Auf der Wortheide —

… ûf der wortheide … Gottfried von Straßburg, Tristan, v. 4639

Abstract

This essay deals with the ever-changing relationship between Linguistics and Literary Studies within German Studies over the course of the last two centuries. For the founders of German Philology such as Jacob Grimm, Benecke, Lachmann the unity of language, literature and culture was self-evident. This is exemplified in the fields of text-collecting, text-editing, in constructing grammar and — above all — in lexicography (Deutsches Wörterbuch, Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch etc.). It was not until the emergence of new trends such as the history of mind and ideas (Geistesgeschichte) at the end of the 19^th century that Literary Studies, especially those concerning the modern era, were separated from Linguistics, while the old ties with Medieval Studies remained preserved. It was not until new perspectives originating in Social History and Cultural Studies began to dominate during the 1970s that the primary connection between Linguistics and Medieval German Studies decreased as well. Seeing as such studies depend heavily on a detailed knowledge and research of earlier linguistic periods of German, these developments are highly problematic.