Minnesang (German: [ˈmɪnəzaŋ]; "love song") was a medieval German tradition of lyric poetry and song that flourished between the 12th and 14th centuries. It centered on themes of courtly love (Minne), often expressing the devotion of a knight to a noble lady. Performed by poet-musicians known as Minnesänger, this art form played a key role in shaping early German literature, and it adds one of the many cultural layers to Novalis's Heinrich von Ofterdingen.
Song: Ich suenge gerne huebschen sanc
Listen to a medieval German song in Middle High German roughly around the time the novel Heinrich von Ofterdingen is set, written down in the Codex Manesse from the early 14th century.
The composer is thought to be Friedrich von Sonnenburg (active 13th century), who earned the rank of a poetic Meister ("master").
Song: Min herze vnde min lip die willent scheiden
Listen to a medieval Kreuzlied ("Cross song") popular in the High Middle Ages during the Crusades.
The composer is Friedrich von Hausen (active 12th century), a poet and crusader.