Der Zwerg als Träger metafiktionaler Diskurse in deutschen und französischen Texten des Mittelalters (review)

Isabel Habicht's work on the medieval dwarf figure is a timely and significant contribution to the investigation of otherworldly and mythological figures in German and French medieval literature. Her research covers the broad span of epic and courtly romance and shows an interdisciplinary approach that connects different depictions of the dwarf figure across genres and languages from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. Her taxonomy of the dwarf in literature does not stop in medieval times; in her introduction, modern examples show that the image of the dwarf has not lost its impact and resonance today, but that it is precisely this image that has its roots in medieval literature.

Habicht's research picks up where scholars like Claude Lecouteux and Pierre Dubois have left off. It coincides with other studies on dwarfs (Friedrich von der Leyen, Vernon J. Harward, August Lütjens, Laure-Hélène Chudacet, Pierre Darmon, Edouard Garnier, Hannes König, Carola Gotzmann, et al.); however, since it takes not only epic and romance into consideration but also combines French and German sources, it provides a unique level of comparison and detailed analysis. In a voluminous work such as this, the organization and arrangement of the different sources is sometimes difficult to follow. The table of contents could have used a better arrangement; the index on the other hand is thorough and much needed.

In her introduction she includes a very helpful diagram of all the sources and dwarf encounters chronologically organized, underlining her argument and showing the difference of the dwarf figure in epic and courtly romance. Habicht has an eye for detail when it comes to analysis; review of previous research is extremely in-depth and informative, but relegated to footnotes so that it does not hinder the flow of her main argument. The book is divided into two main sections with several subheadings providing a close reading of individual epics and romances. Among the works are, for example, different Tristan versions, both French and German; romances by Chrétien de Troyes and Hartman von Aue; the Dietrich cycle; and Nibelungenlied. The first section is occupied with the methodological approach of the dwarf figure in courtly romance and epic. Tracing the development of the figure from its place in epic to its depiction in courtly romance, Habicht convincingly argues for a domestication theme within the courtly narrative. Her inclusion of the French lutin is not as questionable as she thinks, but understandably needs some justification, because it is not strictly speaking dwarfish. Her differentiation between the magical and miraculous realm is a useful starting point when explaining the function of the dwarf figure, as religious, heathen, or satanic component. As a creature of the mythological realm, the dwarf is often associated with uncanny and superior knowledge. According to Habicht this metaknowledge and otherworldly heritage places the dwarf in the curious position of creating the fictional sphere.

In the second section, Habicht provides a close reading of the different sources to underline her previous points. By focusing on the dwarf as a source of wisdom and magical knowledge, she raises the question how far the dwarf scenes, by conveying this knowledge, comment on the poetological underpinnings of the story. She maintains that the authors' reflections in the various dwarf-encounters express a poetological commentary upon the text itself. This expression takes multiple forms, with the dwarfs functioning as "structural (windows of the text), metafictional (as ekphrasis of the sénéfiance), intertextual (dwarfs are referred to and parodied in various texts), and narratological (dwarfs become co-narrators)" (p. 16).

It is significant that she analyzed works chronologically, because her approach revealed a change of the dwarf figure over time in both genres. She picked relevant works for each time period; her focus on the change from mythological (pagan) being to courtly and domesticated otherworldly figure, ends in her concluding that the dwarf...