Spruchdichtung#

Epigrammatic Poetry (aphoristic poetry; German: Spruchdichtung), along with the Minnesong the second significant Middle High German lyric form (end of 12th century until mid-14th century); unlike the Minnesong, strictly didactic in character. Strophes are the units of form and content, musical and metrical forms are referred to as "tones"; strophes with the same tones form larger units which are sometimes thematically linked. Epigrammatic Poetry, which at first was little developed and generally gnomic, was developed by Walther von der Vogelweide into a prominent means of lyric expression to comment on political, religious, art-related and "personal" issues. Consequently, in the 14th century, it constituted a transitional genre to the Meistersang. Other important Austrian epigrammatists of the 13th century were Brother Wernher, Reinmar von Zweter, the Marner and Friedrich von Sonnenburg.

Literature#