Knights of Minnesang from "B" to "C"
This is how the minnesinger competitions in the castles took place. Still from the film "Beautiful Times in the Spessart" (1967)
"Minnesang - "love song" - is a generalized name for the art of minnesingers - "love singers", German and Austrian medieval poet-musicians, mainly from the knightly class."
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
History and culture. So, today we continue to get acquainted with the culture of the Middle Ages and, in particular, we will get acquainted with the knights of the Minnesang, find out what they did, what poems they wrote and, of course, what they looked like. The source for us will be the famous "Manesse Songbook" or "Manesse Codex", which we have already turned to more than once as a valuable source on the history of the Middle Ages. So today we will again turn over its pages, admire its beautiful illustrations, but something else will be added to them. And this "more" is nothing other than figurines of soldiers made of "white metal" produced by two Russian companies at once: EK Castings and Silver Dream Studio. And they work like this: the first company is engaged in their design and casting, the second - painting, and of very high quality. The height of the figurines is 54 mm, that is, this is the traditional size of the "soldiers" figurines, although due to the presence of helmet decorations they, of course, turn out to be much higher.
Another good thing about this funny and entertaining comedy film is that it has very good costumes that are completely in keeping with its era!
And it happened that the management of the EK Castings company decided to restore the appearance of all the knights, the image of whose shields and helmets is in the "Manesian Codex". The task is quite non-trivial and very interesting. First of all, because the sculptors and manufacturers of "knight-soldiers" often focus on their own tastes and preferences, and even on the movie "Alexander Nevsky", whereas here we have exact images of knights from about 1300, that is, the time of its creation. And there is nothing to fantasize about here, since many characters on the pages of the songbook are depicted in full armor, in helmets and with shields, and some are even on horseback!
As a result, we can get a complete "tin collection" of figurines from the "Manes Codex", and very elegant and colorful figurines, because it was at that time that knightly attire required brightness and richness of fabrics, since it was considered indecent to show off in "naked armor" according to the fashion of those years. And bright robes of heraldic colors served as a kind of knight's passport, allowing him to be identified on the battlefield. It was easy for the knight's vassals, dressed much more simply, to follow such a noticeable figure, as well as squires and servants, whose task was to carry their defeated master from the battlefield. And also, in the case of very grave consequences for him, to inform his heirs about the death of the owner of the title, castle and lands, so that they could take possession of his inheritance on legal grounds.
In addition, the knights' bright and colorful attire allowed them to impress the ladies during tournaments. After all, the more handsome the knight looked, the more attractive he was, since his face was not visible under the helmet. And this also had a certain meaning: rings, brooches and bracelets were thrown to the knight who was liked by the ladies, and if he also won the battles, then the sleeves were torn off the dresses and thrown onto his spear, demonstrating to everyone around the beauty of their bare arms and the whiteness of their skin.
So the work that these two companies have undertaken can be considered extremely useful and interesting. In addition, each of the knights of the "Manes Code" has his own and very often extremely curious story. Although not all of them. From some only dates remain, but this is not bad, considering that the "code" is more than 700 years old!
It is significant that acquaintance with the characters of the songbook refutes the opinion of many historians of the past that all knights of the Middle Ages were ignorant illiterate drunkards and gluttons. Yes, there were such, and most likely, 80 percent of the elite of that time were such. But 20 percent were not only literate, but also skilled in versification. It is interesting that some of them were illiterate, that is, they did not know how to write, but ... nevertheless, they composed beautiful poems and verses, which were written down for them under dictation by scribes. And poetry competitions in castles were at that time no less popular than knightly tournaments. There was even a whole category of not very rich knights who traveled from castle to castle, read poems to their owners, sang ballads and songs of their own composition and fed themselves with this in peacetime.
It was this occupation of theirs, that is, the singing of courtly love, that was called minnesang. In its nature, minnesang was very close to the poetry of troubadours and trouveres, but among them there were many commoners. The term itself was introduced into use by German philologists of the 1195th century. However, it was first used by the German poet Hartmann von Aue around XNUMX. At first, it served only to designate songs related to courtly love. But later it spread to all poetry that was accompanied by music, and began to include songs on political, moral and even religious themes.
And just this entire layer of medieval culture, fortunately for us, ended up on the pages of the "Manesse Manuscript", which covers the work of medieval poets in all the diversity of its types and forms (poems, songs, lays, etc.). You can find everything in it: the very first examples of secular song culture, belonging to the poet Kurenberg (1150-1160), and extracts from handwritten texts from the end of the 1300th - beginning of the 140th century (Hadlaub, circa 6000). In total, the "Manesse Codex" collected the poetic works of XNUMX (!) medieval poets (about XNUMX stanzas), and also supplied with their images the size of a whole page, as well as with their coats of arms and helmets decorated with helmet decorations. The authors in the code are arranged according to their class status, there is nothing you can do about it, at that time a person’s place on the social ladder was treated very strictly.
Knight-minnesinger Burgrave of Regensburg. Here and further: "Manesian Codex". Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg
Figurine of Burgrave von Regensburg. Manufactured by EK Castings and Silver Dream Studio
Today we will get acquainted with the first representatives of the collection of figures from the "Manes Codex". And the first among them will be the knight-minnesinger Burgrave von Regensburg. What do we know about him? We know that he died after 1185, that he was a Central German lyric poet, wrote "Love Song", but had not yet reached the point of true courtly love in his verses. But he was the author of the earliest Bavarian songs known to us. He belonged to the family of the counts Stevening and Riedenburg, who owned the burgrave of Regensburg from 970 to 1185. On the page of the codex, he is depicted performing the judicial function of the burgrave in a fur-lined cap and mantle, that is, a noble man. But the coat of arms depicted here belonged to the city of Regensburg, and not to the burgrave personally.
Minnesinger knight Burkart von Hohenfels, 13th century.
The figure of Burkart von Hohenfels is a fine example of thoughtful reconstruction. In the illustration he is not wearing armour. But the red knobs on the helmet decoration suggest that they could well have decorated the ailets – shoulder guards, which at that time came in a variety of shapes. Manufactured by EK Castings and Silver Dream Studio
What is known about him? That he was a German medieval poet of the late Minnesang period. That he was born no later than 1211 and died after 1242, meaning he was a contemporary of many important events of that time.
Knight-minnesinger Walter von Klingen
A figurine of Walter von Klingen. Note his helmet decoration - two axes decorated with peacock feathers. The helmet awning is made of noticeable red fabric. That is to say, he is quite the fashionista! Manufactured by EK Castings and Silver Dream Studio
Walter was the son of Ulrich II, the founder of the Swiss city of Klingnau and a representative of the rich and influential Klingen family. He had two brothers, with whom he shared his father's inheritance in 1250-1251. He founded three monasteries, which speaks of his piety. He was in the retinue of Emperor Rudolf of Habsburg and therefore enjoyed a certain political influence. The "Manesque Codex" contains eight of his works, distinguished by their elegance of form.
Knight-minnesinger Wachsmuth von Künzingen, 14th century.
A figurine of Wachsmuth von Künzingen. His heraldic decorations are simply amazing. There are two fish on his helmet and two fish on his shield. But for some reason there are three on his banner. What he wanted to show and what he was trying to achieve is unknown. Manufactured by EK Castings and Silver Dream Studio
The exact dates of his life are unknown. However, we know that Wachsmut von Künzingen lived in what is now the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Judging by his work, he was familiar with the songs of Walther von der Vogelweide, Heinrich von Morungen and Reinmar. In turn, his poems are mentioned in the songs of Walther von Klingen, from 1240 to 1286. There are 19 of his poems in the Codex Manesse. In them, Wachsmut von Künzingen reflects on his attitude towards the lady: he appeals to her kindness and complains about being away from her. They are also always accompanied by an assurance of further readiness to serve her. All of them contain standard seasonal analogies with the beginning of spring and autumn.
Knight-minnesinger Walter von Metze, 13th century.
A figurine of the knight-minnesinger Walter von Metze. The typical "passport appearance" of this knight is very characteristic of the year 1300. The shield, horse blanket, pennant - pennon on a spear, surcoat - all this is made in the best heraldic traditions. Only the wings on the helmet are an example of decoration not associated with the coat of arms. Manufactured by EK Castings and Silver Dream Studio
He was probably born at the end of the 12th century. But it is not known for sure. However, his songs have been preserved in two codices, including the "Manesse...". Everything that Walther von Mezze wrote belongs to the courtly love tradition and is mainly associated with courting ladies and lamenting unrequited love. His inspiration was clearly Walther von der Vogelweide. Nevertheless, he is one of the most individual followers of Vogelweide, and many considered his poems to be among the best of that time.
Knight-minnesinger Wilhelm von Gliers, 13th century.
A figurine of Wilhelm von Gliers. Since the illustration of the Codex Manesque depicts von Gliers in civilian dress, the creators of his figurine showed considerable imagination by depicting him in the equipment of his time, although completely corresponding to it. Manufactured by EK Castings and Silver Dream Studio
These are the years of his life: 1267-1308. And some of his poems also made it into the "Manesian Codex". Well, at least something about him...
The author and the site administration express their gratitude to the heads of EK Castings and Silver Dream Studio for the provided photographs.
To be continued ...
Information