Gottfried von Strassburg

Gottfried of Strasbourg († 1215 ) was one of the most important German poets of the Middle Ages. He lived in the late 12th and early 13th century and was a contemporary of Hartmann von Aue, Wolfram von Eschenbach and Walther von der Vogelweide.

Life and work

From the Alsatian Gottfried no documentary evidence is obtained, so that the reconstruction of his life is not rangy possible. The earliest and most important information does the Middle High German epic poet Rudolf von Ems. In his work The guote Gerhart he calls Gottfried of Strasbourg has explicitly influenced as the author of his main work Tristan, the Rudolf Guoten Gerhart. Gottfried's Tristan, a 1210 incurred and fragment retarded verse novel is an adaptation of the Tristan and Isolde - substance. In another work of Rudolph, the Alexander Gottfried is cited as an epic poet and Sang proverbs referring to a verse saying the Great Heidelberg Song (Codex Manesseplatz ), although Ulrich is there attributed by Liechtenstein.

As is certainly true in the research that Gottfried had a reaching about the trivium comprehensive education and was familiar with both the courtly literature as well as with the intelligence of the 12th century. It is likely that Gottfried was nichtadeliger origin and as a cleric took secular duties. As can be seen from the Tristan, he was for his patron Dieterich, who came from the Strasbourg upper class, works.

Maybe Gottfried enjoyed a university education in Paris or Bologna and had knowledge of contemporary Latin writings.

Gottfried probably died before the completion of his Tristan 1210-1220.

Works received

• Tristan ( Gottfried of Strasbourg)
• Some lyrical poems in the Great Heidelberg Liederhandschrift