German literature in the High Middle Ages: exciting stories and tender minessing

Right at the beginning: literature in the crisis

We are around 1000 , and the Germans were just two generations of Germans (from 920 the name "Regnum Teutonicum" has been handed down for the first time) than they were already going to garnish the more unstable beginnings of the German written language (translations from Latin, mostly laws or behavioral rules, first historiography) with a little more esprit, the first language artificial works.

A few knights were already innovative and, above all, pronounced enough to acquire the secrets of the written expression, and they immediately used this knowledge to put their own heroic deeds in writing or to write their Holden of their love, but these were really very hesitant and rare beginnings.

In addition, there was the first German literary crisis in the middle of the 9th century because the Franconian Empire broke under the descendants of Charlemagne and the government had to dispute a new dynasty (the Ottonen). In these turmoil, everything that had previously been made as a tender plant of the first German literature in monasteries and at rulers, the works of a lonely literature star, Mönch Notker Labeo from St. Gallen , faded into a flood of pious building literature.

But at least: We were now the Germans, the last Ottone Heinrich II (973 - 978) in the "Regnum Teutonicum" was also the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (German nation, but this addition was only used in the late 15th century), the German area was outlined.

Heinrich had left a well -ordered realm because his marriage to Empress Kunigunde remained childless, ended with his death the era of the Ottones. A new ruler was needed, and in such a case he was determined by negotiations by the greats of the empire, Salier Konrad II was able to prevail.

He remained until 1039 Roman-German emperors and didn't have much to offer, which would have emphasized the literary life of the time. Because Konrad II had to justify why the Salier were the "born kings", the "literary energy" of the ruler was mainly in writings that his court historiographer Wipo wrote to justify Konrad's kingdom as different as that of his predecessor, a karolingian woman had married and wanted to identify with Charlen the big as an ideal ruling.

Konrad does not seem to have had much literary energy anyway, his father had died early, his mother hardly looked after him when he was handed over to a bishop for education at the age of 10, it was probably too late to catch up with the basics of education.

According to Wipo, Konrad could not even read that the (unknown) contemporary author of the Chronicle of Novalese described Konrad as an ignorant, stupid person who was inexperienced in all sciences - if the ruler is so unblocked, the people usually do not feel encouraged to become literary effusions.

The cultural climate is getting better

Successor Konrad II was Heinrich III in 1039, and he was brought up very differently than his father: Konrad gave his son an excellent education, two leading bishops of the empire and historiographer Wipo have been handed down as educators. In this upbringing, education, science and wisdom form the basics of king ethics, Heinrich III. is accordingly praised in praise and price seals as a peace-loving ruler of a new age of harmony and peace.

The troubled times became a little quieter, the smell of education passed through the country, and this climate also remained under Henry IV (despite his dispute with the Popes, which led to Canossa in 1077 and then at a time the opposite king) and his successor Heinrich V (1106 Roman-German king and from 1111 to 1125 Roman-German emperor).

From around 1050 there was a lot in the "German literature" , the first early medium -middle -class Reim pair verses were presented by clergymen, the first salvation stories such as the Ezzolied (1065) and legend seals such as the Annolied (1077) were created. German -speaking readers help to achieve eternal bliss.

Around the middle of the 12th century, a crucial change began: literature was more diverse, topics that had never been found to be worthy of written treatment or recording had been found - and thus wrote writings that were not only prescribed in the popular language, but also really interested the people.

At the same time, the forms of this early literature were also much more diverse: courtly poetry and entertaining stories in German, historiography in German and secular poetry.

Even in the legend seals, the authors of the time had discovered a previously unthinkable interest in the individual, life stories were not only symbolically, but with a concrete personality focused on the focus - the German novel got its protagonist (the term itself is a bit older, it comes from the classic Greek tragedy and describes the actor of the first role).

As soon as there is German literature, there are also the first racers

Stories that were about real people and individual fates were also more interesting in the Middle Ages than legal texts or edifying writings on the exemplary behavior of a symbolic figure, the "first German novels" were enthusiastic:

In the Alexanderlied, Pfaffe Lamprecht described the life and actions of the ancient superstar Alexander the Great in memorable verses. Around 1170, Heinrich von Veldeke transferred the legend of the (holy) Servatius to the public language, who warned the citizens of Tongern of the attack of the Huns and saved them because Peter had predicted this fuss in an appearance.

In the case of particularly exciting fabrics, several writers competed in order to create a version for the people. B. the Visio Tnugdali , in which the visions of the vicious knight Tnugdali are reported, and how it is refined by life or an angel.

This very first "religious science fiction story" was transferred to the popular language in (at least) two versions: at some point between 1160 and 1190, an unknown author created the Lower Rhine Tundalus, of which only fragments are preserved today, Priest Alber from the Windberg monastery brought his "tundalus" into an impressive 2,200 middle high German verses.

The first German bestsellers followed on the foot: At the Regensburger Hof, some of them wrote the first German imperial chronicle around 1150 - in incredible 17,283 verses, the history of the imperial from Caesar to the ruling Konrad III. told.

seller of the time and has survived in around 40 different versions to this day .

Rolandslied is also a hit , in which Pfaffe Konrad describes Charlemagne and his supporters against the Spanish Saracens. The hero Roland does not get away well here, he dies the martyr death, but can at least save Karls the big one (supported by a divine intervention).

The first literary bloom of the German language

These new substances produced a first heyday of German -language literature, in the decades after 1150 important literary centers developed at individual noble centers that lived a lively literary culture and practice, here the so -called "court literature" .

Eilhard von Oberges "Tristant and Isalde" (around 1170), a very colorful, richly tangled, richly tangled and in language, which is more likely to be tied up, is considered to be somewhat indelnant of Löwen was written.

New and unusually flawless in rhyme and metric, Heinrich von Veldekes is between 1170 and 1188 poetized "Eneas novel" - and at the same time it is the first work that not only considers the knightly struggle and its drama and value specifications to be described, but also the value of the minity (which is more underestimated in the constant struggle frame (which is more underlying both in the courtly culture as well as for the emotional-erotic relationship between man and woman) emphasizes ...

According to this pioneering transitional work, the literary high Middle Ages developed an extremely rich courtly narrative art, often according to French -speaking templates (Chrétien de Troyes), many outstanding court epic were written in Middle High German.

Formally, the formally rather French -speaking templates (Chrétien de Troyes) were usually followed by western models, but in terms of content, however, more on the Anglo -Saxon culture with the legendary circle around King Arthur (the Chrétien de Troyes old French Perceval also came from).

The classic Middle High German literature shines here z. B. with "Erec" from Aue (created between 1180 and 1190), the first German artificial novel "IWein" around 1200 , also a medium -high German romance novel, which tells the fate of a rating of the round of table at the King Artus.

Also around 1200 Gottfried von Strasbourg also took up an extremely popular fabric at the time: the legend about Tristan and Isolde, which really offers almost everything that can contain a captivating story - adventure and intrigue, deception and miracle, eternal infinite love and the failure of the same, really great cinema.

To date - Parzival and Nibelungenlied

The highlight of Middle High German literature is almost undisputedly the Parzival of the Wolfram von Eschenbach , a work with a powerful 25,000 rhymed verses, which is divided into 16 books in modern editions. The path of the title hero from Wolfram von Eschenbach in artistically interlocked action lines from the ignorant to the grail king told the Germans for a very long time, in many literary, artistic and musical arrangements.

Another of our "eternal bestsellers" was created even at the beginning of the 13th century, the Nibelungenlied . This narrative goes back to its origins, except for the migration, a so -called "heroic age" of our history, in which the ancestors received a lot on the face "and therefore needed a lot of hero (heroes). The historical core of the Nibelungen saga are various slaughter during the migration period, which were mixed in the later work.

this heroic epic has been continued orally, the Romans, who had so far been just written, had naturally not so much interest in writing down the heroic deeds of the Germanic tribes, it was now written down for the first time in the still young German written language of Middle High German.

In quality, it differs something from the Parzifal, with which the authors for the first time establish a kind of "modern" narrative culture, the origins are located there in foreign cultures. The Nibelungenlied, on the other hand, passed on “primeval German heroic deeds and therefore later also achieved the status of an important national epic of the Germans.

Outstanding works of this time are still the Wigalois romance novel, which was written between 1210 and 1220 by Wirnnt von Grafenberg Willalm by Orlens by Rudolf von Ems, which ended around 1240, a significant and scholarly epic, who is given this history of the child's child between Willehalm and Amelie (one of the most famous lovers of the medieval) tell you.

Finally - the "interpersonal" is discovered

During this time there is also the birth of German poetry, with the "High Minne" , the stylization of the Minne to an ideal and Platonic love, expressed by the chivalrous advertising for the favor of a lady, the minnesang developed with the poetry of singing sayings.

The first works of this type of game presented an unadorned author (or author association) "The Von Kürenberg" in the middle of the 12th century, Reinmar the old or Reinmar von Hagenau also gave the first works in the second half of the 12th century.

The masters of this love poetry of the High Middle Ages were Heinrich von Morungen, born around 1220 in Leipzig, of which 35 minne songs with 115 stanzas have been handed down, and above all Walther von der Vogelweide (approx. 1170 to 1230), who is seen as the most important German -language poet of the Middle Ages.

He has left 90 Minn song and 150 singing sayings in which he artistically conjures up the ideal of the "level Minne", the unfulfilled, unfulfilled minne already goes beyond that (very modern) is already going from a non -stand -related, mutual and fulfilling love, and Walther from Vogelsweide is also in the shield of love experiences that in the Free nature take place.

However, Walther von der Vogelweide was not limited to the "erotic literature" of the time, he also criticized the imperial politics in political writings, which sometimes led a sharp language, as the Mutston from 1213. Walther von der Vogelweide is probably the first star writer who was already revered as a literary role model at the time.