Der von Kürenberg or Der Kürenberger (fl. mid-12th century) was a

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. Hig ...

poet and one of the earliest

Minnesänger (; "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 ...

. Fifteen

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 varyi ...

s of his songs are preserved in 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 ...

and the Budapest Fragment.

Life

Since his given name remains unknown ("Der" is not a name but a

demonstrative pronoun Demonstratives ( abbreviated ) are words, such as ''this'' and ''that'', used to indicate which entities are being referred to and to distinguish those entities from others. They are typically deictic; their meaning depending on a particular fram ...

), it is impossible to identify him in historical records. His social status also remains uncertain and the place name Kürenberg (literally "Mill Hill") is not uncommon. Although he is placed among the barons ("

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empir ...

en") in the hierarchical ordering of the Manesse Codex, the only known house of this status and name is documented in the

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

in the 11th Century. He more probably belongs to families of his name with vassal status ("

Dienstmann A ''Dienstmann'' (plural: ''Dienstleute'' or, in Austria, ''Dienstmänner'') was a medieval retainer or vassal and, later, a hired man, in German-speaking countries, particularly in Austria until the first half of the 20th century. Usage The ...

"), attested in the area along the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

around

Melk Melk (; older spelling: ) is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,257 (as of 2012). It is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery ...

and

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

in the mid-12th Century. A Danubian origin is also supported by his use of a strophic form identical to that later used in 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 Germani ...

, the "Nibelungenstrophe". His work is dated on literary-historical grounds to the earliest phase of

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 w ...

, around 1150–1160.

Work

Manuscripts

Kürenberg's songs are preserved in two manuscripts: *The

(C), c. 1310, contains 15 strophes by Kürenberg and a

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 proble ...

. *The Budapest Fragment (Bu), late 13th century, Danubian, contains 9 strophes by Kürenberg, the same as the first nine in C. This manuscript was discovered only in 1985 and is therefore unknown to earlier scholarship. The text of the manuscripts is clearly defective in a number of places.

Form

The manuscripts do not group the strophes, and they are usually regarded as standing alone, rather than forming the multi-strophe poems typical of later Minnesang. However, the first two strophes, which differ in form from the rest, seem to for a "Wechsel", that is a song with a strophe from each of a pair of lovers. The two strophes of the "Falkenlied" ("falcon song") clearly belong together. Possibly other pairs of strophes belong together, even though separated in the manuscripts, but this is not amenable to a definitive conclusion. The rhymes are not always pure: for example, Kürenberg rhymes ''zinne:singen'' and ''liep:niet''. This distinguishes the Danubian poets from later Minnesänger.

Content

His poems were most likely written before the concept of ideal courtly love was formulated. As their subject they have a more direct and less stylized relationship. Some are in dialogue form (''Wechsel''). The best known poem is the "falcon song". It is possible that both

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have ei ...

s were spoken by a woman. His poetry, as well as that of

Dietmar von Eist Dietmar von Aist (c. 1115 – c. 1171) was a Minnesinger from a baronial family in the Duchy of Austria, whose work is representative of the lyric poetry in the Danube region. Life One Dietmar von Aist is mentioned by name from about 1139 onwards ...

(Aist), suggest that there may have existed a poetic form indigenous to the Upper Germany/Austria territory before the impact of the Provençal influence. His poems contrast sharply with those of the later convention. So much so that some have been tempted to suggest that he disapproved of them. (But as Walsche says: This would be presuming too much). His poems are composed almost exclusively in an old Danubic form which is called the '' Nibelungenstrophe'' (the Germanic long-line). In one of the poems a woman stands and listens to the song of one knight among all the others. The knight sings "in Kürenberges wise". She states that "either he must leave the country, or she will enjoy his love." The poet's response is to call for his horse and armour and flee. This lady is unique in the poetry of the time in that she wishes to compel the knight's love and seeks to fulfill the promised eroticism of the knight's song. Strangely, one is left with the feeling that the knight was shocked to have been taken seriously. Der von Kürenberg paints bold images with few words and creates men and women who are bold and confident. The impression he leaves seems more true to what one might expect the men and women of a warrior-aristocracy to be like than that portrayed in the following generation's poetry.

Example Text

The "Falkenlied"

Notes

Editions

* *
Google Books (Extract)
* (The only edition to include the text of the Budapest Fragment.)

External links

*
Der von Kürenberg (Codex Manesse)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurenberg Minnesingers 12th-century Austrian poets Austrian male poets