Wolfram von Eschenbach

Wolfram von Eschenbach (c.1170 - after 1217) is a minnesinger about whom very little is known. He was probably born in Ober-Eschenbach, South West of Nuremberg. It is known that he was not a clergyman, because both Ulrich von Eschenbach and Wurnt von Gravenberg said of him Layman's mouth never spoke better.

Clues in his writing have lead people to believe that he was not well versed in highly desired areas of learning for a poet, such as Latin, law and music. Some argue further that he was in fact illiterate, although opinion is far from settled on these issues.

Works

For his lyrical compositions he most favoured Tageleider. His best known work was the epic Parzival.

He is also well known for the work Willehalm. This tells the story of one of the sons of Heinrich of Narbonne, and the invasion of his lands by a Moslem army.