HENRY OF MEISSEN. - Nicknamed "Frauenlob" because of the preference he gave, in a poetic competition with the poet Regenbogen, to the term Frau as opposed to the term Weib, to designate woman.

An itinerant minstrel from Carinthia, b. ca. 1256, d. at Mainz in 1318, where he founded a school of singing; he was one of the first and most important mastersingers, and the most famous among authors of Sprüche (mottos) in Germany. In his Leiche, songs and Sprüche one notes correctness of form and depth of thought, but not spontaneity of inspiration or of feeling, nor (because of too many quotations) clarity. Among his love poems, ample room is given to songs in praise of the Virgin and of woman in general: typical of his artificial and crudely bombastic manner of poetizing are the long Leich dedicated to the Mother of the Lord (with references to the Song of Songs which he applies to Mary) and the one on the Holy Cross and the Most Holy Trinity.

Bibliography

BIBL.: A broadly edited edition of the works of Henry of Meissen is due to L. Emmüller, Quedlinburg 1843. Studies: W. T. Kirsch, Frauenlob Kreuzleich, Bonn 1928.

Giovanni Guerra

@incollection{ec5_enrico_di_meissen, author = {Guerra, Giovanni}, title = {Enrico di Meissen}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {V}, pages = {391}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/enrico-di-meissen} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

About this entry