Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift
The German equivalent of the troubadour tradition is called Minnesang and originates from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Of the three most important specimens of the Minnesang tradition, this Alsatian manuscript from ca. 1270–80 is the oldest. It represents one of the most important historical documents of 13th century Germany and offers important insights into high medieval court culture.
Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift
This is the oldest manuscript of the three most important sources of Minnesang, the Middle High German tradition of lyric- and songwriting originating from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Known as the Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift or “Small Heidelberg Song-Manuscript”, it is one of this tradition’s three major manuscripts along with the Codex Manesse and Weingarten Manuscript *. The primary subject of these songs was *Minne, a Middle High German word for love. Individual songs were called a Minnelied and were performed by a Minnesänger, the German equivalent of a troubadour.
An Alsatian Songbook
This particular specimen originated from the Alsace region, possibly Strasbourg, ca. 1270–1280. As its name implies, it is relatively small – 18.5 x 13.5 cm – for a musical manuscript. The main body of the text was originally written by a single scribe in Low Alemannic German, but this was later appended by five different scribes ca. 1375, whose writing reveals a more Central German linguistic influence. There are 34 sections in the text that are attributed to various authors, although some appear in multiple sections so that about 30 can be distinguished with certainty. These sections can range from two to 151 strophes, as in the case of the famous Walther von der Vogelweide (ca. 1170 – ca. 1230). The 14th century appendix adds another 56 verses without citing their authors, but almost all can be identified on the basis of other manuscripts. Today, the manuscript is the proud possession of Heidelberg University Library, where it is stored under the shelf mark Cod.Pal.germ. 357.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Codex palatinus germanicus 357
- Size / Format
- 90 pages / 18.7 × 13.4 cm
- Origin
- Germany
- Date
- 1270–1280
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift
Hartmann von Aue
Spelled “von Ovve” here in the title for this section, Hartmann von Aue was a German knight whose family originates from the region of Swabia. Aside from the fact that he participated in the Crusade of 1197, little is known about his life and the years of neither his birth nor death are known for certain. Nonetheless, four narrative poems important for the history of the court epic in Middle High German are credited to him and he was also a Minnesänger who has 18 surviving compositions today.

Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift
Reinmar der Alte
The first Minnesänger in this historic musical manuscript is Reinmar von Hagenau, known as Reinmar the Elder. Living in the late–12th century and regarded by contemporaries and modern historians alike as the greatest composer of Minesang, he was only surpassed in the following generation by the famous Walther von der Vogelweide. Little is known about his life aside that he was of the knightly class.
The Low Alemannic German text is written in Gothic miniscule by a single scribe. Arranged in a single column, songs are indicated by paragraph marks and individual strophes are marked by blue and red Lombardic capitals, some of which have elaborate embellishments. The large elaborate “S” initial feature tendril flourishes and partially frames the text.

#1 Die kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift
Language: German
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