Description:
AbstractOn several layers, Fortunatus can be described as a liminal text. This does not only apply to the level of materiality or the readership of the novel but in particular to content and structure. Using an anthropological perspective and assessing the numerous transitions which the main protagonists, Fortunatus and his son Andolosia, undergo, this article demonstrates that these transitions ultimately result in the different outcomes for the two generations. In addition, the woodcuts of the text’s first edition undermine this reading through their arrangement. In conclusion, the structural order in combination with its figurative elaboration shape the character of the text as a negotiation of rites of passage.