abbreviatio. Zur historischen Signifikanz von Kürzungsfunktionen in der mittelhochdeutschen höfischen Epik des 13. Jahrhunderts. Eine Projektskizze

Abstract

Apart from a few exceptions, abridged versions of courtly epics have not yet been of great interest to mainstream research. Yet, they represent a historical literary phenomenon that documents an independent type of courtly narrative from the very beginnings of the genre. The simultaneous narrative schemes they feature can be traced to contemporary Latin poetics, in which the expansion (amplificatio) and abridging (abbreviatio) of material are described as two basic techniques used in the process of adapting narrative texts. This article presents some initial observations on the elaboration of brevitas poetics, which could offer a complete overview of the courtly epic of the 13th century