Annette Volfing

Geiler von Kaysersberg and Late Medieval Contemplative Practice: Gerson, Bridal Mysticism and the Force of the Imagination

Abstract This article takes as its starting point the principled rejection of bridal mysticism expressed in the sermon collection ‘Der berg des schowenden lebens’ by the Strasbourg preacher Johannes Geiler von Kaysersberg. The article examines the points on which Geiler’s views differ from those of Jean Gerson (whose work Geiler was partly adapting into German) and considers the reasons why these two figures express varying levels of unease with the paradigm of bridal mysticism. In particular, the article considers the role of the discernment of spirits and of the operation of the imagination within contemplative practice.

'Du bist selben eyn himmel.' Textualization and Transformation in the Life of Dorothea von Montau

Abstract This article examines the way in which the German Life of Dorothea reflects on its own status as the textualization of the protagonists mystical experiences. After considering the presentation of Dorotheas interaction with Johannes Marienwerder and Johannes Reyman, the article proceeds to examine the ways in which Dorotheas spiritual career is modelled on that of John the Evangelist in relation to mystical rapture and transformation. However, it will also be argued that the text separates the mystical and the authorial roles of John, mapping the former onto Dorothea, and the latter onto the confessor, in such a way that the two individuals jointly constitute a spiritual phenomenon analogous to that of the beloved disciple. This serves to thematize the communicative difficulties inherent in a partnership in which textualization takes place at several removes from the mystical experience itself.

Sodomy and rehtiu minne in Heinrich von Veldeke's Eneit

In Heinrich von Veldekes Eneit, Eneass future mother-in-law casts a serious slur on the heros character by accusing him of homosexual practices. 1 This allegation comes as a surprise for the modern reader, not only because it appears to be entirely unjustified, given the events of the narrative, but also because it runs counter to expectations of genre: in Ivliddle High German, self-consciously courtly texts do not normally incorporate explicit references to sodomy.2 In Latin, the topic is clearly not taboo, as one may deduce, not only from the numerous references in theological reference works, canon law and penitentials,3 but also from the existence of more elaborate literary discourse, ranging