Abstract (eng)
In this paper, entitled Das Konzept “Heilige und Hexe” in spätmittelalterlichen Diskursen. Eine Darstellung der Entwicklung der Zaubereiverfolgungen anhand des Minneromans ‘Friedrich von Schwaben’ und der geistlichen Dichtung ‘Martina’ the terms magic and witchcraft in the course of history are outlined. In general, both is neither seen as en exclusively male or female practice, but it is the women who are linked to special behaviour. Such special behaviour becomes a decisive factor for the enforcement of the persecution of witches. Men and women had both been less respected when committing black magic. However, there were much more women who had to pay their debt to nature and were prosecuted in the course of witchcraft history. Furthermore, the relation between witchcraft and Christianity is essential, because the concept of “saint and witch” becomes intensified within the developing Christian Church. The differentiation or combination of both notions generates an extremely problematic genesis which constitutes the main focus of this paper. By means of the two examples of late medieval discourse, the courtly love novel ‘Friedrich von Schwaben’ and the sacred composition ‘Martina’, the presence of magic and witchcraft in late medieval literature is illustrated.