Codex Manesse Sängerkrieg auf der Wartburg

Heinrich von Ofterdingen is a fabled, quasi-fictional

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) 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. H ...

lyric

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and Minnesinger mentioned in the 13th century epic of the ''

Sängerkrieg The ''Sängerkrieg'' (minstrel contest), also known as the ''Wartburgkrieg'' (Wartburg contest), was a contest among minstrels ('' Minnesänger'') at the Wartburg, a castle in Thuringia, Germany, in 1207. Whether the contest was purely legend or ...

'' (minstrel contest) on the

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...

. The legend was revived by

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure o ...

in his eponymous fragmentary novel written in 1800 and by

E. T. A. Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (born Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann; 24 January 1776 – 25 June 1822) was a German Romantic author of fantasy and Gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist. Penrith Goff, "E.T.A. Hoffmann" i ...

in his 1818 novella ''Der Kampf der Sänger''.

Sources

The 24 ''Fürstenlob'' (princely praise) stanzas of the ''Sängerkrieg'' describe Heinrich's challenge to the most famous singers like

Walther von der Vogelweide Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170c. 1230) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs (" Sprüche") in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hund ...

, Reinmar von Zweter and Wolfram von Eschenbach in the presence of the

Landgrave of Thuringia This is a list of the rulers of Thuringia, a historical and political region of Central Germany. Kings of Thuringia *450–500 Bisinus *500–530 Baderich *500–530 Berthachar *500–531 Herminafried :''Conquered by the Fran ...

. Defeated by cunning he obtains the permission to call in the legendary sorcerer Klingsor von Ungerlant (Hungary) to his relief. Several, partially divergent versions of the ''Sängerkrieg'' were rendered in later '' Liederhandschrift'' manuscripts, among them the ''

Codex Manesse The Codex Manesse (also Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift or Pariser Handschrift) is a '' Liederhandschrift'' (manuscript containing songs), the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German ''Minnesang'' poetry, written and illustr ...

''; it was depicted as a historic event already by medieval chroniclers such as Dietrich of Apolda. The younger vulgate version of the '' Laurin'' poem about

Dietrich von Bern Dietrich von Bern is the name of a character in Germanic heroic legend who originated as a legendary version of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. The name "Dietrich", meaning "Ruler of the People", is a form of the Germanic name "Theod ...

(Theoderic the Great) ascribes the authorship to Heinrich. After the ''Sängerkrieg'' was republished by the Swiss author

Johann Jakob Bodmer Johann Jakob Bodmer (19 July 16982 January 1783) was a Swiss author, academic, critic and poet. Life Born at Greifensee, near Zürich, and first studying theology and then trying a commercial career, he finally found his vocation in letters. In 1 ...

(1698–1783), the medieval tale about poetry and society became popular with Romantic writers. Heinrich von Ofterdingen became chiefly known by the novel of Novalis published in 1802 and the dramatic realisation in

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's opera ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'', coalesced with the late medieval

legend, a conflation created by CTL Lucas in his ''Ueber den Krieg von Wartburg'' (1838). The Novalis novel also contained the symbol of the Blue Flower which became a key symbol in

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

. In the early 20th century

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

German writers portrayed Heinrich as a defender of veritable German poetry and even as author of the ''

Nibelungenlied The ( gmh, Der Nibelunge liet or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic ...

'' poem.

External links

''Heinrich von Ofterdingen'' (Novalis's original German text)
* (English translation)
Henry of Ofterdingen - Part First (excerpt) with illustrations
Characters in German novels Minnesingers Works by Novalis {{novel-char-stub