Vogelweide, Walther von der
Vogelweide, Walther von der
Vogelweide, Walther von der , famous German Minnesinger and poet; b. c. 1170; d. probably in Würzburg, c. 1230. He learned his craft as a singer and poet in Austria, and from about 1190 to 1198 he was active in Vienna, where he was associated with the court. He led a wandering life, and visited various European courts, finally entering the service of Friedrich of Sicily (later Emperor Friedrich II), who gave him a fief in Würzburg about 1220. Many of his poems are extant; however, only one complete original melody by him is preserved, the so-called Palästinalied. For text eds. of his works, see K. Lachmann, Die Gedichte Walthers von der Vogelweide (Berlin, 1827; 10thed., rev, 1936, by C. von Kraus; 13thed., 1965, by H. Kuhn), W. Wilmanns, ed., Walther von der Vogelweide (Halle, 1869; 4thed., rev, 1916-24, by V. Michels), H. Paul, ed., Walther von der Vogelweide: Gedichte (Halle, 1882; 6thed., rev, 1943, by A. Leitzmann; 9thed., 1959, by H. Kuhn), and R Maurer, ed., Die Lieder Walthers von der Vogelweide, unter Beifügung erhaltener und erschlossener Melodien,Altdeutsche Textbibliothek, XLIII (Tübingen, 1956; 2nded., rev., 1965). For his music, see E. Jammers, ed., Ausgewählte Melodien des Minnesangs (Tübingen, 1963), H. Moser and J. Müller-Blattau, eds., Deutsche Lieder des Mittelalters (Stuttgart, 1968), and R. Taylor, ed., The Art of the Minnesinger (Cardiff, 1968).
Bibliography
C. von Kraus, W. v.d.V: Untersuchungen (Berlin, 1935); J. Huisman, Neue Wege zur dichterischen und musikalischen Technik W.s v.d.V.(Utrecht, 1950); K. Klein, Zur Spruchdichtung und Heimatfrage W.s v.d.V.(Innsbruck, 1952); D. Kralik, Die Elegie W.s v.d.V.(Vienna, 1952); K. Halbach, W. v.d.V.(Stuttgart, 1965; 2nded., rev., 1968); F. Scheibe, W. v.d.V, Troubadour of the Middle Ages: His Life and Reputation in the English-Speaking Countries (N.Y., 1969); M. Scholz, Bibliographie zu W. v.d.V.(Berlin, 1969).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire