Friedrich von Hausen
Encyclopedia
Friedrich von Hausen was a mediaeval German poet, one of the earliest of the Minnesingers; born some time between 1150–60; d. 6 May 1190.
His name is mentioned frequently in legal documents, for the first time in one from Mainz
dated 1171 by Christian I, Archbishop of Mainz
. He was born in middle Rhenish territory, as is shown by his dialect, especially by his rhymes, but several towns claim to be his birthplace, and the question cannot be definitely decided. In 1175 he was in Italy, and again in 1186 in the suite of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
. The next year he was present when Frederick I, Barbarossa
and Philip Augustus met between Mouzon and Yvois, and in 1188 he was at Worms in the company of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
. He accompanied the Emperor Frederick, by whom he was held in high esteem, on the crusade of 1189, and met his death at the battle of Philomelium (the present-day Akşehir
), when he fell with his horse while pursuing the enemy. We are told that the whole army mourned his death.
Friedrich von Hausen is one of the earliest of the minnesingers who are known to have imitated French models, with which he became acquainted on his travels through Burgundy and Provence
. Together with Heinrich von Veldeke
he introduced the Romance element into the minnesong. The Provençal influence is especially evident in the dactyl
ic rhythm of his verses, which resulted from the adoption into German of a Romance
ten-syllable line with four or five stresses. His rhymes are still occasionally imperfect and his songs contain more than one strophe. Hausen's poetry is rather artificial in form and often abstruse in spirit. He is fond of dallying with a word. Like most of the troubadour
s or minnesingers he sings chiefly of troubled love. He directly influenced Bernger von Horheim
.
Friedrich von Hausen's poems are printed in F. H. von der Hagen's "Minnesinger" (Leipzig, 1838, 4 vols.), I 212-217; a selection may also be found in K. Lachmann and M. Haupt, Des Minnesangs Fruhling (Leipzig, 1888), 42 sqq.; in Friedrich Pfaff, Der Minnesang des 12 bis 14 Jahrhunderts (Kürschners deutsche National-Litteratur, VIII, pt. I, 17-24); and in Karl Bartsch, Deutsche Liederdichter des 12 bis 14 Jahrhunderts (4th edition, by W. Golther, Berlin, 1901).
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
dated 1171 by Christian I, Archbishop of Mainz
Christian I, Archbishop of Mainz
Christian I was a German nobleman and diplomat. He was count of Buch, archbishop of Mainz , and archchancellor of Germany .-Biography:Christian was of the family of Beichlingen....
. He was born in middle Rhenish territory, as is shown by his dialect, especially by his rhymes, but several towns claim to be his birthplace, and the question cannot be definitely decided. In 1175 he was in Italy, and again in 1186 in the suite of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VI was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197, Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King of Sicily from 1194 to 1197.-Early years:Born in Nijmegen,...
. The next year he was present when Frederick I, Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
and Philip Augustus met between Mouzon and Yvois, and in 1188 he was at Worms in the company of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
Baldwin V of Hainaut was count of Hainaut , count of Flanders as Baldwin VIII and margrave of Namur as Baldwin I .-History:...
. He accompanied the Emperor Frederick, by whom he was held in high esteem, on the crusade of 1189, and met his death at the battle of Philomelium (the present-day Akşehir
Aksehir
Akşehir is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 114,918 of which 63,000 live in the town of Akşehir...
), when he fell with his horse while pursuing the enemy. We are told that the whole army mourned his death.
Friedrich von Hausen is one of the earliest of the minnesingers who are known to have imitated French models, with which he became acquainted on his travels through Burgundy and Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
. Together with Heinrich von Veldeke
Heinrich von Veldeke
Hendrik van Veldeke is the first writer in the Low Countries that we know by name who wrote in a European language other than Latin. He was born in Veldeke, a hamlet on the territory of Spalbeek, which has been a community of Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium, since 1977...
he introduced the Romance element into the minnesong. The Provençal influence is especially evident in the dactyl
Dactyl
Dactyl may refer to:* Dactyl , a creature in Greek mythology* Dactyl , a metrical foot consisting of one long syllable and two short* Dactyl , the small natural satellite orbiting the asteroid Ida...
ic rhythm of his verses, which resulted from the adoption into German of a Romance
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
ten-syllable line with four or five stresses. His rhymes are still occasionally imperfect and his songs contain more than one strophe. Hausen's poetry is rather artificial in form and often abstruse in spirit. He is fond of dallying with a word. Like most of the troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
s or minnesingers he sings chiefly of troubled love. He directly influenced Bernger von Horheim
Bernger von Horheim
Bernger von Horheim was a Rhenish Minnesänger of the late twelfth century. He wrote in the tradition of courtly love and was influenced by Friedrich von Hausen....
.
Friedrich von Hausen's poems are printed in F. H. von der Hagen's "Minnesinger" (Leipzig, 1838, 4 vols.), I 212-217; a selection may also be found in K. Lachmann and M. Haupt, Des Minnesangs Fruhling (Leipzig, 1888), 42 sqq.; in Friedrich Pfaff, Der Minnesang des 12 bis 14 Jahrhunderts (Kürschners deutsche National-Litteratur, VIII, pt. I, 17-24); and in Karl Bartsch, Deutsche Liederdichter des 12 bis 14 Jahrhunderts (4th edition, by W. Golther, Berlin, 1901).