Weingarten Manuscript

Here we have one of the most important sources of Minnesang, the Middle High German tradition of lyric- and songwriting originating from the 12th to the 14th centuries. 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. Known as the Weingarten Manuscript, it is one of this tradition’s three major manuscripts along with the Codex Manesse and Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift. It contains texts from the golden age of Minnesang and is stored under the shelf mark XB XIII 1 in the Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart.

Medieval German Love Songs

The manuscript is relatively small, measuring 15 x 11.5 cm, suggesting that it was for private use. It contains the work of 31 poets, 25 of whom are named and the other six are not, but can be identified in other texts. The 25 Minnesänger who are named are portrayed in 23 full-page and 2 half-page miniatures. Although most of the compositions are concerned with romantic love, one is a Marienlob or poem in praise of the Virgin Mary, and another is the Minnelehre or “Art of Love” by Johann von Konstanz (active 1281-1312). Rather than being ordered chronologically or alphabetically, the authors are arranged hierarchically, beginning with the Emperor Henry IV (1165-97) and then progressing down the social ladder to various counts and knights. The manuscript is believed to have originated from Konstanz in the early-14th century at the behest of Heinrich von Klingenberg (ca. 1240-1306), Prince Bishop of Konstanz.