The Collaborative Research Centre “Historical and Transcultural Narratology” (TRR 427), funded by the German Research Foundation, examines pre-modern (ancient, medieval, early modern) narratives from different cultural contexts with the aim of systematically and comparatively investigating the dynamics and functions of narratives in past contexts. The project, consisting of 19 PIs from 16 different disciplines, is based at the universities of Bochum, Bonn, and Freiburg. 

TP A02 “Narrative Constellations: New Perspectives on the Old French Prose Lancelot-Grail-Cycle” (Strand: Narrating History)

The use of prose, beginning with (and extending beyond) Arthurian material, set new important standards in medieval forms of narration. The Prose Lancelot-Grail-Cycle offered a major contribution – in an intercultural and transhistorical sense – to the reception of Arthurian material well beyond France, Great Britian, and indeed the medieval period. However, there has been a notable lack of systematic analysis of the narrative structures it contains, most likely due to its vast size. The project starts from the idea that the narration in medieval prose narratives – regardless of linear plotlines, specific motifs, or unilateral motivations – is structured via narrative constellations. Such narrative constellations focus on a) metaliterary aspects and authority, b) chivalric practices and c) history and its religious crossovers. The project will create a non-exhaustive database of paradigmatic examples of the different types of narrative constellations. It will study a) the relationship between narrative constellations and other narratological concepts, b) their potential transcultural applicability and c) the relationship between narratological constellations and their representation in medieval manuscripts.

Pressemitteilung der DFG