Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift

Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift

This is the oldest manuscript of the three most important sources of Minnesang, the Middle High German tradition of lyric- and songwriting originating from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Known as the Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift or “Small Heidelberg Song-Manuscript”, it is one of this tradition’s three major manuscripts along with the Codex Manesse and Weingarten Manuscript *. The primary subject of these songs was *Minne, a Middle High German word for love. Individual songs were called a Minnelied and were performed by a Minnesänger, the German equivalent of a troubadour.

An Alsatian Songbook

This particular specimen originated from the Alsace region, possibly Strasbourg, ca. 1270–1280. As its name implies, it is relatively small – 18.5 x 13.5 cm – for a musical manuscript. The main body of the text was originally written by a single scribe in Low Alemannic German, but this was later appended by five different scribes ca. 1375, whose writing reveals a more Central German linguistic influence. There are 34 sections in the text that are attributed to various authors, although some appear in multiple sections so that about 30 can be distinguished with certainty. These sections can range from two to 151 strophes, as in the case of the famous Walther von der Vogelweide (ca. 1170 – ca. 1230). The 14th century appendix adds another 56 verses without citing their authors, but almost all can be identified on the basis of other manuscripts. Today, the manuscript is the proud possession of Heidelberg University Library, where it is stored under the shelf mark Cod.Pal.germ. 357.