Macht in Bewegung

Letters are power in motion – this is illustrated in the present study by text-based analyses of letter scenes from four German-language novels of the Middle Ages. The author examines how the social and political significance of correspondence is constituted through material and performative aspects. As a means of communication, letters require persons who act on and with them, thus they always have a social component. Their creation is based on human interaction; they are usually actively transmitted and transported between people and places – their often powerful effect unfolds in motion.