A Franconian Knight at King Arthur's Court: Regional Identity and Medieval Iconography in Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Glücksritters Wigalois (2011). (26th April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oehme, Annegret
• Is Part Of: German quarterly. Volume 92:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 229
• Page End: 245
• Publication Date: 2019-04-26
• Subjects: Wigalois -- King Arthur -- Middle Ages -- graphic novel -- Adaptation Studies -- manuscripts; German language -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Letterkunde; Duits; Allemand (Langue) -- Étude et enseignement -- Périodiques; Littérature allemande -- Histoire et critique -- Périodiques; Enseignement; Allemand (Langue); Culture allemande; Littérature allemande; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 430.7
• DOI: 10.1111/gequ.12104
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0016-8831

Abstract

Abstract : Wigalois, son of Gawein, is perhaps not the most famous of King Arthur's knights, but his story has been retold many times, in German and Yiddish, in medieval manuscript and modern forms. Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Glücksritters Wigalois (2011 ) offers an adaptation of the Middle High German Wigalois (1210/20) as a graphic novel that provides a powerful example of reworking medieval texts for a younger and broader audience, both increasing the interest in medieval narratives and in the manuscripts as material objects. The theoretical framework of Adaptation Studies allows for a critical analysis of the text that does not assume the medieval Wigalois as original, best version of the text. The exploration of this graphic novel will also show, however, that its creators focus more on references to the Middle Ages than on the potential a new adaption offers and, in consequence, present their readers with a white‐washed version of the Middle Ages.