In this illustration from the Codex Manesse, Herrand is handing some of his verse to a lady in a castle. He and his companion are dressed and armed for hunting.[1]

Herrand von Wildonie (fl. 1248–1278) was a German nobleman and poet.

Life

Herrand was born around 1230.[2][3] He belonged to an important noble family that held the hereditary office of high steward in the Duchy of Styria. The family's castle, now in ruins, was Alt Wildon.[3] His father, Ulrich (fl. 1219–1262), was the standard-bearer at the battle of Kressenbrunn in 1260. His mother's name is unknown.[4] Herrand is numbered Herrand II after his grandfather, Herrand I, who died around 1222.[3][4] Sometime before 1260, Herrand married Perhta (or Perchta), a daughter of the poet Ulrich von Lichtenstein.[3][4][5][6] They had two sons, Ulrich von Eppenstein and Herrand III von Wildonie.[4]

Herrand was involved in the War of the Babenberg Succession that followed the death of the last Babenberg Duke of Austria in 1246.[5] His activities can be traced in numerous surviving documents and the chronicle of Ottokar aus der Gaal.[4] He entered the service of King Béla IV of Hungary in 1249, before joining King Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1254.[3][4] In 1268, he was temporarily imprisoned by Ottokar.[4] In 1276, he entered the service of King Rudolf I of Germany.[3][4] He was recorded alive for the last time in 1278 when, after Rudolf's victory in the battle on the Marchfeld, he attended the king's court in Vienna.[4] He was dead by 1282.[2][3]

Works

The Cat, from the Ambraser Heldenbuch, with a marginal drawing of a cat

Herrand's surviving works consist of four short narrative poems and the lyrics of three songs in the Minnesang tradition.[5][7] The narrative poems are:

  • Diu getriu kone (The Faithful Wife)[8]
  • Der verkêrte wirt (The Deceived Husband)[9]
  • Von dem blôzen keiser (The Naked Emperor)[10]
  • Von der katzen (The Cat)[11]

The songs are:

  • Lieber sumer (Lovely Summer)[12]
  • Des meien zît (The Maytime)[13]
  • Wir suln hôhen muot empfâhen (We Must All be Light of Heart)[14]

Notes

Bibliography

  • Classen, Albrecht (2010). "Herrand von Wildonie". In Robert E. Bjork (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-866262-4.
  • Curschmann, Michael (1969). "Herrand von Wildon". Neue Deutsche Biographie. Vol. 8. Duncker & Humblot. pp. 681–682.
  • Curschmann, Michael (1981). "Herrand von Wildonie (Wildon)". In K. Ruh; G. Keil; W. Schröder (eds.). Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon. Vol. 3. Walter De Gruyter. pp. 1144–1147. ISBN 978-3-11-022248-7.
  • Garland, Henry; Garland, Mary, eds. (2005). "Herrand von Wildonie". The Oxford Companion to German Literature (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-815896-7.
  • Gibbs, Marion E.; Johnson, Sidney M. (2002) [1997]. Medieval German Literature. Routledge.
  • Margetts, John (2001). "Herrand von Wildonie". In John M. Jeep (ed.). Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia. Garland. pp. 356–357.
  • Müller, Ulrich; Spechtler, Franz Viktor (2006). "Ulrich von Liechtenstein". In Will Hasty (ed.). German Literature of the High Middle Ages. Camden House. pp. 235–242.
  • Thomas, J. W., ed. (1972). The Tales and Songs of Herrand von Wildonie: Translated into English Verse with an Introduction. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813112671.
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