Abstract
The paper starts with the idea, that written texts have the power to generate violence from the very moment they get a personality, a body, and a voice. An analysis of various 13th-century Middle High German courtly romances reveals independent and self-aware texts to be provocateurs of violence, but only insofar as they represent their writer’s authority o rare in connection with magical or numinous power.
Personified writings and writing utensils never act violently by themselves – not even when threatened. Their only weapon is to „speak“ to their readers or users and to articulate their fears.
Thus, the possession of a personality and a „human“ body seems to weaken books als well as pens because in that case they are more likely to become victims of violence instead of culprits or offenders.