Сlassen A. Laughter in Early Medieval Literature: ‘Beowulf’ and the Dramas by Hrostvit of Gandersheim. The Human Dimention Behind the Heroic Struggle and Christian Martyrdom // Vox medii aevi. 2021. Vol. 2(9). P. 60–91. URL: https://voxmediiaevi.com/2021-2-classen/
DOI:10.24412/2587-6619-2021-60-91
Albrecht Classen
Professor, Department of German studies, College of Humanities, University of Arizona
aclassen@arizona.edu
Laughter in Early Medieval Literature: ‘Beowulf’ and the Dramas by Hrotsvit of Gandersheim. The Human Dimension Behind the Heroic Struggle and Christian Martyrdom
Laughter, comedy, and humor have been the subject of much philosophical, theological, literary, psychological, and sociological research, and scholars have explored those manifestations of human nature in many different cultural periods, genres, and media. In the process, scholars have realized the extent to which laughter, to simplify the phenomenon in one word, reflects a wide gamut of human feelings, attitudes, ideas, strategies, values, and principles. Consequently, we have thereby understood that the study of laughter can also be pursued within the pre-modern world, both within the sphere of the Church and in secular society.
The question pursued here, however, pertains to the literary works of the early Middle Ages, especially the Old-English ‘Beowulf’ and the Latin plays and narratives by the German canoness Hrotsvit of Gandersheim. Close examination reveals significant narrative strategies and elements in both of them, which confirms the great relevance of both descriptive depictions of laughter and literary comedy already at that time, at least as expressed in literary terms. Despite the experience of life-threatening dangers (‘Beowulf’), and despite the suffering of a fatal destiny of male and female martyr (Hrotsvit), significant scenes of ordinary life appear before our eyes, which make it possible to look into the background of these texts and to understand how they had their own Sitz im Leben and thus mirrored the fundamental interests, attitudes, and habits of people at that time.
Keywords: ‘Beowulf’; comedy; early Middle Ages; Hrotsvit of Gandersheim; humor; laughter