Learning and Persuasion in the German Middle Ages

Augustine as a point of departureThis study examines Christian education in early vernacular texts of the German Middle Ages on the basis of Latin traditions of learning and teaching from Late Antiquity. The point of departure is Augustine's De doctrina christiana in which Augustine not only consolidated Christian and pagan traditions but combined them into a program of Christian education.

Illuminates continuity of traditionsThe author considers the continuity of these traditions in the late sixth century in Gregory the Great's treatise on pastoral care, Regula pastoralis, the early ninth-century work of Hrabanus Maurus, De institutione clericorum, in the Old High German poem, the Muspilli also from the ninth century, then in the Middle High German works, the Memento Mori from the late 11th century, and the poems of Frau Ava and Von den Letzten Dingen from the early and late 12th century, respectively. Translations of the Latin and early German texts generally appear together with a version of their original texts. A bibliography and index conclude the volume.