Die Romane von dem Ritter mit dem Löwen (review)

284 Reviews for information about the physical aspects of performance and the evidence of w o m e n in dramatic activities, a topic that every researcher and teacher of early drama must inevitably tackle. The appendices to the volume are also intriguing; not only do they include additional material on hogglers and hoggling, they also feature a post-1642 section. Although the official editorial policy of the R E E D project is to close its books with the close of the London theatres in 1642, the inclusion of the material that postdates this point should not be regarded as an example of self indulgence. Several of the other R E E D collections also append post-1642 documents and, as the series expands, this practice will allow for the accumulation of a base for examination of the extent of dramatic activity in the provinces during the Commonwealth period. It would indeed be a pity not to signal the fact that theatrical Ufe went on despite the governing authority of the time. As is the case with other collections in the series, Somerset is not a pubUcation that gives all the answers; rather it is one that is designed to stimulate the reader's o w n work and to provide adequate and appropriate ground work for such work in the form of a sound database and guidelines for interpretation. W e are not left with a coUection of arcane details here but with a big picture of the county that can then be placed in the context of an even bigger picture of England that is coming more into focus with each n e w addition to the R E E D series. Margaret Rogerson Department of English University of Sydney Von Ertzdorff, Xenja, ed., Die Romane von dem Ritter mit dem Lbwen (Chloe: Beihefte z u m Daphnis, Band 20), Amsterdam and Atlanta, Rodopi, 1994; boards; pp. 636; monochrome Ulustrations not numbered; R.R.P. Hfl260.00, US$173.00. This book presents the twenty-four addresses deUvered at an interdiscipUnary symposium with the above theme held at the University of Giessen in June 1993. Appended are German translations by Winfried Baumann of the Uttle-known Czech Reviews 285 'Bruncvik' and of an additional episode from the Russian 'Bruncvik'. The focal point throughout is the lion in its relationship with humans (not solely with knights), and it is discussed from a wide variety of angles and covering a wide period of time, so that the scope of the volume goes well beyond what its title suggests. All contributions, except for one in EngUsh, are in German. Angela von den Driesch considers zoological and archaological sources for the man-lion relationship and concludes with suggestions as to w h y the Uon established itself as a symbol of strength and sovereignty in so very many parts of the world. Wolfram Martini discusses lion representations of the Greeks and Romans from the 2nd mUlenium B.C. to the 4th century A.D. under four headings: m a n and lion in their relationship with each other; lion and deities; lion in battle with other animals; the Uon in isolation. While the destructive propensities of the lion predominate, its function as defender of m a n and his institutions derives from the fact that its demonic powers pass to the m a n w h o overcomes it in an heroic duel. Knut Usener addresses the question to w h o m and h o w the lion lends assistance, in myth and in Homer and VergU as representatives of the epic. The lion is regarded predominantly as dangerous to man, but its strength is symbolicaUy transmitted to the hero, and it is basically in that sense only that it can be seen as man's helpful companion. Jochem Kiippers finds very few examples of the grateful and helpful Uon. The motif is foreign to the original intention of the fables of Aesop, for example. Nevertheless the story of Androclus is clearly recognisable in the later novels of the knight with the lion. Gerd Althoff describes the many functions of the lion, both as a real animal and as a...