This essay strives to point out several characteristics which distinguish
philological research on early medieval texts from methods used in working on high
or late medieval literature. The key points are the following: (1) when dealing with
the early Middle Ages, one can rely on a paradigm of completeness while research
on high or late medieval texts depends on practices of selection. (2) Early medieval
literature studies usually cannot refrain from reconstructing their texts by applying
tools of textual criticism; in contrast, early and late medieval literary studies today
are forced to struggle with excessive demands for philological restraint.

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• Notizen zum Profil der Frühmittelalterforschung und einige ketzerische Gedanken zum Gegenstand historischer Philologien