Background
He belonged to the lower nobility of Swabia, where he was born.
He belonged to the lower nobility of Swabia, where he was born.
He introduced the courtly romance into German literature and, with Wolfram von Eschenbach (c 1170–c 1220) and Gottfried von Strassburg (died c 1210), was one of the three great epic poets of Middle High German literature. He was also a Minnesänger, and 18 of his songs survive. After receiving a monastic education, he became retainer (Dienstmann) of a nobleman whose domain, Aue, has been identified with Obernau on the River Neckar.
He also took part in the Crusade of 1196-1197.
The date of his death is as uncertain as that of his birth. He is mentioned by Gottfried von Strassburg (c 1210) as still alive, and in the Crône of Heinrich von dem Türlin, written about 1220, he is mourned for as dead.
Tobin, Frank, Kim Vivian, and Richard H. Lawson, translations Arthurian Romances, Tales, and Lyric Poetry: The Complete of Hartmann von Aue, Penn State Press, 2001
Hartmann Von Aue, "Iwein: The Knight with the Lion", translated by J.W. Thomas, 1979.
Hartmann Von Aue, "Erec," translated by J.W. Thomas, 2001.
