McDonald, William C.

Dr. McDonald is a Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from Ohio State University

Arthur and Tristan - on the Intersection of Legends in German Medieval Literature

1991 0-7734-9448-0
An examination of the coherent relation between the Arthur and Tristan tales in the dense embroidery of the Arthurian metastory, and in particular in medieval German letters. The Arthurian world occupies an important position in the Tristan stories: a general pattern is attested even if one has difficulty in deciding the full literary implications of the integration of the two cultures. Since the Tristan poems in the German cultural area are best appreciated when placed alongside French versions, this study refers to the latter where appropriate. This is an attempt to appreciate by "close reading" how the milieus of Arthur and Tristan relate to one another in German medieval poetry.

Current State of Research in Fifteenth-Century Literature Germania - Romania

1996 0-7734-8754-9
Tracing the most recent trends and emphases of research on fifteenth-century literature of England, Germany, the Low Countries, Catalonia, France, the Latinitas, Italy and Spain, this volume serves as an annotated bibliography, and the bibliography sections as such are valuable sources of information. All essays represent excursions into the aesthetic and intellectual zones of the multi-faceted fifteenth century. The collection is indispensable for university libraries, students, teachers, and scholars of the fifteenth century.

Ritual Illumination

1990 0-88946-836-2

Tristan Story in German Literature of the Late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance. Tradition and Innovation

1990 0-88946-075-2
Presents a fresh look at the German Tristan stories appearing after the Tristant of Eilhart von Oberge and the Tristan of Gottfried von Strassburg, focusing on the main representatives of the genre from 1235 to 1553. Stimulates a rethinking of the standards by which we measure the achievement of the German Tristan poets who wrote from the 13th century onward.

Tristan Story in German Literature of the Late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance. Tradition and Innovation