Motif index of German secular narratives from the beginning to 1400

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The Motif Index serves as an essential reference for narratologists, medievalists, literary historians, and cultural historians. Building on Stith Thompson's Motif Index of Folk Literature, this new index catalogs significant narrative motifs in German secular literature from the 9th to 14th centuries. It defines motifs as consciously formed narrative topics that are structurally stable and relevant to the action, such as specific situations and concepts. The index provides a comprehensive catalogue of occurrences of widespread narrative patterns, including "Fairies becoming visible through a magic ring" and "Fight with the dragon," along with a sophisticated indexing system for easy access and research across different works. Volumes 1 to 5 present genre-based catalogues arranged alphabetically by work, covering various genres like Matière de Bretagne and Courtly romance. Each entry includes a concise paraphrase and relevant Thompson classification. Volume 6 features three valuable indexes: a central motif index, an index of keywords related to motifs, and an index of quoted names, facilitating the location of motifs connected to specific names. Accompanied by a CD-ROM, the index enhances search capabilities, allowing users to quickly find occurrences of specific motifs or names. This comprehensive reference work will significantly advance studies in medieval German literature and language, and it is published in English.