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Information about Codex Manesse

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Folio 371r shows Johannes Hadlaub
The Codex Manesse, Manesse Codex, or Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift[1] is an illuminated manuscript in codex form copied and illustrated between ca. 1304 when the main part was completed, and ca 1340 with the addenda; the codex was produced in Zürich[2] at the request of the Manesse family of Zürich. The possibility that the compiler was the Minnesänger Johannes Hadlaub provided the subject of a poetic novella, '"Hadlaub" (in the Züricher Novellen, 1878), by Gottfried Keller. It is the single most comprehensive source for the texts of love songs in Middle High German, representing 140 poets, several of whom were famous rulers. The term for these poets, Minnesänger, combines the words for "romantic love" and "singer", reflecting the content of the poetry, which adapted the Provençal troubadour tradition to German.

The manuscript is "the most beautifully illumined German manuscript in centuries;"[3] its 137 miniatures are a series of "portraits" depicting each poet. A large number of the nobles are shown in full armour in their heraldic colors and devices (therefore with their faces hidden) taking part in tournament combats. Many designs draw their motifs from the names of the poets (Dietmar is shown riding a mule, since his name can be interpreted as meaning people's horse) or on imagery from their lyrics (Walther von der Vogelweide is shown in a thoughtful pose which exactly matches the description of himself in one of his most famous songs). Since the manuscript was compiled up to 100 years after the deaths of some of the poets, neither the likenesses nor the heraldry can be regarded as authentic, though they have been widely reproduced.
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Folio 124r shows Walther von der Vogelweide
The entries are ordered approximately by the social status of the poets, starting with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, Kings Conradin and Wenceslaus II, down through dukes, counts and knights, to the commoners.

The codex had an obscure early history before it belonged to the Baron von Hohensax, when Melchior Goldast published excerpts of its didactic texts. After 1657 it was in the French royal library, from which it passed to the Bibliothèque Nationale, where the manuscript was studied by Jacob Grimm in 1815. In 1888, after long bargaining, it was sold to the Bibliotheca Palatina of Heidelberg, following a public subscription headed by William I and Otto von Bismarck.

The first critical editions of the Codex Manesse appeared in the early nineteenth century.

External links

References

1. ^ Heidelberg, University of Heidelberg Library, Codex Palatinus Germanicus 848
2. ^ Koschorreck and Werner 1981 discern no fewer than eleven scribes, some working simultaneously, in the production.
3. ^ Ingeborg Glier, reviewing Koschorreck and Werner 1981 in Speculum 59.1 (January 1984), p 169. The only other contemporary illuminated song book is the Weingartener Liederhandschrift, once thought to have been a model for the Codex Manesse.
  • Walter Koschorreck and Wilfried Werner, editors, Kommentar zum Faksimile des Codex Manesse: Die grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift (Kassel: Ganymed) 1981. Commentary to the facsimile edition, with essays by Wilfried Werner, Ewald Vetter, Walter Koscharreck, Hugo Kuhn, Max Wehrli and Ewald Jammers.
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911
illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations. In the strictest definition of the term, an illuminated manuscript only refers to manuscripts decorated with gold
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codex (Latin for block of wood, book; plural codices) is a book in the format used for modern books, with separate pages normally bound together and given a cover.
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Zürich (German: (help info ) [ˈtsyːʁɪç], Zürich German: Züri
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Minnesang was the tradition of lyric and song writing in Germany which flourished in the 12th century and continued into the 14th century. People who wrote and performed Minnesang are known as Minnesingers (Minnesänger).
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Gottfried Keller (July 19, 1819 – July 15, 1890), a Swiss writer, became arguably best-known for his novel Green Henry (German: Der grüne Heinrich).
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Middle High German}}}
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: gmh
ISO 639-3: gmh

Middle High German (MHG, German Mittelhochdeutsch
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Minnesang was the tradition of lyric and song writing in Germany which flourished in the 12th century and continued into the 14th century. People who wrote and performed Minnesang are known as Minnesingers (Minnesänger).
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Occitan}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Officially recognised in Catalonia, Spain, as Occitan.
Regulated by: Conselh de la Lenga Occitana
Language codes
ISO 639-1: oc
ISO 639-2: oci
ISO 639-3: oci

Occitan
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A troubadour was a composer and performer of songs during the High Middle Ages in Europe. The tradition began to flourish during the 11th century. The earliest troubadour whose work survives is Guilhem de Peitieus (Guillaume d'Aquitaine or William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, 1071 -
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miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment.
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Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170 - c. 1230) is the most celebrated of the Middle High German lyric poets.

Life history

For all his fame, Walther's name is not found in contemporary records, with the exception of a solitary mention in the travelling accounts of Bishop
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Henry VI
Duke of Swabia, King of Burgundy,
King of Sicily, King of the Romans,
King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor

Reign December 25, 1194-September 28, 1197
Coronation December 25, 1194
Born November, 1165
Nijmegen

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Conrad or Conradin of Hohenstaufen (also called Conrad the Younger, Conradin the Boy, Conrad V, German Konradin or Konrad V, or Konrad der Jüngere
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Wenceslaus II Premyslid (Czech: Václav II; Polish: Wacław II Czeski; September 17, 1271 – June 21, 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278 - 1305), Duke of Cracow (1291 - 1305) and King
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Melchior Goldast ab Haiminsfeld (near Bischofszell, in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, January 6, 1576 or 1578 - Gießen, 1635) was a Swiss writer, an industrious though uncritical collector of documents relating to the medieval history and constitution of Germany.
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Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.
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Jacob Grimm

Born January 4, 1785
Hanau, Hesse-Kassel
Died September 20, 1863 (age 78)
Berlin, Prussia

Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm
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The Bibliotheca Palatina ("Palatinate library") of Heidelberg was the most important library of the German Renaissance, numbering approximately 5,000 printed books and 3,524 manuscripts.
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Heidelberg
Castle and "Old Bridge"
Coat of arms Location

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William I (William Frederick Louis, German: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig) (March 22 1797 – March 9 1888) of the House of Hohenzollern was a King of Prussia (January 21861 – 9 March1888) and the first German Emperor (18
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Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg, Count of Bismarck-Sch̦nhausen, born Otto Eduard Leopold of Bismarck-Sch̦nhausen (1 April 1815 Р30 July 1898), was a Prussian and German statesman of the 19th century, born to a wealthy family.
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Heidelberg
Castle and "Old Bridge"
Coat of arms Location

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Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (German Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; also known as simply University of Heidelberg), the oldest in Germany, was established in the town of Heidelberg, then the seat of the Counts Palatine, Prince-Electors of the Holy
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