We cannot treat our topic without first making a certain definitional distinction. The medieval animal epic, whose Greek-Byzantine form is to be presented here, represents only a subsection of the animal poetry of that era, on whose other genres it is dependent or at least influenced (and which therefore cannot be excluded when dealing with the concrete). Animal poetry (where this term not only covers poetic achievements, but also includes consciously designed prose literature) is defined as that literature in which the animal constitutes the or at least a necessary component of the overall content of the experience, is in the foreground in the conception of the work and expresses the experience in its entirety or in essential aspects. - [Author]

Language: German