In the second half of the twelfth century, an Alsatian poet, Heinrich, was inspired to use a good dozen of the Branches of the French Roman de Renart in order to depict, by hints, a satire of the morals and politics of the Holy Roman Empire. Under the nickname of der Glichezaere (= the hypocrite, the trickster) our poet uses the protective cloak of animal fable in order to smooth the way for his message about morals and geopolitics. He guides his reader from German-speaking Alsace to Italy via Bohemia and thus outlines the vast political realm that was at that time the German Empire, and conjures up events which, local or European, are deeply rooted in the imagination and collective memory of the Middle Ages. - [Author]

Language: English

ISBN: 1-57181-737-9