This study examines stagings of the rule of Charlemagne in Upper German chanson de geste adaptations of the twelfth to fifteenth centuries. Using the concept of the "sacrality of the ruler", it analyzes the relationship between Charlemagne's official legitimation and personal distinction. The corpus reveals a diachronic shift from paradigmatic to syntagmatic narration about the life and work of the canonized ruler-saint.

Autorentext
Fridtjof Bigalke, University of Münster, Germany