Das Phänomen der Martenehe in kontinentaleuropäischer, walisischer, bretonischer und anglonormannischer Literatur des Mittelalters

Abstract Anthropologists and folklorists have already done the spade work regarding the topic of ‘Martenehe’ (marriage of an ordinary man with a female fairy) within the field of global fairy tales. Probing this issue further by extending our gaze toward literary texts from the high and late Middle Ages, particularly in Anglo‐Norman England, Brittany, Wales, and neighboring territories, we discover quickly that the theme was of considerable importance and occupied deeply medieval imagination and fantasy, and this, in a way, until today, such as in filmic iterations. This study, based on literary comparisons, reveals the extent to which fear of the foreign woman, sexual attraction to the fairy, interest in building a dynasty with all means available, and curiosity about otherness at large combined to create a whole series of relevant fictional documents from the twelfth through the sixteenth century where ‘Martenehe’ assumes center position.