Bligger von Steinach was the name of a series of feudal lords of Steinach, today Neckarsteinach in

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Collectively the noble family was known as the ''Edelfreien von Steinach''. The family was influential, having close connections to the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

and to the

Bishopric of Worms The Prince-Bishopric of Worms was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Located on both banks of the Rhine around Worms just north of the union of that river with the Neckar, it was largely surrounded by the Electorate of the ...

. The family held Steinach in fief to Worms. The name Bligger is of Germanic origin, meaning ''lightning spear''. Bligger I was first mentioned in a document from 1142 as ''bliggerus de steinahe''. In 1150, Bligger's brother, was named Konrad I bishop of Worms. In 1171, Bligger was sent to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

to seek a bride for Frederick's son, Henry VI. There are indications that Bligger's son, Bligger II, and his brother Konrad accompanied him. Bligger II (1152–1210) was a poet of the

Minnesang (; "love song") was a tradition of German lyric- and song-writing that flourished in the Middle High German period (12th to 14th centuries). The name derives from '' minne'', the Middle High German word for love, as that was ''Minnesangs m ...

and fief lord of Steinach. He was also a companion to two

Staufer The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to List of German monarchs, royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 ...

and contemporary of the Minnesinger

Gottfried von Strassburg Gottfried von Strassburg (died c. 1210) is the author of the Middle High German courtly romance ''Tristan'', an adaptation of the 12th-century ''Tristan and Iseult'' legend. Gottfried's work is regarded, alongside the '' Nibelungenlied'' and Wol ...

. Bligger's poems mention Damascus and Saladin and Bligger's homesickness, which some scholars take as an indication that Bligger either accompanied his father and uncle to Constantinople in 1171 or Bligger went on a crusade with Frederick I. Bligger was certainly a trustworthy companion to Henry IV and not just an entertainer. Bligger's signature appears on four imperial documents from 1193 to 1196 as ''Blikerus de Steinaha''. A report of a Pentecostal festival from 1194 in Milano, in which the emperor Henry VI,

Conrad II, Duke of Swabia Conrad II (February/March 1172 – 15 August 1196), was Duke of Rothenburg (1188–1191) and Swabia from 1191 until his death. He was the fifth son of Frederick I Barbarossa and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy. Life After the third-born son of ...

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine Henry V, the Elder of Brunswick (; – 28 April 1227), a member of the House of Welf, was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1195 until 1212. Life Henry was the eldest son of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria and Matilda, the eldest ...

, and Bligger von Steinach. Bligger was also present when Henry VI was crowned king of Sicily in Palermo 1194. Two further imperial documents refer to the name ''Blikerus'' from the Toscana in 1194, but historians dispute whether this refers to Bligger II or his son Bligger III. Bligger appears from 1152 to 1208 in numerous documents of

Schönau Abbey Schönau Abbey may refer to: * Schönau Abbey (Nassau), Benedictine monastery founded in 1126 * Schönau Abbey (Odenwald), Cistercian monastery founded in 1142 *, Cistercian nunnery founded in 1189 See also * Frauenchiemsee, called Schönau in ...

Lorch Abbey Lorch Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery in Lorch from 1102 to 1556 and again from 1630 to 1648. It was originally the house monastery of the Staufer dynasty. Today, many of its buildings remain and are open to visitors. History Lorch was fo ...

Eberbach Abbey Eberbach Abbey (German: Kloster Eberbach) is a former Cistercian monastery in Eltville in the Rheingau, Germany. On account of its Romanesque architecture, Romanesque and Gothic (architecture), early Gothic buildings it is considered one of the m ...

, and in imperial documents. As a poet, Bligger II was mentioned by

in his work '' Tristan und Isolt''. There he praised his "sweet words and clever sensibilities musically entwined". Gottfried also praised Bligger's work ''der umbehanc'' (''The Tapestry''), which remains lost to this day. Some scholars argue that this work refers to the

Nibelungenlied The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, 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 hero ...

, but this remains in dispute. Bligger's work appears in the

Codex Manesse The Codex Manesse (also or Pariser Handschrift) is a (a German term for a manuscript containing songs) which is the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German ''Minnesang'' poetry. It was written and illustrated manuscript, illustr ...

. The codex also displays the coat-of-arms that he created. It is a harp, which is used today by the city of Neckarsteinach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bligger von Steinach Middle High German literature Minnesingers 12th-century German nobility 13th-century German nobility 12th-century German poets 13th-century German poets