Heinrich van Veldeke

Albrecht Classen (University of Arizona)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

Born c. 1145
Died c. 1200
Activity c. 1165-c. 1200

Places

Born in Belgium
Active in Germany

Genres and Modes

Romance

Activities

Primary

Fiction
Poet

Resources

Veldeke's Works

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Heinrich von Veldeke (fl. 1170-1185) was one of the first Middle High German poets to introduce courtly love poetry based on the model originally developed by the Old Occitan

troubadour

and the Old French

trouvère

poets, and he also introduced the literary

stoff

(theme) of Vergil’s

Aeneas

via an Old French source to his German audience. Heinrich hails from a small town or village, Veldeke, located near Hasselt in the Belgian province of Limbourg, and he apparently received a clerical education, being well versed both in French and Latin. The image of Heinrich in the famous

Manessische Liederhandschrift

(early fourteenth century), no. xvi, shows Heinrich, very similar to Walther von der Vogelweide, sitting on a rock and meditating, probably on his love poetry, since his index finger of…

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1517 words

Citation: Classen, Albrecht. "Heinrich van Veldeke". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 December 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5545, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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