Neidhart von Reuental

Who was Neidhart von Reuental?

Neidhart von Reuental was one of the most famous German minnesingers. He was probably active in Bavaria and then is known to have been a singer at the court of Friedrich II in Vienna. As a minnesinger he was most active from 1210 to at least 1236.

Neidhart is very well known for being rather sarcastic and comical. More melodies survive by him than from any other minnesinger.

His name is most likely a pseudonym, for its meaning is more or less Grim-Heart of Lament-Valley. The second part of his name, however, was "reconstructed" by philologists of the 19th century, who took literally the role of the "speaker," who calls himself "von Reuental" in his poems, and thus combined it with the author's name, which was simply "Nîthart". All manuscript sources until the 15th century refer to him only as "Nithart". His songs often stand in harsh contrast to the normal minnesinger topic, courtly or romantic love. This style has been referred to as Höfische Dorfpoesie by philologist Karl Lachmann and was often imitated by composers called pseudo-Neidharts.