The Styrian poet Ulrich von Lichtenstein (d. c. 1275) uncon sciously caricatured chivalry itself by his Frauendienst, in which he relates the absurd feats which he had undertaken at his lady's command, while Steinmar (fl. c. 1276) deliberately parodied court poetry in his praises of rustic beauty and good living. In the lays, songs and proverbs of Tannhauser something of both elements, of the court and the village, is to be found. The Austrian poet Reinmar von Zweter (d. c. 126o) left some hundreds of Spriiche political or social in their import. The didactic motive came more and more to the front in the 13th century. The wandering Swabian poet Marner (d. c. I 2 7 o) cultivated especially the Spruch, laughed at the Provencal and courtly tradition, and there is no very great step from his learning and his feuds to the conditions of Meister gesang.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.-The chief mss. containing the work of the 300 or more minnesingers whose work has been partially preserved are the old Heidelberg ms. (13th century), the Weingarten-Stuttgart ms. (54th century) and the Great Heidelberg ms. (54th century), formerly known as the Manasse ms. This last is the most comprehensive of all. It has been printed by F. Pfaff (Heidelberg, 1899). The completest
collection of the minnesingers' verses is F. H. von der Hagen, Minne singer (4 vols., Leipzig, 1838) ; K. Lachmann and M. Haupt, Des Min nesangs Friihling (ed. F. Vogt, 3rd ed., Leipzig, 192o) is a collection of the minnesingers prior to Walther von der Vogelweide. There is a comprehensive selection of 97 minnesingers by Karl Bartsch, Deutsche Liederdichter des 12. bis 14. Jahrhunderts (ed. W. Golther, 7th ed., 1914) ; see also F. Pfaff, Der Minnesang der 12. bis 14. Jahr hunderts, pt. i. (Stuttgart, 1892). English translations of early German lyrics are F. C. Nicholson, Old German Love Songs (5907). See also WALTHER V. D. VOGELWEIDE.
For historical and critical work on the minnesingers, see H. Paul, Grundriss der germanischen Philologie, vol. ii. (Strasbourg, 2nd ed., 19o1), where further references will be found; also A. E. Schonbach, Die Anfiinge des deutschen Minnesanges (Graz, 1898) ; F. Grimme, Geschichte der Minnesiinger, vol. i. (Paderborn, 1892) ; K. Burdach, Reinmar der Alte and Walther von der Vogelweide (Leipzig, 188o) ; A. Schultz, Das hofische Leben zur Zeit der Minnesiinger (2nd ed., Leip zig, 1889) ; E. Wechssler, Des Kulturproblem des Minnesangs, i. (Halle, 1909).