The ''Spielmannsdichtung'' or ''Spielmannsepik'' (or ''-epos'') is a proposed

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

, now generally deprecated, 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 ...

literature, specifically the

lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

(''Dichtung'') or

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

(''Epik'' or ''Epos'') of wandering

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

s (''

Spielmann Spielmann or Spielman is a German occupational surname, which means " jester", from the Middle High German ''spilære''.''Dictionary of American Family Names''"Spieler Family History" Oxford University Press, 2013. Retrieved on 16 January 2016. The ...

en'') of the twelfth century. The term was used to classify several early Middle High German works that predated the

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 ...

and the ''

Höfische Epik As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric kn ...

''. They are considered heroic and adventurous works destined for a popular audience and were long attributed to wandering minstrels, though this view has been abandoned, since the minstrels were not generally literate. The term remains today only as a convenience for grouping together similarly themed works: *''

König Rother ''King Rother'' or ''König Rother'' is the earliest ''Spielmannsdichtung'' known to historians.''The Columbia Encyclopedia'': "könˈĭk rōtˈər, earliest heroic minstrel epic from the precourtly period of Middle High German literature."Luscombe ...

'' *''

Herzog Ernst ''Herzog Ernst'' is a German Epic poetry, epic from the early high Middle Ages (c. 1180), first written down by an anonymous author from the Rhine River, Rhine region. Story The main theme of the story is an argument between a Bavarian duke (Her ...

'' *''

Solomon and Marcolf Solomon and Marcolf is a medieval narrative describing the adventures and conversations of Solomon and Marcolf, or Marolf. The adventures have some connection with those of Ashmedai, while the conversations consist chiefly of riddles similar to ...

'' *''

Orendel ''Orendel'' is a Middle High German epic poem. Composed of around 4,000 lines, it is traditionally dated to the end of the 12th century. The earliest known manuscript (1477) was lost in a fire in 1870. Synopsis The story is associated with the tow ...

'' *'' König Oswald'' Most of these were only written down in the thirteenth century and survive in multiple variations. They blend history, legend, and fairy tale, but internal evidence points to a learned authorship, probably clerical. They are punctuated by instances of crude comedy and were probably intended for a less educated noble audience. They are generally dated based on references in the text which show that they are not earlier than the middle of the twelfth century. Commonalities between all five anonymous ''Spielmannsdichtungen'' are often hard to identify and for that the term has ceased to be used to describe a genre.

References

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Further reading