Motorists driving today on the highway along the borders of Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein might hardly notice the castle ruins of Hohenems on the eastern side, apparently of little relevance today. Hohenems is located south of Dornbirn and north of Feldkirch in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, not far away from Lake Constance. However, in the Middle Ages, it was the residence of the noble family of Ems, who enjoyed considerable wealth and political esteem, and who supported the arts and assembled a significant library. In the late eighteenth century two of the most important manuscripts containing the
Nibelungenliedwere discovered in the castle library (ms. A: 1779; ms. C: 1755).
One of the members of the von Ems family was the famous Middle High German poet Rudolf von Ems,
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Citation: Classen, Albrecht. "Rudolf von Ems". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 April 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14719, accessed 26 November 2024.]