Der Stricker is the pseudonym of a 13th-century Middle High German itinerant poet whose real name has been lost to history. His name, which means "The Knitter," may indicate he was a commoner; he was likely from Franconia but later worked in Austria. His works evince a knowledge of German literature and practical theology, and include both adaptations and works with no known sources. [1]
A pseudonym or alias is a name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which can differ from their first or true name (orthonym).
Middle High German is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High German is defined as those varieties of German which were affected by the Second Sound Shift; the Middle Low German and Middle Dutch languages spoken to the North and North West, which did not participate in this sound change, are not part of MHG.
An itinerant poet or strolling minstrel was a wandering minstrel, bard, musician, or other poet common in medieval Europe but extinct today. From a lower class than jesters or jongleurs because he did not have steady work, he instead roamed about to make his living.
Der Stricker's oeuvre includes the Arthurian romance Daniel von dem blühenden Tal and the epic Karl, a German adaptation of the Song of Roland , based directly on Konrad der Pfaffe's earlier German version but updated for his time. However, he was chiefly a writer of didactic poetry and exempla or bispel, and was one of the early pioneers of the genre. These poems dealt not only with the religious and moral matters typical of the form, but also with the praise of women and courtly love. Many of them focus on episodes from everyday life and make heavy use of burlesque humor. [1] The best known of these tales is Pfaffe Âmis (Priest Amis), which involves the English clerk Âmis in the trickster role. These works show an emphasis on theological concerns, and were popular with priests, who used them to animate their sermons.
Daniel von dem blühenden Tal is an Arthurian romance composed around 1220 by the Middle High German poet Der Stricker, who claimed he had received the story from a French troubadour. It tells how Sir Daniel, heir to the kingdom of Blumenthal, becomes a Knight of the Round Table and engages in fantastic adventures to defend King Arthur's land from an enemy ruler.
German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.
Konrad der Pfaffe, 'Conrad the Priest', was a German Roman Catholic epic poet of the twelfth century, author of the "Rolandslied", a German version of the famous "Chanson de Roland".
Der Stricker was well known to later poets, being mentioned and commended by Rudolf von Ems in his Alexander and his Willehalm von Orlens. [1] Der Pleier wrote his Arthurian romance Garel as a reaction to Der Stricker's Daniel, the protagonist of which Der Pleier found to be too brutal and cunning for a hero. [2] Where Der Stricker's hero exemplifies the warrior ethos of epic poetry, Der Pleier's Garel is specifically written as an embodiment of the courtly ideal. [2]
Rudolf von Ems, also called in English Rudolf of Ems, was a medieval Austrian epic poet.
The Romance of Alexander is a collection of legends concerning the exploits of Alexander the Great. The earliest version is in the Greek language, dating to the 3rd century. Several late manuscripts attribute the work to Alexander's court historian Callisthenes, but the historical person died before Alexander and could not have written a full account of his life. The unknown author is still sometimes known as Pseudo-Callisthenes.
Der Pleier is the pen name of a 13th-century German poet whose real name is unknown. Three of his works survive, all Middle High German romances on Arthurian subjects: Garel, Tandareis und Flordibel, and Meleranz. Little else is known of him, but he was an important figure in the revival of Arthurian literature in Germany in the mid-13th century, after decades of declining interest in the subject.
