Influences

Poets

Manuscripts

Form

Development

Sociology

Performance

Links

Topics in German Literature and Culture: Early German Minnesang

Course Description

• Background, Origins and Sources:
  1. Classical poetry; Ovid, Catullus.
  2. Arabic Influences.
  3. Christianity; the Cult of Mary.
  4. Chivalry; "courtly love."
  5. Romance Literature; French, Occitan, Italian, Spanish models.
  6. The Germanic background.

• Manuscript sources; problems of text-criticism and editing.
  1. Editing the texts.
  2. Deciphering the musical notations (or lack thereof).

• Form: meter, rhyme, strophes:

• Development:
  1. The "Danubian School": active women, no Roman influence.
  2. "Hohe Minne": Reinmar, Heinrich von Morungen, Friedrich von Hausen, etc.
  3. Walther von der Vogelweide; new ideas about Love.
  4. Epigones: Neidhart von Reuenthal, Frauenlob, Oswald von Wolkenstein, etc.

• Politics and Sociology of Minnesang:
  1. Status of performers.
     • Spielleute.
     • Ministeriales.
     • Nobles.
  2. Men and women in Minnesang.
  3. Courtly Love: its development and practice; Andreas Capellanus.

• Performance:
  1. Who? When? Where?
  2. How?
     • Singing Practices.
     • Instrumental Accompaniment.
     • Monophony and Polyphony.
     • The problem of rhythm.
     • Contrafacture on foreign models.