Chaos, order, and alterity: The function and significance of giants in medieval German epic

This dissertation analyzes the significance of the "otherness" and marginal/monstrous status of giants in various works of epic poetry in German medieval literature. This study focuses on four Spielmannsepen and epics from the Dietrich cycle.;Chapter one elucidates research over the last 160 years and examines several theoretical approaches. Using Hans Robert Jauss's alterity model and Jeffrey Jerome Cohen's monster theses, the methodology is to offer a close reading of texts to determine the nature of the giants' "otherness" and how that "otherness" affects his relationship with the world around him, specifically, his relationship to medieval heroes.;Giants always appear in the context of conflict, battle, and violence. In these instances, giants are monstrous beings inhabiting the margins of courtly space. However, when they do take center stage their monstrous status is called into question. A close reading will reveal the motivation behind the behavior of the giants, their monstrous status, and the role that they are assigned within the plot.;The first category deals with "uncourtly" giants. Their mostly antagonistic stance, place them in opposition to the courtly world and any dealings with them are violent. Orendel, Virginal, and Sigenot, are chapters two, three, and four, respectively. Category two examines "courtly" giants. Functioning within a courtly framework, giants actively further the hero's cause. These are Konig Rother and Dukus Horant, which constitute chapter five. Categorizations are not permanent boundaries that explain the function of giants effectively. They are guidelines, because works like Herzog Ernst and the Eckenlied, (chapter six and seven), fluctuate on the spectrum of "courtliness." They exemplify the "process of domestication" occurring in the plot.;The more giants move into the center of the story the more they shed their "uncivilized" behavior and are "converted" (in some cases) and domesticated (in almost all of them), so that they exhibit hybrid courtly and uncouth "giant" behavior in the same instance. The giant might take center stage, but his liminal status and distinctly "inhuman" tendencies make it clear that any status he gains in the courtly world cannot be at his terms.