Handbuch Frauenlob ed. by Claudia Lauer and Uta Störmer-Caysa (review)

As is well-known, Frauenlob is a nickname (perhaps self-imposed) of Heinrich von Meißen (ca. 1250–1319). With regard to his life and career, he remains a shadowy figure. The event of his biography that is most often referred to in the sources and celebrated in much later works is, strangely enough, his funeral, and its description is reminiscent of a myth. Although his visual representation is extant, we do not possess a definitive corpus of his songs, because numerous imitators composed under his name.

Frauenlob developed into a vaguely defined denomination of a complicated literary style that forms a bridge between Minnesang and the later Baroque. It is not for nothing that the epithet "florid" (geblümter Stil) stuck to it. A contemporary of the budding German mysticism, Frauenlob, a wandering minstrel, was perfectly attuned to his epoch. Even his name, which could be understood as "the praise of women" (probably the original meaning) or "the praise of Our Lady," with reference to his famous Marienleich, served him well.

In the not too remote past, the art of Meistersingers was looked down upon. This attitude comes to the fore in the classical anthologies of Middle High German literature for colleges. Walther, Wolfram, and other greats figure prominently there, but Frauenlob is included rarely, if at all. Some time ago, the situation changed. He is no longer an outsider, as the bibliography appended to this volume shows with great clarity.

The handbook opens with the editors' introduction in which they discuss Frauenlob's appeal to the modern reader and outline his career. Ten chapters, divided into four parts, follow. I "Texts and Melodies." I/1 "Manuscripts and Editions" (Burghart Wachinger). We possess twenty-three manuscripts and ten fragments of Frauenlob's works. But, as noted above, the attribution of the texts to Frauenlob often poses insoluble problems (which also loom large in analyzing his style). Besides, few texts exist in multiple copies, and some have come down to us in a poor state of preservation. I/2 "Metrical Structures and Melodies" (Horst Brunner). Brunner's meticulous survey of this aspect of Frauenlob's art includes one of the "Tones" (Ton V) transcribed into the modern system of musical notation (p. 19).

II "The Genres." II/3 "Leichdichtung" (Jens Haustein), II/4 "Sangspruchdichtung" (Claudia Lauer), and II/5 "Minnelieder" (Annette Gerok-Reiter). Translating the terms involved in the discussion is impossible, so that some explanation may be called for. Since, from an etymological point of view, Leich is related to the Germanic word for "dancing," it must have alluded to some general way of merry-making: singing and jumping (hopping). In Frauenlob's days, Leich referred to a poem with uneven strophes, each with its own melody. This structure goes back to the sequentia, performed by a choir or one half of it. Sangspruchdichtung (a better term than the traditional Spruchdichtung, because all the Sprüche were sung) is generally gnomic (didactic) poetry, though Frauenlob expanded the boundaries of the genre. He developed various worldly topics, often reminiscent of the older "songs" (Lieder). Politics and religion remained at the center of his attention. Like all serious poets, Frauenlob often meditated on the role of the poet (singer) in society and the value of poetry. Nor did he fear comparing his art and attitudes with those of Reinmar and Walther, with a strong note of self-admiration. Of his Minnelieder (courtly love lyrics) only seven are extant, but they too are subjected to a detailed analysis in the book.

III "Systemic Aspects." III/6 deals with Frauenlob's theology and philosophy. True to the purpose of the handbook, Christoph Huber surveys the opinions of many researchers about this part of Frauenlob's heritage. His initial premise is noncontroversial: in the Middle Ages, as in antiquity, poetry was a medium for explaining the world. In this case, the Marienleich, a religious work...