Walter von der Vogelweide is a famous German composer and poet of the 12th-13th centuries. One of the representatives of the generation of the classic minnesang. His works are still of great interest to lovers of medieval literature. In this article you will learn about his biography and work.
Childhood and youth
Walter von der Vogelweide was born on the territory of modern Austria between 1160 and 1170. It is known that he came from a poor kind of knights, but he did not have his own lands. Only at the end of his life received a small plot from Frederick II.
In his youth he lived at the court of the Austrian Duke Leopold V, where he learned poetry. In 1198, his wanderings as a knight began. Apparently, in these years, Walter von der Vogelweide even reached Palestine.
He earned his livelihood thanks to the performance of his own songs. During his long journey he formulated an individual style, comparing favorably with most stray singers, many of whom were on the same face. Didactic shpruh took over from German spiers - this is a genre of medieval poetry, which is a small poem of an edifying character. At the same time he dressed him in forms typical of knightly poetry.
Views
It is worth noting that in the field of politics, the views of Walter von der Vogelweide often transformed. Everything depended directly on who exactly he was serving at the moment.
For example, in 1198 he glorifies the coronation of the King of Germany, Philip of Swabia, but when the monarch weakens, he passes on to his rival, Holy Roman Emperor Otton IV. After the overthrow, Otto returns to the Hohenstaufen to praise the new Emperor Frederick.
In these intervals, he succeeded several more smaller and more powerful feudal lords. At the same time, like vagantas, he didn’t even try to hide the self-interest of his intentions.
At the end of life
Around 1224, Walter settled in his own estate in the Wurzburg region. It is known that he seeks to convince the German feudal lords to participate in the campaign against Jerusalem in 1228. Perhaps even accompanies the army to Tyrol.
The poems of Walter von der Vogelweide are known in which he describes these places where he has not been since childhood. This makes him compare his whole previous life with a dream.
The hero of this article died after 1228. It is not possible to establish the exact date. He was buried in the Wurzburg area, where the estate he had been granted was located.
There is a legend that the poet bequeathed to his descendants, so that at the place of his burial they regularly fed birds. The tombstone that was installed on his grave was lost. The new one was erected in 1843. Now the grave is in the Luzam garden of the Cathedral of St. Kilian.
Creation
The poems of Walter von der Vogelweide give a visual representation of the worldview and ideas of German society of that time. At that time, it became the bearer of nationalist tendencies, large feudal lords, spiritual and secular princes gain influence.
Of economic interests, they advocate the religious and political independence of Germany from the papal throne. Even Walter’s invectives against the Pope have survived, which practically verbally repeat the messages of the German bishops, whose views he expressed. The poet gives them bile, uses rich images, showing skill as an artist of words.
Love lyrics
In the work of Walter von der Vogelweide many lyrical works. In them, he combines vagant and courteous poetry. His love does not turn into a pointless adoration of abstract femininity. Walter perceives it exclusively as mutual and earthly.
In a dispute between sensual and incorporeal love, the poet finds himself in an intermediate position. Moreover, in his works he replaces the word "mistress" with a more honorable one, in his opinion - "woman".
In his works, Walter often portrays his beloved as not a married and noble lady or wife of the seigneur, as was regularly done in knightly lyrics. Instead, a simple girl appears, which is more typical of the traditions of vagantas.
In his best works, the hero of this article combines convincing images with amazing musical sound.
All preserved about two hundred poems of this author. Among the minnesingers, he was highly respected. Many of them became his imitators and students. You can even talk about the school of Walter, whose followers sought to adopt the individual style and features of his work.
The musical heritage of the poet is almost gone. Among modern researchers, it is believed that only three melodies that were certainly written by him are reliably known. These are works entitled "The Tone of King Frederick", "Palestine" and "The Second Tone of Philip." Walter's authorship in relation to other works of that period is very controversial.