Contact
Office address: Schellingstraße 33 80799 München
Room:
1010
Phone:
+49 (0)89 2180-2103
Email:
j.stadtland@campus.lmu.de
Jule Stadtland studied German Studies and Pedagogy/Educational Science at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and completed her Master's degree in German Literature with a thesis on “Studies on the discursive functionalization of taboo-laden minne relationships in medieval epic literature”. This research focus is complemented by a degree in Scandinavian Studies, which she will complete in summer 2025. During her studies, she was active in the student council and worked as a student assistant for several years. Since April 2025, she has been doing her doctorate in the Research Training Group “Family Matters” in German Medieval Studies and Old Norse Studies.
The fairy of the “Mahrtenehe” as mother, daughter, sister and wife. Magical conceptions of a family model in Middle High German and Old Norse literature
The dissertation examines the role of supernatural female figures and their familial integration in Middle High German and Old Norse literature. Based on the model of the so-called “disturbed marriages with supernatural partners” (“gestörte Mahrtenehe”), the project analyzes literary narrative patterns in which the traditional role of women is replaced by a magical figure of one kind or another. The focus is on the question of how these magical substitutions create narrative spaces for reflection on family models, gender roles and social orders.
Through a comparative analysis of selected texts such as Partonopier und Meliur, the Ritter von Staufenberg or the Königin vom brennenden See as well as Old Norse tales such as the Vǫlsunga saga, Helga þáttr Þórissonar or the Gibbons saga, different ways of staging supernatural female figures and fairy figures are worked out. By analyzing these literary models, the dissertation aims to gain new insights into the discursive function of magic in the negotiation of familial role models in medieval literature – with a particular focus on the genealogical dimension and the intercultural differences between the German and Scandinavian language areas of the Middle Ages.