Boyko T. Linguistic Cultural Concept MINNE / LOVE in 12th–14th Century German “Minnesang” Poetry: Structural and Semantic Aspects

This thesis focuses on the study of the 12th–14th century “Minnesang” poetry with regard to verbal manifestation and ethnical cultural specificity of the concept MINNE / LOVE in German medieval cultural domain. Semantic and structural peculiarities of the concept MINNE / LOVE have been analysed within the framework of linguistic theory of cultural concepts. A six-component model of the concept’s semantic structure has been worked out comprising notional, image, symbolic, evaluative, national and ideological components. The structure of the concept MINNE / LOVE is complemented with the subconcepts MAN and WOMAN. Their content is verbally realized through portrait and behavioural characteristics of the medieval man and woman, together with chief manifestations of love, classified in the thesis according to various parameters.