ABSTRACT
One of the reasons for the renewed excitement which Medieval Studies create today rests in the many new and diverse interpretive approaches and theoretical concepts applied for the critical analysis of medieval literature, historical documents, and other cultural artifacts that often invite us to consider heretofore ignored or neglected dimensions of medieval ideology, belief systems, values, morality, and ethics. 1 Modern research tracing medieval Mentalitätsgeschichte, in particular, has proven to be highly productive in many respects as many traditionally marginalized texts such as sermons, poenitentials, confessors’ handbooks, as well as paintings, sculptures, popular ballads, and law books have suddenly revealed a treasure of new information about how medieval people thought about their environment, society, religious customs, economic aspects, traditions, other peoples, the body, and the foreign. 2 Although medieval cathedrals, castles, houses, chronicles, stained glasses, and the like have not changed much over the centuries (except that time took its toll) a renewed investigation of the hidden messages contained in them about medieval people promises to unearth “Neuigkeiten aus dem Mittelalter” (news from the Middle Ages). Instead of limiting ourselves to the lives of medieval royal families, chivalric adventures, religious and philosophical debates, and so on, modern medievalists from many different disciplines have discovered everyday life in the Middle Ages, that is, aspects such as work, death, fear, urban communities, sexuality, and such, and fundamental existential concepts, attitudes, behavioral patterns, rituals, customs, and traditions. 3
