German+Language



In the early medieval period German language and literature writing began, allegories, lyrics, and romances emerged. The Middle High German period marks the transition from the cleric poet to the knight poet. The epics were often based on historical events and figures, and heroic legends were quite popular. They lasted from 1100-1450. The courtly epics and lyrics were predominant forms of literature from the french courtly romance.

German language was different in various areas of Germany. Language in north and low countries was called Low German. The High German dialects had three stages when they were developed-Old, Middle, and New High German. The language of high land German became modern German. Then first known book, Abrogans (765-775) a Latin word list came out. Around this time carnival plays became popular secular entertainment.

Poetry was very popular as well, lithurigical dramas, morality, and miracle plays, ruled the genre. Three great poets of the court epic were Hartman Von Aue, Wolffram Von Eschenbach, and Golfried Von Strassburg. The three main types were allegory, lyrics, and romances.In the late middle ages, long narrative romances were in style. Allegories, however, dealt with the nature of love and uses symbolic characters or settings to express ideas about human life. Between 1050-1350 lyrics were sung to harps, lyres, or fiddles, usually about courtly love. Minnesang ,a courtly love poet, had many of his representative poems recorded in the early 14Th century manuscript collection. most other poetry retold the Greek/Roman legends like The Aeniad. Mostly though during the later years, log romances became popular in Germany. So Germanic culture was very lively.

Works Cited
 * AbhjeetRane. “Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany.” Flickr. Yahoo, 6 Dec. 2008. Web. 6 Apr. 2010. .
 * “German Language and Literature.” The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. William Chester Jordan. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 151-155. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Mar. 2010.
 * “Middle High German Period.” DISCovering Authors. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. N. pag. Student Resource Center Junior. Web. 25 Mar. 2010.

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