Typus und Poetik. Studien zur Bedeutungsvermittlung in der Literatur des deutschen Mittelalters. Von Timothy R. Jackson. Beihefte zum Euphorion. Zeitschrift für Literaturgeschichte, 45. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2003. Pp. xi + 326. EUR 48.

For the most part, Timothy Jackson's study is concerned with the rhetorical and stylistic means favored by medieval authors for constructing individual types—that of the saint (chapter 1), the knight (chapter 2), the beautiful woman (chapter 3)—in Middle High German literature. The volume concludes with a chapter devoted to rhyme as a bearer of meaning in Middle High German literature. The matter covered in the book has had a long gestation period, ultimately deriving from conference presentations as far back as the late seventies and early eighties. With the exception of chapter 4, devoted to rhyme, the focus is on Hartmann von Aue in chapters 1 and 2 and Gottfried von Stra-burg and Konrad von Würzburg in chapter 3. Central to Jackson's study is the thesis that the stylistic and rhetorical features chosen by an author serve not only to ornament but also to convey meaning, that even the most minute aspects of style can transmit content, and that style serves to emphasize what is significant.

Marianne E. Kalinke
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign