The following hand-colored prints are fine mid-19th century reproductions of illuminations from a German medieval manuscript, the Konstanz-Weingartner Liederhandschrift, the originals of which have been attributed to Heinrich von Klingenberg.
"The name is derived from the monastery of St. Martin in Weingarten, near Ravensburg in the south of Germany, a monestary founded in 1056. The monks acquired the manuscript in 1613, when it was given as a present from the then Schultheiß (mayor) of Konstanz, a rich southern German city near Lake Bodensee. The Weingartner Songbook contains mainly Minnelieder: that is, troubadour songs from the period of 1170 - 1230. It is closely related to the better-known Codex Manesse or Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift. The Weingartner Songbook, however, is quite small, measuring only 15 cm high by 11.5 cm wide. The Codex Manesse, in comparison, is more than twice the size at 35.5 cm by 25 cm. The Weingarten Codex contains 156 foliae (312 pages) made from pergament, the text pages of which each contain 28 lines. Page numbering was added in a later period, probably during the 19th century. The manuscript consists of 33 text paragraphs, containing songs from well-known German authors. In two cases the authors could not be identified. 25 of these authors are depicted by separate illuminations, and each of these are presented on the following five pages in groups of five. The manuscript gives no direct information regarding the date it was made, who it was made for, or where it was produced. However, it's believed that the content was written by five different successive scribes, all of whom used the gothic book font Textualis. According to the paleographic evaluation, the book was compiled in the early 14th century. Supporting this assumption is the style of garments depicted: from the evidence in the pictures the work probably dates from between 1290 - 1320, with a tendency towards the 1320s. The codex was probably produced in Konstanz, because the style of the illustrations resembles the style of the Weberfresken (weaver frescoes) of the Haus zur Kunkel in Konstanz. These are also related to the style of stained glass windows in the adjacent Bodensee area. Songs of the following Minnesänger are also present in the Weingartner codex, but these authors are not illustrated. They are: Wolfram von Eschenbach (died ~ 1220), Neidhart von Reuenthal (died after 1237), Winsbecke (1st half of 13th century), Winsbeckin (1st half of 13th century), Marienpreis (~ 1300), Frauenlob (died 1318)."
Literature: Staufischer Minnesang. Die Konstanz-Weingartner Liederhandschrift. Wolfgang Irtenkauf. Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron, 1983. (all illustrations are taken from this book) • Gotische Buchmalerei. Minnesänger. Alle 25 Miniaturen der "Weingartner Liederhandschrift" in Originalgröße. Mit Einführung von I.F. Walther. München, 1978 Print ID# 800179
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| Der Weingarten Codex Printed ca. 1840-1850 Hand colored engraving 5" x 7.5" Excellent condition. This is a very fine mid-19th century reproduction of an illustration from a German medieval manuscript. Print ID# 800180 $175.00 |
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Liutolt von Savene |
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