assumption that literary texts can be employed already in the first German language classes, we are confronted with the question how to select the right texts and whether there might be historical criteria. This article argues that medieval German literature can also be included, if it is dealt with in a pedagogically and didactically skillful manner. The messages of the medieval texts often prove to be astoundingly meaningful, and this even for us today, not only because they develop alternative perspectives, but also because they address basically the same problems as today, even though from their own perspectives. Based on a selection of literary texts from the twelfth through the late thirteenth century this article illustrates what texts could be used well in German as a Foreign Language and in a literature class to meet specific learning outcomes.