Heldenbücher is the conventional title under which a group of German manuscripts and prints of the 15th and 16th centuries has come down to us. Each Heldenbuch contains a collection of primarily epic poetry, typically including material from the Theodoric cycle, and the cycle of Hugdietrich, Wolfdietrich and Ortnit. The Heldenbuch texts are thus based on medieval German literature, but adapted to the tastes of the Renaissance.
Lambert of Hersfeld was a medieval chronicler. His work represents a major source for the history of the German kingdom of Henry IV and the incipient Investiture Controversy in the eleventh century.
Ulrich von Türheim was a German nobleman and a writer from the Augsburg area active during the first half of the 13th century.
Heinrich von Morungen was a Minnesinger, whose 35 surviving Middle High German songs are dated on both literary and biographical grounds to around the period 1190–1200. Alongside Walter von der Vogelweide and Reinmar he is regarded as one of the most important Minnesänger: he was "the most colourful, passionate, tender and musical of the Minnesänger" and his work "marks a new and brilliantly effective stage in the development of the German lyric."
Der von Kürenberg or Der Kürenberger was a Middle High German poet and one of the earliest Minnesänger. Fifteen strophes of his songs are preserved in the Codex Manesse and the Budapest Fragment.
Dietmar von Aist was a Minnesinger from a baronial family in the Duchy of Austria, whose work is representative of the lyric poetry in the Danube region.
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. Otfrid is the first German poet whose name we know from his work.
The Annolied is an Early Middle High German poem in praise of Archbishop Anno II of Cologne. Anno died in 1075 and the poem, probably written in the years immediately after his death, can be seen as part of a campaign for his canonisation, which was finally achieved in 1183. The modern title is taken from the heading given to it by Martin Opitz in his edition of the text: RHYTHMVS DE S. ANNONE COLONIENSI ARCHIEPISCOPO.
Friedrich von Hausen was a medieval German poet, one of the earliest of the Minnesingers; born sometime between 1150–60; d. 6 May 1190.
Renier of St Laurent was a twelfth-century Benedictine monk of St Laurent Abbey, Liège. He is known as a writer of theological and exegetical works, controversial and historical works, and numerous biographical and hagiographical works. Works by him are in Patrologia Latina and Monumenta Germaniae Historica.
Berchtold of Engelberg, German Berchtold von Engelberg was a Swiss German Benedictine monk, who was Abbot of Engelberg Abbey in Switzerland.
Upper German is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in the southern German-speaking area.
Albrecht von Rapperswil is one of the Minnesingers featured in the Codex Manesse. He was a ministerialis in the service of the counts of Rapperswil, in the rank of a marchschal. Albrecht is depicted in Codex Manesse fol. 192v in the act of jousting. Three songs attributed to him are recorded on fol. 193r. The songs are in three verses, with the first verse of each describing nature in springtime, and the second and third verse dedicated to the beauty of the beloved lady.
The Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of German studies with emphasis on the older periods. It was established in 1841 and is the oldest periodical in early Germanic studies still publishing.
Sieglinde Hartmann is a German medievalist, expert on the medieval poet Oswald von Wolkenstein and president of the Oswald von Wolkenstein-Gesellschaft.
Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch is a project for the edition of a comprehensive Medieval Latin dictionary, organised by a committee of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and published with C. H. Beck.
Meinloh von Sevelingen was a 12th-century Minnesänger from Swabia and one of the earliest poets in the tradition.
Dietrich und Wenezlan is a fragmentary Middle High German poem about the legendary hero Dietrich von Bern, the counterpart of the historical Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great in Germanic heroic legend. It usually considered part of the so-called "historical" Dietrich material, as it appears to cite Dietrich's exile at the court of Etzel described in the "historical poems" Dietrichs Flucht and the Rabenschlacht. The fragment of about 500 lines tells of Dietrich's challenge by Wenezlan of Poland, who has captured one of Dietrich's warriors. It is unclear whether the fragment was the main focus of a poem or a single episode from a longer poem.
Wolfgang Golther was a German philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. A professor at the University of Rostock, Golther was a prominent authority on Medieval German literature and Germanic religion.
The Monastery of Love (Das Kloster der Minne) is a Minnerede (courtly love story) or Minneallegorie (courtly love allegory) from the 2nd quarter of the 14th century. The poem consists of up to 1890 rhyming couplets and was probably composed between 1330 and 1350 in southern Germany. The author is unknown.
