Medieval German literature
Encyclopedia
Medieval German literature refers to literature
written in Germany, stretching from the Carolingian dynasty; various dates have been given for the end of the German literary Middle Ages, the Reformation
(1517) being the last possible cut-off point.
is the sole survivor of what must have been a vast oral tradition. Another important work, in the northern dialect of Old Saxon, is a life of Christ in the style of a heroic epic known as the Heliand
.
, celebrating the victory of the Frankish army, led by Louis III of France
, over Danish (Viking
) raiders at the Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu
on 3 August 881. There is also the incomplete Das Georgslied
about the life of Saint George
, and the Wessobrunn Prayer
, a praise of Creation and a plea for strength to withstand sin.
) of Otfried von Weissenburg
, the Latin-German dictionary Abrogans
, the magical Merseburg Incantations
, and the Old High German translation of the theologian Tatian
.
proper runs from the beginning of the 12th century. In the second half of the 12th century, there was a sudden intensification of activity, leading to a 60-year "golden age" of medieval German literature referred to as the mittelhochdeutsche Blütezeit (1170-1230). This was the period of the blossoming of MHG lyric poetry, particularly Minnesang
(the German variety of the originally French tradition of courtly love
). The same sixty years saw the composition of the most important courtly romances. These are written in rhyming couplets, and again draw on French models such as Chrétien de Troyes
, many of them relating Arthurian material. The third literary movement of these years was a new revamping of the heroic tradition, in which the ancient Germanic oral tradition can still be discerned, but tamed and Christianized and adapted for the court. These high medieval heroic epics are written in rhymed strophes, not the alliterative verse of Germanic prehistory.
is one of the first monuments of Middle High German. The three key authors of courtly romances are Hartmann von Aue
, Gottfried von Strassburg
, and Wolfram von Eschenbach
, in particular his Parzival
, which is regarded as one of the supreme literary achievements of the period. The revamping of the heroic tradition is visible in works like the Nibelungenlied
and Kudrun
. Another epic of the High Middle Ages is Herzog Ernst
; other authors include Konrad von Würzburg
, Rudolf von Ems
, and Ulrich von Türheim
.
. It was about the beginning of the 12th century that Ava
became the first woman to write poetry in German. The "big name" of Minnesang is Walther von der Vogelweide
, but there are many others, and some of their melodies have survived. Other notable works include the incomplete Christherre-Chronik
, a 13th-century world chronicle from Thüringen, and the works of Heinrich Frauenlob
.
. In the German literature of the 15th century, medieval genres (such as the latest works of classical Minnesang
) overlap with works of early Humanism
, and by the end of the 15th century early popular literature in the form of the Volksbuch (Fortunatus
, Till Eulenspiegel
).
From the later 13th century, we see the rise of urban literature, which becomes the dominant force from the mid-14th century onwards. This urbanization and the introduction of printing in the 15th century are the main developments marking the very vague boundary between late medieval and early modern German literature.
The first important urban author was the Viennese chronicler Jans der Enikel
. Other poets include Hans Folz
, Johannes von Tepl
, and Sebastian Brant
.
Notable works include the 14th-century Dukus Horant
(a narrative poem known as the "Jewish Kudrun") or the 15th-century Bovo Bukh, the most popular chivalric romance in the Yiddish language.
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
written in Germany, stretching from the Carolingian dynasty; various dates have been given for the end of the German literary Middle Ages, the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
(1517) being the last possible cut-off point.
Old High German
The Old High German period is reckoned to run until about the mid-11th century, though the boundary to Early Middle High German (second half of the 11th century) is not clear-cut.Epic Poetry
The most famous work in OHG is the Hildebrandslied, a short piece of Germanic alliterative heroic verse which besides the MuspilliMuspilli
Muspilli is one of but two surviving pieces of Old High German epic poetry , dating to around 870. One large fragment of the text has survived in the margins and empty pages of a codex marked as the possession of Louis the German and now in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek . The beginning and end of...
is the sole survivor of what must have been a vast oral tradition. Another important work, in the northern dialect of Old Saxon, is a life of Christ in the style of a heroic epic known as the Heliand
Heliand
The Heliand is an epic poem in Old Saxon, written in the first half of the 9th century. The title means saviour in Old Saxon , and the poem is a Biblical paraphrase that recounts the life of Jesus in the alliterative verse style of a Germanic saga...
.
Lyric Poetry
Works include the short but splendid LudwigsliedLudwigslied
The Ludwigslied is an Old High German poem of 59 rhyming couplets, celebrating the victory of the Frankish army, led by Louis III of France, over Danish raiders at the Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu on 3 August 881.The poem is thoroughly Christian in ethos...
, celebrating the victory of the Frankish army, led by Louis III of France
Louis III of France
Louis III was the King of France, still then called West Francia, from 879 until his death. The second son of Louis the Stammerer and his first wife, Ansgarde, he succeeded his father to reign jointly with his younger brother Carloman II, who became sole ruler on Louis's death...
, over Danish (Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
) raiders at the Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu
Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu
The Battle of Saucourt occurred between Danish forces of pagan Viking warriors and the Christian troops of Carolingian joint Kings Louis III of France and...
on 3 August 881. There is also the incomplete Das Georgslied
Georgslied
The Georgslied is a set of poems and hymns to Saint George in Old High German.Its likely origin is Saint George's Abbey on the Reichenau monastic island on Lake Constance in Germany which was founded in 888 and was an important center for the veneration of Saint George...
about the life of Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
, and the Wessobrunn Prayer
Wessobrunn Prayer
The Wessobrunn Prayer, sometimes called the Wessobrunn Creation Poem , believed to date from c790, is among the earliest known poetic works in Old High German.-Origins:...
, a praise of Creation and a plea for strength to withstand sin.
Other Literature
Works include the Evangelienbuch (Gospel harmonyDiatessaron
The Diatessaron is the most prominent Gospel harmony created by Tatian, an early Christian apologist and ascetic. The term "diatessaron" is from Middle English by way of Latin, diatessarōn , and ultimately Greek, διὰ τεσσάρων The Diatessaron (c 160 - 175) is the most prominent Gospel harmony...
) of Otfried von Weissenburg
Otfrid of Weissenburg
Otfrid of Weissenburg was a monk at the abbey of Weissenburg and the author of a gospel harmony in rhyming couplets now called the Evangelienbuch. It is written in the South Rhine Franconian dialect of Old High German. The poem is thought to have been completed between 863 and 871...
, the Latin-German dictionary Abrogans
Abrogans
The Abrogans, or Codex Abrogans , is probably the oldest extant book written in the German language. It is a manuscript dictionary of synonyms from Latin into Old High German dating from the 8th century . Several copies were made, but only one has survived to the present, that in the library of St...
, the magical Merseburg Incantations
Merseburg Incantations
The Merseburg Incantations are two medieval magic spells, charms or incantations, written in Old High German. They are the only known examples of Germanic pagan belief preserved in this language...
, and the Old High German translation of the theologian Tatian
Tatian
Tatian the Assyrian was an Assyrian early Christian writer and theologian of the 2nd century.Tatian's most influential work is the Diatessaron, a Biblical paraphrase, or "harmony", of the four gospels that became the standard text of the four gospels in the Syriac-speaking churches until the...
.
Middle High German
Middle High GermanMiddle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
proper runs from the beginning of the 12th century. In the second half of the 12th century, there was a sudden intensification of activity, leading to a 60-year "golden age" of medieval German literature referred to as the mittelhochdeutsche Blütezeit (1170-1230). This was the period of the blossoming of MHG lyric poetry, particularly Minnesang
Minnesang
Minnesang was the tradition of lyric and song writing in Germany which flourished in the 12th century and continued into the 14th century. People who wrote and performed Minnesang are known as Minnesingers . The name derives from the word minne, Middle High German for love which was their main...
(the German variety of the originally French tradition of courtly love
Courtly love
Courtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife....
). The same sixty years saw the composition of the most important courtly romances. These are written in rhyming couplets, and again draw on French models such as Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
, many of them relating Arthurian material. The third literary movement of these years was a new revamping of the heroic tradition, in which the ancient Germanic oral tradition can still be discerned, but tamed and Christianized and adapted for the court. These high medieval heroic epics are written in rhymed strophes, not the alliterative verse of Germanic prehistory.
Epic Poetry
The KaiserchronikKaiserchronik
The Kaiserchronik is a 12th century chronicle of emperors, written 17,283 lines of Middle High German verse. It runs from Julius Caesar to Conrad III, and seeks to give a complete account of the history of Roman and German emperors and kings, based on a historiographical view of the continuity of...
is one of the first monuments of Middle High German. The three key authors of courtly romances are Hartmann von Aue
Hartmann von Aue
Hartmann von Aue was a Middle High German poet. He introduced the courtly romance into German literature and, with Wolfram von Eschenbach and Gottfried von Strassburg, was one of the three great epic poets of Middle High German literature...
, Gottfried von Strassburg
Gottfried von Strassburg
Gottfried von Strassburg is the author of the Middle High German courtly romance Tristan and Isolt, an adaptation of the 12th-century Tristan and Iseult legend. Gottfried's work is regarded, alongside Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival and the Nibelungenlied, as one of the great narrative...
, and Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach was a German knight and poet, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of his time. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.-Life:...
, in particular his Parzival
Parzival
Parzival is a major medieval German romance by the poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, in the Middle High German language. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, is itself largely based on Chrétien de Troyes’s Perceval, the Story of the Grail and mainly centers on the Arthurian...
, which is regarded as one of the supreme literary achievements of the period. The revamping of the heroic tradition is visible in works like the Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
and Kudrun
Kudrun
Kudrun , is a Middle High German epic, written probably in the early years of the 13th century, not long after the Nibelungenlied, the influence of which may be traced upon it....
. Another epic of the High Middle Ages is Herzog Ernst
Herzog Ernst
Herzog Ernst is a German epic from the early high Middle Ages , first written down by an anonymous author from the Rhein region.-Story:...
; other authors include Konrad von Würzburg
Konrad von Würzburg
Konrad von Würzburg was the chief German poet of the second half of the 13th century.As little is known of his life as that of any other epic poet of the age. By birth probably a native of Würzburg, he seems to have spent part of his life in Strassburg and his later years in Basel, where he died...
, Rudolf von Ems
Rudolf von Ems
Rudolf von Ems was a mediaeval Austrian epic poet.-Life:Rudolf von Ems was born in the Vorarlberg in Austria. He took his name from the castle of Hohenems near Bregenz, and was a knight in the service of the Counts of Montfort. His works were written between 1220 and 1254...
, and Ulrich von Türheim
Ulrich von Türheim
Ulrich von Türheim was a German writer from the Augsburg area writing during the first half of the 13th century. Three of his works have survived: a conclusion to the version of the Tristan legend left unfinished by Gottfried von Strassburg; Rennewart, a continuation of Willehalm, left unfinished...
.
Lyric Poetry
The most impressive example of Early Middle High German literature is the AnnoliedAnnolied
The Annolied was composed around 1100 in Early Middle High German rhyming couplets by a monk of Siegburg Abbey.-Dating:A principal point of reference for the dating is the mention of Mainz as a place of coronation...
. It was about the beginning of the 12th century that Ava
Ava (poet)
The poet Ava , also known as Frau Ava, Ava of Göttweig or Ava of Melk, was the first named female writer in any genre in the German language.-Life:...
became the first woman to write poetry in German. The "big name" of Minnesang is Walther von der Vogelweide
Walther von der Vogelweide
Walther von der Vogelweide is the most celebrated of the Middle High German lyric poets.-Life history:For all his fame, Walther's name is not found in contemporary records, with the exception of a solitary mention in the travelling accounts of Bishop Wolfger of Erla of the Passau diocese:...
, but there are many others, and some of their melodies have survived. Other notable works include the incomplete Christherre-Chronik
Christherre-Chronik
The Christherre-Chronik is a 13th-century world chronicle from Thüringen, written in Middle High German rhyming couplets. It was written by a churchman in the service of Henry III, Markgrave of Meissen, and may be seen as attempting a spiritual answer to the courtly world chronicle of Rudolf von...
, a 13th-century world chronicle from Thüringen, and the works of Heinrich Frauenlob
Heinrich Frauenlob
Heinrich Frauenlob , sometimes known as Henry of Meissen , was a Middle High German poet and minnesinger. The nickname Frauenlob means "praise of women" or "praise of Our Lady".-Biography:He was born in Meissen. He had great musical talents, and he held court positions in Prague...
.
Transition to Renaissance literature (1350 to 1500)
The Middle High German period is by convention taken to have ended in 1350. The period between 1350 and 1500 is one of transition between the Late Middle Ages and the RenaissanceGerman Renaissance
The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which originated from the Italian Renaissance in Italy...
. In the German literature of the 15th century, medieval genres (such as the latest works of classical Minnesang
Minnesang
Minnesang was the tradition of lyric and song writing in Germany which flourished in the 12th century and continued into the 14th century. People who wrote and performed Minnesang are known as Minnesingers . The name derives from the word minne, Middle High German for love which was their main...
) overlap with works of early Humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
, and by the end of the 15th century early popular literature in the form of the Volksbuch (Fortunatus
Fortunatus
Fortunatus is a German proto-novel or chapbook about a legendary hero popular in 15th and 16th century Europe.-The tale:The tale follows the life of a young man named Fortunatus from relative obscurity through his adventures towards fame and fortune; it subsequently follows the careers of his two...
, Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel was an impudent trickster figure originating in Middle Low German folklore. His tales were disseminated in popular printed editions narrating a string of lightly connected episodes that outlined his picaresque career, primarily in Germany, the Low Countries and France...
).
From the later 13th century, we see the rise of urban literature, which becomes the dominant force from the mid-14th century onwards. This urbanization and the introduction of printing in the 15th century are the main developments marking the very vague boundary between late medieval and early modern German literature.
The first important urban author was the Viennese chronicler Jans der Enikel
Jans der Enikel
Jans der Enikel, i.e. "Jans the Grandson" was a Viennese poet and historian of the late 13th century. He wrote a Weltchronik and a Fürstenbuch , both in Middle High German verse....
. Other poets include Hans Folz
Hans Folz
Hans Folz was a German author of the late medieval or early Renaissance period.Folz was born in Worms. He was made a citizen of the city of Nuremberg, Germany in 1459 and master barber of the city in 1486. Folz was a reformer of the meistersangs, adding 27 new tones to those that had been...
, Johannes von Tepl
Johannes von Tepl
Johannes von Tepl , also known as Johannes von Saaz , was a Bohemian writer of the German language, one of the earliest known writers of prose in Early New High German ....
, and Sebastian Brant
Sebastian Brant
Sebastian Brant was an Alsatian humanist and satirist. He is best known for his satire Das Narrenschiff .-Biography:...
.
Judeo-German
From the late 13th century, there is evidence of the beginnings of the Yiddish language, which in the early phase is a variety of Middle High German, not distinct enough even to be described as a dialect, but written in Hebrew characters. In its early phase, it is normally referred to as Judeo-German; from the 15th century it becomes Old Yiddish. Poems in this idiom belong equally to the fields of Medieval German Studies and Jewish/Yiddish studies.Notable works include the 14th-century Dukus Horant
Dukus Horant
Dukus Horant is a 14th-century narrative poem in Judeo-German .-Importance:Dukus Horant is the best known of a number of works which survive in the famous Cambridge Codex T.-S.10.K.22. This manuscript was discovered in the Cairo Geniza in 1896, and contains a collection of narrative poems in a...
(a narrative poem known as the "Jewish Kudrun") or the 15th-century Bovo Bukh, the most popular chivalric romance in the Yiddish language.
See also
- History of the German language
- Baroque German literature