Kreuzlieder: Encounters between Poetry and History about the German expeditions to the Crusades (1188-1228)

Abstract

Contrary to the traditional thinking about the Crusades, between the end of theeleventh century and the first half of the thirteenth century there was great involvementof crusaders from the Holy Roman Empire, particularly from the kingdom of Germany.This process had considerable implications for the German political and cultural life of theperiod. We can see this fact in lyric production in medium-high-German, which coverstwo broad categories: the Minnesang, the song of the minne (love), and the Spruchdichtung(sententious poetry). These can, in turn, be subdivided into many categories, includingthe Kreuzlied, a poem in which the lyrical self thematizes the Crusader movement.Walther von der Vogelweide, Hartmann von Aue, Friedrich von Hausen, Albrecht vonJohansdor, Otto von Botenlouben and Heinrich von Rugge are examples of Minnesängerwho presented in their songs themes such as the participation in the Crusades, contact with the other (in this case Islamists), the minne’s speech, the farewell, and religious and secular struggles. This article intends to analyze some examples of this lyric in order to understand how the Crusader movement is represented by the Minnesänger of that time, as well as to discuss the insertion of Germans in the history of the Crusades.

Keywords: High Middle Ages, Holy Roman Empire, Staufer dynasty, Crusader lyric, medium high German.