Special Issue 17: Seamingly (un)ambiguous. Thalassic Settings as Narrative Projection Spaces of Ambiguity in Pre-modern Literature

ed. by Sebastian Holtzhauer and Nadine Jäger

Abstract

A multitude of pre-modern texts attest to intricate intertwinings of the maritime with the ambiguous: phenomena of ambiguity and ambivalence are outsourced to thalassic settings, with the maritime space being utilized as their projection surface. Starting from this guiding observation, the special issue opens up diverse perspectives on storytelling at the intersection of sea and ambiguity, by exploring how pre-modern texts exploit the varied potential meanings of the sea, juxtaposing and opposing them to unfold ambiguities narratively. The range of works discussed extends from Homeric epic, early Middle High German poetry and Romances of Antiquity to Arthurian Romance and heroic epics, fables, legends and pilgrim reports.