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. Hig ...

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 w ...

and Minnesinger mentioned in the 13th century epic of the '' Sängerkrieg'' (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" in ...

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, Reinmar von Zweter and Wolfram von Eschenbach in the presence of the Landgrave of Thuringia. 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 illustrat ...

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

Laurin Laurin is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Anna-Lena Laurin (born 1962), Swedish composer * Camille Laurin (1922–1999), psychiatrist and politician in Quebec, Canada * Dan Laurin (born 1960), Swed ...

'' poem about Dietrich von Bern (Theoderic the Great) ascribes the authorship to Heinrich. After the ''Sängerkrieg'' was republished by the Swiss author Johann Jakob Bodmer (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 op ...

'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 Christian Theodor Ludwig Lucas, also known as Ludwig Lucas or C.T.L. Lucas (born 1796 in Petrikau, South Prussia — d. 1854 in Schrimm, Posen Province) was a German writer and pedagogue. Life Lucas enrolled to study, first Protestant Theology ...

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