Whereas the articles in Haug's first volume of essays ("Structures as Key to the World") concentrated on structural issues, particularly in connection with the Middle High German Roman, his later studies and the articles on mysticism assembled in this volume turn their attention to the fissures and discontinuities in the literary evolution of the age and the attendant heightened awareness of individuality that went with them. In addition to new studies on the literature of the High and Late Middle Ages there is now greater emphasis than before on the early Modern Age.