Kirjahaku

Obituaries always do more than sum up the life of someone who has just died. They fulfil various functions ranging from canonisation to propaganda, and they do so in the service of a huge variety of different interests. They also act as a forum for subtle criticism of the deceased person in question. Accordingly, necrologies come in an immense variety of genres, especially in the period extending from the beginning of their dissemination in the print medium around 1525 and their establishment in the feuilletons of the Vormarz period. Obituaries for writers are especially interesting for their high degree of self-referentiality and their significance as historical testimonies of changing concepts of authorship."

The study examines literary texts of the early Modern Age from a broad variety of genres taking a moralistic stance on the do's and don'ts of everyday communication (lies, boasting, denigration, good advice, silence etc.). Drawing upon approaches pursued in the theory of civilization, the sources are placed in the context of the Christianization of Europe between the 15th and 18th centuries and examined for the light they cast on strategies for the establishment of standards for 'seemly' discourse. In addition, Andreas Gryphius' famous first "Reyen der Hoflinge" is given a new interpretation in terms of its function as a normative text on everyday speech behaviour."