Walther von der Vogelweide

Rating: 4.33
Rating: 4.33

Walther von der Vogelweide Poems

Under der linden
an der heide,
dâ unser zweier bette was,
dâ muget ir vinden
...

Alas! Where have all the years gone?
Did I dream my life, or is it real?
What I always thought - was that something?
...

When from the sod the flow'rets spring,
And smile to meet the sun's bright ray,
When birds their sweetest carols sing
...

I've got my fief, you world! A fief at last!
I shall not fear the February blast,
and petty barons can be flattered less.
...

Ah! where are hours departed fled?
Is life a dream, or true indeed?
Did all my heart hath fashioned
From fancy's visitings proceed?
...

'Lady,' I said, 'this garland wear!
For thou wilt wear it gracefully;
And on thy brow 'twill sit so fair,
And thou wilt dance so light and free;
...

Too well thy weakness have I proved;
Now would I leave thee; - it is time -
Good night! to thee, oh world, good night!
...

Fain (could it be) would I a home obtain,
And warm me by a hearth-side of my own.
Then, then, I'd sing about the sweet birds' strain,
...

Under the lime tree
On the heather,
Where we had shared a place of rest,
Still you may find there,
...

Up, then, dance we to the song,
Care, for ever be thou gone!
Firm at length shall be my step,
High again my spirit leap!
...

Chill penury and winter's power
Upon my soul so hard have prest,
That I would fain have seen no more
The red flow'rs that the meadows drest:
...

'Twas summer,-- through the opening grass
The joyous flowers upsprang,
The birds in all their different tribes
Loud in the woodlands sang:
...

I thought I'd served her long enough,
and sat dejected and confused
despairing of the lady's love,
when something gave my hopes a boost.
...

A mournful one am I, above whose head
A day of perfect bliss hath never past;
Whatever joys my soul have ravished,
...

Worthy art thou, returning home, the bell
For thee should ring, and crowds come gathering round
To gaze, how as a gladdening miracle
...

To me is barr'd the door of joy and ease;
There stand I as an orphan, lone, forlorn,
And nothing boots me that I frequent knock.
...

Walther von der Vogelweide Biography

Vogelweide, a poet and minnesinger(a singer of love songs), is one of the most celebrated of the Medievil German poets, the main sources of information about him are his own poems and occasional references by contemporary Minnesingers. It is clear from the title (Herr, Sir) given in these references, that he was of noble birth; but it is equally clear from his name Vogelweide (meaning: a gathering place or preserve of birds) that he belonged not to the higher nobility, who took their titles from castles or villages, but to the nobility of service. Tirol appears to be his place of birth and had become a center of poetry and art. It was here that the young poet learned his craft under the renowned master Pemmar the Old, whose death he afterwards lamented in two of his most beautiful lyrics. This happy period of his life, during which he produced the most charming and spontaneous of his love-lyrics, came to an end with the death of Duke Frederick in 1198. Following this, Walther was a wanderer from court to court, singing for his lodging and his bread, and always hoping that some patron would arise to save him from this "juggler's life" and the shame of ever playing the guest. His criticism of men and manners was scathing; and even when this did not touch his princely patrons, their underlings often took measures to rid themselves of so uncomfortable a censor. In 1212 he once more entered the political arena, this time in support of the Welf emperor Otto IV against Innocent III. Feeling that he was not treated with the generosity he expected Walther turned to welcome the new ruler, who was crowned in 1215. From him he received a small fief, symbol of the security he had so long desired. Two 14th-century records suggest that it was in the see of Würzburg, and it is likely that he spent the rest of his life there. More than half of the 200 or so of Walther's existing poems are political, moral, or religious; the rest are love poems. In his religious poems he preached the need for man actively to meet the claims of his Creator by, for instance, going on pilgrimage or on crusade; in his moral-didactic poems he praises such human virtues as faithfulness, sincerity, charity, and self-discipline--virtues that were not especially prominent in his own life. As a love poet he developed a fresh and original treatment of the situations of courtly love and, ultimately, in such poems as the popular "Unter der Linden," achieved a free, uninhibited style in which the poses of court society gave way before the natural affections of village folk.)

The Best Poem Of Walther von der Vogelweide

Under Der Linden

Under der linden
an der heide,
dâ unser zweier bette was,
dâ muget ir vinden
schône beide
gebrochen bluomen unde gras.
Vor dem walde in einem tal,
tandaradei,
schône sanc diu nahtegal.

Ich kam gegangen
zuo der ouwe:
dô was mîn friedel komen ê.
Dâ wart ich empfangen
(hêre frouwe!)
daz ich bin sælic iemer mê.
Kust er mich?
Wol tûsentstunt:
tandaradei,
seht wie rôt mir ist der munt.

Dô hete er gemachet
alsô rîche
von bluomen eine bettestat.
Des wirt noch gelachet
inneclîche,
kumt iemen an daz selbe pfat:
bî den rôsen er wol mac,
tandaradei,
merken wâ mir'z houbet lac.

Daz er bî mir læge,
wesse'z iemen
(nu enwelle got!), so schamte ich mich.
Wes er mit mir pflæge,
niemer niemen
bevinde daz, wan er und ich,
und ein kleinez vogellîn:
tandaradei,
daz mac wol getriuwe sîn.

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