Charlemagne in Medieval German and Dutch Literature

<b>Comprehensive survey of the legend of Charlemagne in the medieval German-speaking world.</b><br><br>The legend of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne is widespread through the literature of the European Middle Ages. This book offers a detailed and critical analysis of how this myth emerged and developed in medieval German and Dutch literatures bringing to light the vast array of narratives either idealizing if not glorifying Charlemagne as a political and religious leader or at times criticizing or even ridiculing him as a pompous and ineffectual ruler. The motif is traced from its earliest origins in chronicles in the <i>Kaiserchronik</i> through the <i>Rolandslied</i> and Der Stricker's <i>Karl der Große</i> to his recasting as a saint in the <i>Zürcher Buch vom Heiligen Karl</i>.