The subject of the book is the relationship between literary imagination and the mindscape of aristocratic culture in the high Middle Ages. The study focuses on "narrative kernels," i.e. recurrent combinations of themes and problems displaying narrative patterns characteristic of courtly and heroic vernacular epics in Germany around 1200. The narrative constellations selected for investigation (a) revolve around the relationship of individuals to their origins and to profane and/or religious communities, (b) enact play with individuals' names and their relationship to themselves, (c) rehearse the relations and demarcations between different spheres of public and/or inner life, and (d) reflect the tensions between alliance, courtly love, and passion.