Zeitbegriffe und Versuche der Zeitbewältigung im 16. Jahrhundert. Der Goldfaden Wickrams (1557) und Fortunatus (1509)

Abstract

In the 16th century many parts of Europe saw a passionate interest in the life of the individual, while time begins to be seen more as a linear progression and less as a series of cycles. Time is a linear dimension that the human being can use in whatever way he prefers. This idea of time is inevitably linked to the sense of the unpredictabilty of the length of each person’s life is, during which he must demonstrate what he is capable of doing.This paper examines two very different but equally significant novels of the period: Wickram’s Der Goldfaden and the Fortunatus, showing how this new concept of time is reflected in a literature which describes various different models of behaviour and investigates their respective risks and potentialities both for self development and for the equilibrium of the individual.