This second and final volume deriving from the Swiss National Science Foundation project 'Literature and Mural Painting. Manifestations and upholders of medieval courtly culture' at the Institute of Medieval Studies of the University of Freiburg (Switzerland) is the record of a colloquium that took place from 29 August to 1 September 2001 at the Stadthaus hotel in Burgdorf near Berne. It was designed (a) to explore the comparability of the systems of literature and mural painting (and other representational arts) from the point of view of the functions and the actual use made of the texts and images, and (b) to reflect on the conventionality of themes and forms and their variations in the framework of a culture of courtly sociability that was largely oral in nature.