Cultural and literary historys are always somehow determined by natural history. The role of the forest in medieval German literature proves to be of supreme importance since the protagonists constantly find themselves in the dense realm of woods. Some of the woods challenge the characters existentially, while others provide shelter and protection to the protagonists. Pursuing an ecocritical reading, this monograph examines critical passages in some of the most important works in medieval German literature where protagonists operate in the forest and find themselves either in a conflictual situation or in a refuge. The natural environment of the fest, as presented by medieval German authors, offers new perspectives which will make the reading of this important corpus of premodern literature most relevant once again for the postmodern world. Both our current concerns with the forest as the green lungs of the entire environment and our past fascination with the forest in texts such as fairy tales connect us directly with the observations about the forest by medieval German poets. The special angle pursued in this study will allow us to reread some of the most important Middle High German narratives from a fresh perspective, shedding significant light on the hidden messages conveyed by the poets in their quest for meaning in human existence.

"Genesis divides the natural world into two parts: the Garden and the wilderness. Eden is the natural space that is under direct oversight of the Creator, where Adam and Eve live in a paradisiac state in harmony with God's will. In opposition to this space stands the wilderness, the space into which post-lapsarian man is born, and the space in which he must struggle to find the way back to God's grace.... The Forest in Medieval German Literature by Albrecht Classen is both a fascinating and illuminating book that breaks with this simple binary configuration. Classen recasts the wilderness into a space that reflects the sophisticated relationship medieval people had with their own environment. This excellent study effectively shifts the focus of the landscape away from civilization and onto the wilderness.... This fresh perspective adds a fascinating layer of social, environmental, and psychological complexity to these already rich texts.... The Forest in Medieval German Literature reveals an important literary space that powerfully structures the narrative and interacts with the characters in ways that are unique to each work of literature." - The Medieval Review

"Classen explores a hitherto understudied motif in medieval and early modern German literature: the forest. He provides an intensive study of noteworthy texts by seven authors and of the anonymously authored Nibelungenlied and offers an extensive survey that covers some 300 years. Classen points out the forest is used to portray adventure, heroic or dastardly deeds, passages both physical and metaphysical, transformation, and often mystery. Classen's . . . ecocritical approach seeks to balance the imaginative nature of literary works with the realities of the environments in which the protagonists act. As a place outside of yet accessible to those in traditional society (as presented in the literary canon), the forest represents Utopian refuge or mortal danger (and in some cases both at the same time), always reflecting on the status of the 'other' locale. There, nature and culture interact in sometimes surprising configurations. This richly annotated investigation reveals that other texts and authors might fruitfully be subjected to scrutiny similar to that Classen devotes to Hartmann von Aue, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Gottfried von Strassburg, et al. With its impressive bibliography and index, this is a valuable resource for those interested in German literature and history. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." - CHOICE

"The contextual materials and the summary of the scholarship on each work make the volume accessible to nonspecialists, and the book will be of interest to medievalists interested in the representation of the forest in German literature as well as, potentially, to scholars with ecocritical interests from other fields.... Classen’s survey of woodlands is more descriptive than analytical and will provide a good starting point for scholars looking for an overview of descriptions of forested areas in canonical German literature, a good resource for students or for scholars in other disciplines interested in seeing how medieval German literary texts reference forests." - Speculum