Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: The Recording and Survival of the Earliest German Texts
Tohû wabohû: The Wessobrunner Gebet and Its Analogues
Ego bonefacius scripsi? More Oblique Approaches to the Wessobrunn Prayer
"Unlucky Zeal": The Hildebrandslied and the Muspilli under the Acid
The Merseburg Charms: Contexts and Function
The Merseburg Charms: Conjectures
The Beginnings of the German Lyric
The Strange Case of the Old High German Lullaby
Bibliography
Index

Reviews

Offers rewarding reading for any student of Old High German who already knows something about the subject and who wants more information and a broader background
*MEDIEVAL REVIEW*

These essays, without exception, contain a wealth of useful information and a rare sense of context that showcase the author's investigative skill and range of knowledge.
*GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW*

Quite an enjoyable book from which students and scholars of Germanic literatures can learn much.
*JOURNAL OF ENGLISH AND GERMANIC PHILOLOGY*

...a strong contibution to the study and understanding of German literature and language....
*GERMANIC NOTES AND REVIEWS*

A collection of specialized essays that definitely deserve our attention.
*GERMANISTIK*

Edwards's book makes for a fascinating, well-researched, and well-written excursion into the background of some works most familiar to those ... who teach Old High German. It will be of interest for everyone who has anything to do with medieval manuscripts, comparative mythology, and earliest attested Germanic literature.
*MONATSHEFTE*