Introduction -- Female suffering and rape in Hartmann von Aue's Erec -- Nibelungenlied: a male poet reveals his fear of women -- Date rape, or the breaking of a contract? the problematic case of Mauritius von Craûn: modern legal issues in a medieval context -- Rape in medieval romance, with a focus on Heinrich von Dem Türlin's Diu crône -- Rape in medieval Latin and middle high German poetry: with some reflections on Walther von der Vogelweide and the Carmina burana -- Rape in late medieval mæren -- Rape in the world of the peasant class in the late Middle Ages: Heinrich Wittenwiler's Ring -- Apollonius of Tyre, Mai und Beaflor, and other late medieval narratives: the suffering of young women within their families -- Violence against women in late medieval popular song poetry and heroic epic songs -- The critical treatment of rape in sixteenth century Schwänke literature: the case of Hans Wilhelm Kirchhoff's Wendunmuth -- Epilogue.