Project Details
Projekt
Natura as cosmic and political concept in Alanus's ab Insulis poetic works and in the Latin and vernacular reception
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Beate Kellner
Subject Area
German Medieval Studies (Medieval German Literature)
Term
from 2016 to 2022
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 228265259
The aim of this project is to analyse the concept and function of 'Natura' as a central discursive element for establishing a system of political order in Alanus's ab Insulis (Alain's de Lille) literary works. To this purpose we develop an innovative approach situated at the intersections of philosophical thought, political and institutional contexts and literary analysis. As we will show through the (hitherto ignored) study of political metaphors and imagery, Natura's cosmic role and the overall decline she laments in the Planctus and attempts to undo in the Anticlaudian is an integral part of a consistent philosophical-theological conception of order. We therefore plan to analyse the De planctu Naturae and Anticlaudian via an innovative analysis of discourse that (a) brings to light the relationships between the two poetic works and the contemporary philosophy of nature in the context of the so-called 'Renaissance of the 12th century', (b) demonstrates for the first time the relevance of the contemporary clerical literary and non-literary discourses on love, desire and sexuality for these poetic works, and (c) investigates the literary design of these texts: a question that has not received enough attention in past and current scholarship. By combining these perspectives we aim to create a more precise philosophical, literary, and historical understanding of Alan¿s poetic works and his concept of nature, including its political dimensions. Based on this first step, our second aim is to examine the Latin and the German vernacular reception of Alan's poetic works, which had an important impact on vernacular literature. Our main interest is not simply to describe the relationship between traditions and sources that has been studied in past scholarship, but to focus on the reinterpretation and negotiation of Alan's 'Natura' and its political dimensions in the learned Latin and German vernacular traditions.
DFG Programme
Research Units
