Under the Linden Tree
Walther von der Vogelweide
translated by Ad Blankestijn
One of the freshest and most innocent love poems I know - genuinely experienced and universally valid. Walther von der Vogelweide is the greatest German-language poet before Goethe.
Under the linden
on the heath,
where both our bed was,
there you may find
very charming
broken flowers and grass,
by the forest in a vale,
tandaradei!
sweetly sang the nightingale.
I came to meet him
at the meadow:
there had my lover come early,
There I was welcomed
a lady alike,
so that I'm happy forever.
Did he kiss me? A thousand times:
tandaradei!
see how red my mouth is.
There he had made,
very richly,
from flowers a bed,
there is still laughter heartily
when someone
goes down the same path,
from the roses you can tell,
tandaradei!
where my head was lying.
That he lay with me,
if anyone knew,
(God forbid!) I'd be ashamed,
what he did with me,
no one shall know
except for him and me,
and a little bird,
tandaradei!
that can no doubt keep a secret.
«Under der linden
an der heide,
dâ unser zweier bette was,
dâ muget ir vinden
schône beide
gebrochen bluomen unde gras.
vor dem walde in einem tal,
tandaradei!
schône sanc diu nahtegal.
Ich kam gegangen
zuo der ouwe:
dô was mîn friedel komen ê.
dâ wart ich enpfangen,
hêre frouwe!
daz ich bin sælic iemer mê.
kuste er mich? wol tûsentstunt:
tandaradei!
sehet, wie rôt mir ist der munt.
Dô het er gemachet
alsô rîche
von bluomen eine bettestat.
des wirt noch gelachet
inneclîche,
kumt iemen an daz selbe pfat.
bî den rôsen er wol mac,
tandaradei!
merken wâ mir'z houbet lac.
Daz er bî mir læge,
wesse ez iemen
(nu enwelle got!), sô schamte ich mich.
wes er mit mir pflæge,
niemer niemen
bevinde daz wan er und ich
unde ein kleinez vogellîn:
tandaradei!
daz mac wol getriuwe sîn.»-
[Statue of Walther von der Vogelweide,
the Franconia Fountain, Würzburg]
Walther von der Vogelweide (1170-1230) was a German-speaking "Minnesänger" and poet, who composed and performed love-songs and political songs. His hundred or so love-songs are widely regarded as the pinnacle of the medieval German love lyric, and his innovations breathed new life into the tradition of courtly love. He was also the first political poet to write in German, with a considerable body of encomium and satire.
Little is known about Walther's life. He was a traveling singer who performed for patrons at various princely courts in the states of the Holy Roman Empire. The young Walther learned his poetic arts in Austria from a remarkable master, Reinmar von Hagenau, whom he later mentions in two of his poems. Walther is particularly associated with the Babenberg court in Vienna. Later in life he was given a small fief by the future Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II.
His work was widely celebrated in his time and in succeeding generations (for the Meistersingers he was the songwriter to emulate) and this is reflected in the exceptional preservation of his work in 32 manuscripts from all parts of the High German area. The largest single collection is found in the Codex Manesse, which includes around 90% of his known songs. However, most Minnesang manuscripts preserve only the texts, and only a handful of Walther's melodies survive.
Notable songs include the love-song "Under der linden" (translated above), the contemplative "Elegy", and the religious Palästinalied, for which the melody has survived.
[Wilhelm von Kaulbach: „Unter der Linden“]
Text: Walther von der Vogelweide, Gedichte und Sprüche, at Gutenberg.org, public domain.
Photos: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons