Middle High German love song tradition
Walther von der Vogelweide
(
Codex Manesse
, ca. 1300)
Minnesang
(
German:
[?m?n??zaŋ]
; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the
Middle High German period
. This period of
medieval German literature
began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wrote and performed
Minnesang
were known as
Minnesanger
(
German:
[?m?n??z?ŋ?]
), and a single song was called a
Minnelied
(
German:
[?m?n??liːt]
).
The name derives from
minne
, the
Middle High German
word for love, as that was
Minnesang
's main subject. The
Minnesanger
were similar to the
Provencal
troubadours
and northern
French
trouveres
in that they wrote love poetry in the tradition of
courtly love
in the
High Middle Ages
.
Social status
[
edit
]
In the absence of reliable biographical information, there has been debate about the social status of the
Minnesanger
. Some clearly belonged to the higher
nobility
? the 14th-century
Codex Manesse
includes songs by dukes, counts, kings, and the Emperor
Henry VI
. Some
Minnesanger
, as indicated by the title
Meister
(master), were clearly educated commoners, such as Meister
Konrad von Wurzburg
. It is thought that many were
ministeriales
, that is, members of a class of lower nobility,
vassals
of the great lords. Broadly speaking, the
Minnesanger
were writing and performing for their own social class at court, and should be thought of as
courtiers
rather than professional hired musicians.
Friedrich von Hausen
, for example, was part of the entourage of
Friedrich Barbarossa
, and died on
crusade
. As a reward for his service,
Walther von der Vogelweide
was given a
fief
by the Emperor
Frederick II
.
Several of the best-known
Minnesanger
are also noted for their epic poetry, among them
Heinrich von Veldeke
,
Wolfram von Eschenbach
and
Hartmann von Aue
.
History
[
edit
]
The earliest texts date from perhaps 1150, and the earliest named
Minnesanger
are
Der von Kurenberg
and
Dietmar von Aist
, clearly writing in a native German tradition in the third quarter of the 12th century. This is referred to as the Danubian tradition.
From around 1170, German lyric poets came under the influence of the Provencal
troubadours
and the French
trouveres
. This is most obvious in the adoption of the
strophic form
of the
canzone
, at its most basic a seven-line strophe with the rhyme scheme ab|ab|cxc, and a musical AAB structure, but capable of many variations.
A number of songs from this period match
trouvere
originals exactly in form, indicating that the German text could have been sung to an originally French tune, which is especially likely where there are significant commonalities of content. Such songs are termed
contrafacta
. For example,
Friedrich von Hausen
's "Ich denke underwilen" is regarded as a contrafactum of
Guiot de Provins
's "Ma joie premeraine".
By around 1190, the German poets began to break free of Franco-Provencal influence. This period is regarded as the period of Classical
Minnesang
with
Albrecht von Johansdorf
,
Heinrich von Morungen
,
Reinmar von Hagenau
developing new themes and forms, reaching its culmination in
Walther von der Vogelweide
, regarded both in the Middle Ages and in the present day as the greatest of the
Minnesanger
.
The later
Minnesang
, from around 1230, is marked by a partial turning away from the refined ethos of classical
Minnesang
and by increasingly elaborate formal developments. The most notable of these later
Minnesanger
,
Neidhart von Reuental
introduces characters from lower social classes and often aims for humorous effects.
Melodies
[
edit
]
Melody and text of Neidhart von Reuental, "Der schwarze dorn" (MS c)
Only a small number of
Minnelied
melodies have survived to the present day, mainly in manuscripts dating from the 15th century or later, which may present the songs in a form other than the original one. Additionally, it is often rather difficult to interpret the
musical notation
used to write them down. Although the contour of the
melody
can usually be made out, the
rhythm
of the song is frequently hard to fathom.
There are a number of recordings of
Minnesang
using the original melodies, as well as Rock groups such as
Ougenweide
performing songs with modern instruments.
Later developments
[
edit
]
In the 15th century,
Minnesang
developed into and gave way to the tradition of the
Meistersanger
. The two traditions are quite different, however;
Minnesanger
were mainly aristocrats, while Meistersanger usually were commoners.
At least two
operas
have been written about the
Minnesang
tradition:
Richard Wagner
's
Tannhauser
and
Richard Strauss
'
Guntram
.
List of
Minnesanger
[
edit
]
Otto von Botenlauben
Fountain
- Danubian lyric
- Early courtly lyric
- Classical
Minnesang
- Later
Minnesang
Example of a
Minnelied
[
edit
]
The following love poem, of unknown authorship, is found in a Latin
codex
of the 12th century from the
Tegernsee Abbey
.
Middle High German
|
Modern German
|
English
|
Du bist min, ich bin din:
des solt du gewis sin.
du bist beslozzen
in minem herzen.
verlorn ist das sluzzelin:
du muost immer drinne sin!
|
Du bist mein, ich bin dein:
des(sen) sollst du gewiss sein.
Du bist verschlossen
in meinem Herzen.
Verloren ist das Schlusselein:
du musst immer darin sein!
|
You are mine, I am yours,
Thereof you may be certain.
You're locked away
within my heart.
Lost is the key
And you must ever be therein!
|
Editions
[
edit
]
The standard collections are
12th and early 13th century
(up to Reinmar von Hagenau):
- H. Moser, H. Tervooren,
Des Minnesangs Fruhling
.
- Vol. I: Texts, 38th edn (Hirzel, 1988)
ISBN
3-7776-0448-8
- Vol II: Editorial Principles, Melodies, Manuscripts, Notes, 36th edn (Hirzel, 1977)
ISBN
3-7776-0331-7
- Vol III: Commentaries (Hirzel, 2000)
ISBN
3-7776-0368-6
- Earlier edition:
Vogt, Friedrich, ed. (1920).
Des Minnesangs Fruhling
(3 ed.). Leipzig: Hirzel.
13th century
(after Walther von der Vogelweide):
- von Kraus, Carl; Kornrumpf, Gisela, eds. (1978).
Deutsche Liederdichter des 13. Jahrhunderts
(2 ed.). Tubingen: Niemeyer.
ISBN
3-484-10284-5
.
. (=KLD)
- Bartsch, Karl, ed. (1886).
Die schweizer Minnesanger
. Frauenfeld: Huber.
(=SM)
14th and 15th centuries
- Thomas Cramer,
Die kleineren Liederdichter des 14. und 15. Jhs.
, 4 Vols (Fink 1979-1985)
There are many published selections with Modern German translation, such as
- Klein, Dorothea, ed. (2010).
Minnesang. Mittelhochdeutsche Liebeslieder. Eine Auswahl
. Stuttgart: Reclam.
ISBN
978-3-15-018781-4
.
(German translation)
- Schweikle, Gonther, ed. (1977).
Die mittelhochdeutsche Minnelyrik: Die fruhe Minnelyrik
. Darmstadt: Wissenschafliche Buchgesellschaft.
ISBN
3-534-04746-X
.
(With introduction, translation and commentary)
- Wachinger, Burghart, ed. (2006).
Deutsche Lyrik des spaten Mittelalters
. Frankfurt am Main: Deutsche Klassiker Verlag.
ISBN
3-618-66220-3
. Retrieved
30 April
2021
.
(German translation and commentary.)
Individual Minnesanger
The two
Minnesanger
with the largest repertoires, Walther and Neidhart, are not represented in the standard collections, but have editions devoted solely to their works, such as:
- Lachmann, Karl; Cormeau, Christoph; Bein, Thomas, eds. (2013).
Walther von der Vogelweide. Leich, Lieder, Sangspruche
(15th ed.). De Gruyter.
ISBN
978-3-11-017657-5
.
- Wießner, Edmund; Fischer, Hanns; Sappler, Paul, eds. (1999).
Die Lieder Neidharts
. Altdeutsche Textbibliothek. Vol. 44. mit einem Melodienanhang von Helmut Lomnitzer (5 ed.). Tubingen.
ISBN
3-484-20144-4
.
{{
cite book
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
For these and some other major Minnesanger (e.g. Morungen, Reinmar, Oswald von Wolkenstein) there are editions with parallel Modern German translation.
Introductory works for an English-speaking readership
See also
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Bumke, Joachim (2005).
Hofische Kultur: Literatur und Gesellschaft im hohen Mittelalter
(11 ed.). Munchen: dtv.
ISBN
978-3423301701
.
Published in English as:
Bumke, Joachim (1991).
Courtly Culture Literature and Society in the High Middle Ages
. Translated by Dunlap, Thomas. Berkeley: University of California.
ISBN
0520066340
.
- Classen, Albrecht (2002). "Courtly Love Lyric". In Gentry, Francis (ed.).
A Companion to Middle High German Literature to the 14th Century
. Leiden, Boston, Koln: Brill. pp. 117?150.
ISBN
978-9004120945
.
- Gibbs, Marion; Johnson, Sidney, eds. (2002).
Medieval German Literature: A Companion
. New York, London: Routledge.
ISBN
0-203-90660-8
.
- Hasty, Will, ed. (2006).
German Literature of the High Middle Ages
. The Camden House History of German Literature. Vol. 3. New York, Woodbridge: Camden House.
ISBN
978-1571131737
.
- Jammers, Ewald (1963).
Ausgewahlte Melodien des Minnesangs
. Tubingen: Niemeyer.
- Jones, Howard; Jones, Martin (2019).
The Oxford Guide to Middle High German
. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780199654611
.
- Kellner, Beate; Reichlin, Susanne; Rudolph, Alexander, eds. (2021).
Handbuch Minnesang
(PDF)
. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.
doi
:
10.1515/9783110351859
.
ISBN
978-3-11-035181-1
.
S2CID
243658982
.
- Palmer, Nigel F (1997). "The high and later Middle Ages (1100-1450)". In Watanabe-O'Kelly, H (ed.).
The Cambridge History of German Literature
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 40?91.
doi
:
10.1017/CHOL9780521434171.003
.
ISBN
978-0521785730
.
- Sayce, Olive (1982).
The medieval German lyric, 1150-1300: the development of its themes and forms in their European context
. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN
0-19-815772-X
.
- Schweikle, Gunther (1995).
Minnesang
. Sammlung Metzler. Vol. 244 (2nd ed.). Stuttgart, Weimar: Metzler.
ISBN
978-3-476-12244-5
.
- Taylor, Ronald J. (1968).
The Art of the Minnesinger. Songs of the thirteenth century transcribed and edited with textual and musical commentaries
. Vol. 2. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Schultz, Alwin
(1889).
Das hofische Leben zur Zeit der Minnesinger
[
Court life at the time of the Minnesinger
].
2 volumes.
External links
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]
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