This book examines vernacular literary texts of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age from a cultural studies perspective, focusing on the context of their origin and effect, their media preconditions, their concepts of cultural systems and the discussion and transformation of social norms. A wide spectrum of texts is covered from the 12th to the 16th centuries including the heroic epic, novellas, religious drama, satire and the encyclopedia. The starting point and objective of this book are to understand the literary text as a medium to reflect cultural configurations.