Friedrich Ohly: ‘‘the Spiritual Sense of Words in the Middle

[TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: Translation of Friedrich Ohly, ‘‘Vom geistigen Sinn des Wortes im Mittelalter’’, Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 89 (1958), 1–23; reprinted in: Libelli 218 (Darmstadt, 1966); reprinted in: Friedrich Ohly, Schriften zur mittelalterlichen Bedeutungsforschung (Darmstadt, 1977), pp. 1–31. The translation is published by kind permission of Frau Dr Marianne Ohly. English translations of Latin and medieval German terms and texts have been added in square brackets. Biblical quotations and allusions have been rendered in English according to either the Authorised Version or the Jerusalem Bible, including an instance where Ohly reveals his dependence on Luther’s Bible translation (Proverbs 28.1 ‘‘wie ein junger Löwe’’; Vulgate quasi leo). Minor corrections and emendations to references have been incorporated. I am grateful for the comments and assistance of Dr W. H. Jackson, Professor Ian Short and Dr John Walker on a number of details.]