The Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschift ("Small Heidelberg Song-manuscript") is a collection of
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. High ...
Minnesang
(; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wr ...
texts. In Minnesang scholarship it is referred to as MS. A. It is held by the
Heidelberg University Library
The University Library Heidelberg (german: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg) is the central library of the University of Heidelberg. It constitutes together with the 83 decentralized libraries of the faculties and institutes the University Lib ...
with the signature Cod.Pal.germ. 357 (Cpg 357).
Along with the
Weingarten Manuscript The Weingarten Manuscript (German ''Weingartner Liederhandschrift'') is a 14th-century illuminated manuscript containing a collection of Minnesang lyrics. It is currently in the Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart, with the shelf-mark HB ...
(MS. B) and 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 illustrat ...
(MS. C), it is one of the major sources of Minnesang texts from the beginnings (around 1150) to the end of the "golden age" (around 1230).
Description
Dating from 1270–1280, it is the oldest of the three
Upper German
Upper German (german: Oberdeutsch ) is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in the southern German-speaking area ().
History
In the Old High German time, only Alemannic and Bairisch are grouped as Upper German. In the Middle High G ...
Minnesang manuscripts. It was created in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
, possibly in
Strassburg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eur ...
. There is no certainty about the patron, though
Conrad of Lichtenberg
Conrad of Lichtenberg (german: Konrad von Lichtenberg; french: Conrad de Lichtenberg; 1240 – 1 August 1299) was a bishop of Strasbourg in the 13th century.
Lichtenberg was born to a wealthy family and entered the clergy at the age of 13. He ...
,
Bishop of Strassburg has been suggested.
It contains 45 parchment pages in small format (18.5 x 13.5cm), hence its name, which distinguishes it from the larger format Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift ("Great Heidelberg Song-manuscript"), as the Codex Manesse is often called, which is held in the same library.
The main part of the manuscript is written by a single
scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
and the language is
Low Alemannic. The appendix, the work of five different scribes, shows some
Central German
Central German or Middle German (german: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany.
Central German di ...
influence. The manuscript is written in
Gothic minuscule
Blackletter (sometimes black letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century. It continued to be commonly used for the Danish, Norweg ...
. The songs are written in a single column, the beginnings indicated by paragraph marks. The individual
strophe
A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varying ...
s are indicated by blue and red
Lombardic capitals
Lombardic capitals is the name given to a type of decorative Letter case, upper-case letters used in inscriptions and, typically, at the start of a section of text in medieval manuscripts. They are characterized by their rounded forms with thick ...
, some of which are elaborate. Unlike the Codex Manesse it has no
miniature
A miniature is a small-scale reproduction, or a small version. It may refer to:
* Portrait miniature, a miniature portrait painting
* Miniature art, miniature painting, engraving and sculpture
* Miniature (chess), a masterful chess game or probl ...
s showing the poets.
Content
The songs themselves date from the central period in the development of Minnesang. The earliest are probably those of Heinrich von Rugge (around 1180) while the latest, dating to around 1240, are the songs of
Neidhart von Reuental
Neidhart (Middle High German ) (later often called Neidhart von Reuental) was one of the most famous . With around 1500 documented strophes of his songs surviving, Neidhart has the largest corpus of surviving lyrics of any , suggesting the great ...
and
Bruder Wernher
Bruder Wernher (fl. 13th century) was an Duchy of Austria, Austrian poet who wrote Middle High German ''Spruchdichtung, Sprüche'', social or political songs, as opposed to love songs.
''Bruder'' (brother) is not a name, but a description indicati ...
.
The main part of the manuscript is divided into 34 sections or author names; the material in the appendix is anonymous. Four or five of these authors are represented in each of two collections under a slightly modified name, thus about 30 authors are distinguished. The number of songs for each poet ranges from two (Reinmar der Junge) to 151 strophes (
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 hundr ...
).
The appendix consists of 56 verses without names and initials. They can be attributed to known poets on the basis of other manuscripts.
The Poets
Named sections
#1r
Reinmar der Alte
#4v Reinmar der Fiedler
#5r Reinmar der Junge
#5v
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 hundr ...
#13v
Heinrich von Morungen
Heinrich von Morungen or Henry of Morungen (died c. 1220 or 1222) was a German Minnesinger.
Life
Almost nothing about his life can be deduced from Heinrich's songs. Possibly he is identical with the ''Hendricus de Morungen'' who is documented in T ...
#15r Ulrich von Singenberg, Truchseß zu St. Gallen
#20v Rubin
#21v Niune
#24v Geltar
#26r
Neidhart Neidhart is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Christian Neidhart, German football manager
*Jim Neidhart, Canadian professional wrestler
*Natalya Neidhart
Natalie Katherine Neidhart-Wilson (born May 27, 1 ...
#27r Spervogel
#28r Der junge Spervogel
#29r Rudolf von Rotenburg
#29v Heinrich von Rugge
#30r
Hartmann von Aue
Hartmann von Aue, also known as Hartmann von Ouwe, (born ''c.'' 1160–70, died ''c.'' 1210–20) was a German knight and poet. With his works including ''Erec'', '' Iwein'', ''Gregorius'', and ''Der arme Heinrich'', he introduced the Arthurian ...
#30v
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.
Life
Little is known of Wolfram's life. There are ...
#30v Wachsmut von Künzingen
#31r Rudolf von Rotenburg
#31r Walther von Mezze
#32r
Gottfried von Straßburg
#32r
Heinrich von Veldeke
Heinrich von Veldeke (aka: , Dutch Hendrik van Veldeke, born before or around 1150 – died after 1184) is the first writer in the Low Countries known by name who wrote in a European language other than Latin. He was born in Veldeke, which was a ...
#32v Markgraf von Hohenburg
#33r Heinrich von Veldeke
#33v
Hawart
Hawart ( 13th century) was a German poet in the tradition of ''Minnesang'' (love lyric). His surviving works focus on both love and politics. His reference in one poem to the Holy Places being in the hands of the heathen places it after the fall o ...
#34v Günther von dem Forste
#35v
Graf Heinrich von Anhalt
#36r
Albrecht von Johansdorf
Albrecht von Johansdorf (c. 1180 – c. 1209) was a Minnesänger and a minor noble in the service of Wolfger of Erla. Documents indicate that his life included the years 1185 to 1209. He may have known Walther von der Vogelweide and is belie ...
#36r Markgraf von Hohenburg
#36v Bruder Wernher
#36v Leuthold von Seven
#39r Hugo von Mühldorf (Kunz von Rosenheim?)
#39r
Burggraf von Regensburg
#39r
Otto von Botenlauben
Otto von Botenlauben or Botenlouben (1177, Henneberg – before 1245, near Bad Kissingen), the Count of Henneberg from 1206, was a German minnesinger, Crusader and monastic founder.
Otto von Botenlauben was the fourth son of Count Poppo VI ...
Anonymous texts
#40r Rubin
#40v Walther von der Vogelweide
#40v Rubin
#41r Walther von der Vogelweide
#42r
Reinmar von Zweter
Reinmar von Zweter (also spelled Reymar von Zwetel, Reymar von Zweten, Römer von Zwickau, Ehrenbote, born around 1200 in Zeutern, today known as Ubstadt-Weiher, Germany; died after 1248) was a Middle High German poet of Spruchdichtung. The ic ...
#42v
Ulrich von Liechtenstein
Ulrich von Liechtenstein (ca. 1200 – 26 January 1275) was a German minnesinger and poet of the Middle Ages. He wrote poetry in Middle High German and was author of noted works about how knights and nobles may lead more virtuous lives. Ulrich was ...
/ von Wissenloh / Anonymous a
#43r Reinmar der Alte / Anonymous a
#43v Friedrich von Sonnenburg
#44r Pseudo-Friedrich von Sonnenburg
#45r Rubin
Notes
References
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*
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External links
Digital facsimile
{{Authority control
14th-century books
Poetry anthologies
Middle High German literature
Middle High German manuscripts
Minnesang
German anthologies