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Dear Colleagues: A brief reminder that there are still a few days to send an abstract for these Tristan sessions at Kalamazoo in May 2006: Session 1: Star-Crossed or Simply Confused: Separating the Strands of Illicit Love in the Tristan and Arthurian Traditions It is no secret that elements of the Tristan story have become grafted onto the Arthurian tradition, with the most explicit treatment existing in Malory’s epic retelling. Yet other versions of either story also contain some blurring of the narratives in describing either Tristan’s love for Isolde, Lancelot’s passion for Guenever, and even Uther’s ravishment of Arthur’s mother Igraine. All three of these stories reflect distinct familial relationships that help us to distinguish between the narratives and to understand the context for the illicit love that is crucial to each. This session concerns the distinctions that are important to understanding the elements in Tristan that have analogues in Arthurian narratives, and the ways in which these traditions may be seen to reinforce other themes found in each. The passion that becomes transcendent love in Tristan takes on dimensions of disloyalty and honor when it is embedded into the story of Lancelot and Guenever. Other elements emerge in both that have similar associations, but sometimes different meanings. The sword that unites Arthur’s kingdom is not the same as the sword Mark uses when establishing proof of the respect Tristan pays to Mark’s marriage to Isolde. Likewise, the madness of Tristan has a parallel with the madness of Lancelot in Malory’s Morte. At the end, Mark and Arthur must deal with the consequences of illicit love, but their fates differ significantly. This session will provide an opportunity to explore these and other resonances between the Tristan story and the Arthurian traditions in literature, music, film and other media. While this should result in a clearer understanding of each narrative, it will also provide an opportunity to appreciate the ways these stories merge as the shared elements enhance the meaning of each. Session 2: Tristan and Manuscripts This session will consider all aspects of manuscripts which contain versions of the “Tristan” narrative. Pertinent issues of textual transmission as well as manuscript illumination are among the broader topics to be considered as submissions for this session. Recent studies on textual problems of Tristan manuscripts in the various vernacular languages have shown that individual versions of the narrative still offer considerable editorial possibilities for scholarly exploration. In addition to critical and diplomatic editions of specific manuscripts, or groups thereof, topics here would focus on various stages or continuations in textual transmission, and how these might contribute to the evolution of a specific version over a longer period of time. The topic of illustration in Tristan manuscripts has also undergone both rethinking and expansion in recent years. As further manuscript evidence has been made available, the interaction of image with text has become and will continue as a productive field of research in Tristan scholarship. Just as iconographic and textual evidence continues to be evaluated, submissions in this area would be of interest to both art and literary historians. Please email brief abstracts to Christopher R. Clason President, Tristan Society at Kalamazoo [log in to unmask] Christopher R. Clason Associate Professor of German 421 Wilson Hall Oakland University Rochester, MI 48309 (248) 370-2063 http://personalwebs.oakland.edu/~clason ******************* The German Studies Call for Papers List Editor: Stefani Engelstein Assistant Editor: Meghan McKinstry Sponsored by the University of Missouri Info available at: http://www.missouri.edu/~graswww/resources/gerlistserv.html