minnesinger

minnesinger , a medieval German knight, poet, and singer of Minne, or courtly love. Originally imitators of Provençal troubadours , minnesingers developed their own style in the 13th and 14th cent. Some of their poems are among the best of Middle High German lyric verse. Important exponents of Minnesang included Heinrich von Morungen, Walther von der Vogelweide, and Oswald von Wolkenstein, as well as Gottfried von Strassburg, Wolfram von Eschenbach, and other authors of epics. Wagner's opera Tannhäuser is based on minnesinger art and tradition.

Minnesinger a German lyric poet and singer of the 12th–14th centuries, who performed songs of courtly love. The name comes (in the early 19th century) from German Minnesinger ‘love-singer’.

Minnesinger (Ger.). ‘Singer(s) of love’. Ger. equivalent of troubadours, flourishing in 12th-and 13th-cent. guilds. Mainly of aristocratic orig. in contrast to Meistersinger who were of merchant class. Among the most celebrated Minnesinger were Walther von der Vogelweide (d 1230), Neidhardt von Reuenthal (c.1180–1240), Heinrich von Meissen (Frauenlob, d 1318), Hermann, the Monk of Salzburg (c.1350–1410), and Oswald von Wolkenstein (c.1377–1445). Wagner's Tannhäuser and Strauss's Guntram are operas dealing with the Minnesinger class.