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Walther von der Vogelweide
(1170 (?)-1230 (?))

Active: 1190 (?)-1228 (?) in Austria, Germany, Continental Europe

By Marion E. Gibbs (University of London)

Indexing Data:

  • Active In: Austria, Germany, Continental Europe
  • Born In: Austria?, Continental Europe
  • Activity: Lyric Poet

Life, Works and Times

Reader Actions

Walther von der Vogelweide belongs to the remarkable flowering in German literature at the end of the 12th century and in the first decades of the 13th. This brief period produced lyric and narrative poetry of extraordinary quality, and, in the realm of the lyric, the name of Walther von der Vogelweide dominates today as it doubtless did at times in the Middle Ages. The young German at school traditionally encounters several of Walther’s songs as an integral part of the curriculum, and it is probably true to say that, of all the lyric poets writing in German in the Middle Ages, Walther is most likely to appeal to the modern reader. The clue to this appeal may perhaps be found in the famous depiction of Walther in th

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First published 04 March 2004

Citation: Gibbs, Marion E.. "Walther von der Vogelweide". The Literary Encyclopedia. 4 March 2004.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5466, accessed 20 November 2009.]