The Translation of the Unseen Self
Fortunatus, Mercury and The Wishing-Hat
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8931767 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael Haldane (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 117 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 171-189 |
| Publication date | 2006-06-19 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Folklore (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0015-587X • E-ISSN: 1469-8315 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00155870600707854 |
| OpenAlex | W1544295535 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 8 |
This article examines the popular early German prose text Fortunatus both as folktale and as mercantile myth, concentrating on the hitherto critically neglected Wishing-Hat, which is regarded in this essay as a descendant of the Petasus of Mercury. In the original Fortunatus text dating from 1509, there are many points of contact centred in the Hat, such as its appearance, the themes of speed, secrecy, invisibility, theft, and commerce, between Fortunatus and Mercury. The manner in which these themes were developed in subsequent German revisions of Fortunatus and in seventeenth-century English translations and adaptations of the text is discussed. From embodiment of knowledge to a signifier of multipresence, from being a representation of travel to an accessory to raptorial attack, the uses and meanings of the Wishing-Hat are seen to be many and varied
Art · Mercury (programming language · Translation (biology · Chemistry · Computer Science · Linguistics and language evolution · Medieval Literature and History
| Citations per year | 0.05 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2006 - 2006 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |