In Imagining the Text, James Brown examines ekphrasis – the verbal representation of a visual representation – in Wirnt von Gravenberg’s thirteenth-century Arthurian romance Wigalois, one of the most popular and enduring stories in the Middle High German literary tradition. Through close reading of the text and examining illustrated Wigalois manuscripts, early print editions, and frescoes, Brown explores how ekphrasis structures the narrative, harmonizes potential conflicts in the text, and contributes to the construction of courtly identity. Imagining the Text demonstrates that the vibrant symbiosis of word and image is crucial to the poem’s sustained popularity for more than six hundred years, and contributes to the history of the book and to the study of medieval and modern modes of perception.

Table of Contents:
Contents Acknowledgments ix List of Illustrations x Introduction: Imagining the Text 1 Wigalois and Ekphrasis 1 What Was Ekphrasis? 7 Wigalois: Summary and Reception 9 Chapter Outline 15 part 1 Imagining the Text 1 Ekphrasis as a Structuring Device 21 Dividing the Narrative 22 Ekphrasis as a Structuring Device 25 Setting the Stage: The Magic Belt 25 From Boy to Man, Part One: The Stone of Virtue 32 From Boy to Man, Part Two: The Golden Wheel 35 Through God All Things Are Possible: Japhite’s Tomb 42 The Final Stages: Larie’s Tent 47 Conclusion 53 2 Ekphrasis as an Integrative Device 55 Ekphrasis and Integration 58 Harmonizing Families and Fictional Worlds: The Magic Belt 58 Arthurian and Faerie Realms in Wigalois 59 Integrating the Arthurian and the Wondrous 63 The Stone and the Arthurian Circle 67 The Golden Wheel and Religious Elements 71 Triuwe and Riuwe: Japhite’s Tomb 78 The Tent and the Final Harmonization 85 Conclusion 87 3 Ekphrasis and Courtly Identity 89 Courtly Identity and Self-representation 89 Courtly Ideals and Romance 95 Ekphrasis and Courtly Identity in Wigalois 98 Ekphrastic Belts and the Construction of Courtly Femininity 98 The Magic Belt and Chivalric Masculinity 104 The Stone and Storytelling 106 Gwigalois’s Wheel and the Literary Uses of Heraldry 111 The Tomb’s Inscription and Courtly Literary Culture 115 Larie’s Tent, Courtliness, and Virtual Splendor 124 Conclusion 131 part 2 The Text Imagined 4 Ekphrasis and Visualization Strategies in the Illustrated Wigalois Manuscripts 135 Heraldry and Integration: Manuscript B 138 Basic Description of the Manuscript 138 Heraldic Visualization 141 Integration in Manuscript B 147 Didactic hövescheit: Codex Donaueschingen 71 155 Basic Description of the Manuscript 155 The Role of the Captions 157 Deictic and Didactic Visualization 161 Conclusion 166 5 Re-imagining Narrative in Wigoleis vom Rade 168 The Strassburg Wigoleis and Its Layout 172 A Reconceived Text for a New Audience 175 A Question of Literary Quality? 175 Diffferent Audiences 178 Reading and Literacy 180 Visuality, Structure, and Narrative 183 Eyewitnessing and a New Attitude toward Description 183 Woodcut and Caption: Guiding and Linking 191 Narrative and Illustrative Simplifijication 195 Envisioning Courtliness in the Strassburg Woodcuts 199 Conclusion 202 6 Literature and Legitimization: The Wigalois Frescoes at Runkelstein Castle 204 Material Visualizations of German Vernacular Literature 206 The Vintler Brothers and the Murals at Runkelstein 209 Ernst Karl von Waldstein and the Wigalois Frescoes 216 Description of the Wigalois Images at Runkelstein 218 Why Wigalois? Possible Interpretations 222 Conclusion: Understanding the Book 226 Bibliography 229 Index 241 Illustrations 245