Albrecht Classen is university distinguished professor of German studies at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

• Introduction: The Secret in the Literary Discourse: The Challenges of Medieval Literature for Post-Modern ReadersChapter One: Marie de France: The Lais—the Mysterious Black Ship, and Other Secrets in the World of LoveChapter Two: Nordic Sagas and the Mabinogi: Secrets in Medieval Icelandic and Welsh Literature or: The Appearance of the Otherworld in the Human ContextChapter Three: Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival—the Secret of the Grail at Munsalvæsche, and the Secret Inscription on the Dog Leash in TiturelChapter Four: Heldris de Cornuälle’s Roman de Silence: The Secret of Gender Identity and the Secret of the Self: Nature versus Nurture—A Debate Raging Already in the Thirteenth CenturyChapter Five: Secrets and Mysteries in the World of Heinrich von dem Türlin’s Crône: The Transformation of the Arthurian and the Grail Romance Chapter Six: Secrets and the Secret World in Huon de Bordeaux Foreign and Yet Not Alien: The Good King AuberonChapter Seven: Secrets of the Mystical World: Mysticism and t

Classen explores the secret as a compelling narrative device in medieval texts. His focus is not on magical and religious elements per se, but rather on the ways in which medieval writers grappled with unknowable, or secret, objects and events. Classen discusses not only characters who wield secret knowledge and powers, but also those affected by, but not privy to, those secrets. The comprehensive introduction defines the significance of secrecy throughout literary studies, and the chapters that follow are devoted to an array of writers and genres. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.