Give The Reader Something to Drink: Performativity in the Middle Low German Flos unde Blankeflos

Abstract

In one of the five Middle Low German manuscripts containing, among others, the text Flos unde Blankeflos, five drinking requests occur. This article discusses the performative character of this version and its manuscript context with respect to the Middle Low German Flos unde Blankeflos adaptation in general. In determining the reception mode of the narrative, arguments will be put forth on three different levels: text, codex and context. Successively, the article deals with the direct textual context of the requests, the paleographical and codicological features, the relation to the other texts within the manuscripts and the sociohistorical context.