Middle High German

Short description: Extinct Germanic language (circa 1050–1500)

Middle High German

diutsch, tiutsch
Region| Central and southern Germany , Austria and parts of Switzerland
Era| High Middle Ages

Language family

Indo-European

* Germanic
* West Germanic
* German
* High German
* Middle High German

Early form

Old High German

Language codes
ISO 639-1| `gmh` (

Short description: Latin loanword meaning "approximately, around"

CA|other uses of "Cca"|CCA (disambiguation)|CCA|other uses of "Circa"|Circa (disambiguation)}}Template:TWCleanup2Circa (from la 'around, about, roughly, approximately') - frequently abbreviated ca. or c. and less frequently circ., cca. or cc. - signifies "approximately" in several European languages and is used as a loanword in English, usually in reference to a date.[1] Circa is widely used in historical writing when the dates of events are not accurately known.

When used in date ranges, circa is applied before each approximate date, while dates without circa immediately preceding them are generally assumed to be known with certainty.

## Contents

* 1 Examples
* 2 See also
* 3 References
* 4 External links
* 5 Examples
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 8 External links
* 9 Periodisation
* 10 Dialects
* 11 Writing system
* 11.1 Vowels
* 11.2 Consonants
* 12 Phonology
* 12.1 Vowels
* 12.1.1 Short and long Vowels
* 12.1.2 Diphthongs
* 12.2 Consonants
* 13 Grammar
* 13.1 Pronouns
* 13.1.1 Personal pronouns
* 13.1.2 Possessive pronouns
* 13.2 Articles
* 13.3 Nouns
* 13.3.1 Strong nouns
* 13.3.2 Weak nouns
* 13.4 Verbs
* 13.4.1 Strong verbs
* 13.4.2 Weak verbs
* 14 Vocabulary
* 15 Sample texts
* 15.1 Iwein
* 15.2 Nibelungenlied
* 15.3 Erec
* 16 Literature
* 17 See also
* 18 Notes
* 19 References
* 20 Sources
* 21 Further reading
* 22 External links

## Examples

* 1732–1799: Both years are known precisely.
* c. 1732 – 1799: The beginning year is approximate; the end year is known precisely.
* 1732 – c. 1799: The beginning year is known precisely; the end year is approximate.
* c. 1732 – c. 1799: Both years are approximate.

## See also

* Floruit

## References

1. ↑ "circa". Dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/circa.

## External links

* v
* t
* e

Chronology

Key topics|

* Archaeology
* Astronomy
* Geology
* History
* Big History
* Paleontology
* Time

* Periods
* Eras
* Epochs

| Calendar eras|

* Human Era
* Ab urbe condita
* Anno Domini / Common Era
* Anno Mundi
* Byzantine era
* Seleucid era
* Spanish era
* Before Present
* Hijri
* Egyptian
* Sothic cycle
* Hindu units of time (Yuga)
* Mesoamerican
* Long Count
* Short Count
* Tzolk'in
* Haab'

|

Regnal year|

* Canon of Kings
* Lists of kings
* Limmu

Era names|

* Chinese
* Japanese
* Korean
* Vietnamese

Calendars|

| Pre-Julian / Julian|

* Pre-Julian Roman
* Original Julian
* Proleptic Julian
* Revised Julian

|

Gregorian|

* Gregorian
* Proleptic Gregorian
* Old Style and New Style dates
* Adoption of the Gregorian calendar
* Dual dating

Astronomical|

* Lunisolar
* Solar
* Lunar
* Astronomical year numbering

Others|

* Chinese sexagenary cycle
* Geologic Calendar
* Hebrew
* Iranian
* Islamic
* ISO week date
* Mesoamerican
* Maya
* Aztec
* Winter count (Plains Indians)

Astronomic time|

* Cosmic Calendar
* Ephemeris
* Galactic year
* Metonic cycle
* Milankovitch cycles

Geologic time|

| Concepts|

* Deep time
* Geological history of Earth
* Geological time units

|

Standards|

* Global Standard Stratigraphic Age (GSSA)
* Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP)

Methods|

* Chronostratigraphy
* Geochronology
* Isotope geochemistry
* Law of superposition
* Luminescence dating
* Samarium–neodymium dating

Chronological
dating|

| Absolute dating|

* Amino acid racemisation
* Archaeomagnetic dating
* Dendrochronology
* Ice core
* Incremental dating
* Lichenometry
* Paleomagnetism
* Radiometric dating
* Radiocarbon
* Uranium–lead
* Potassium–argon
* Tephrochronology
* Luminescence dating
* Thermoluminescence dating

|

Relative dating|

* Fluorine absorption
* Nitrogen dating
* Obsidian hydration
* Seriation
* Stratigraphy

Genetic methods|

* Molecular clock

Linguistic methods|

* Glottochronology

Related topics|

* Chronicle
* New Chronology
* Synchronoptic view
* Timeline
* Year zero
* Circa
* Floruit
* Terminus post quem
* ASPRO chronology

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ISO 639-3| `gmh` (

Short description: Latin loanword meaning "approximately, around"

CA|other uses of "Cca"|CCA (disambiguation)|CCA|other uses of "Circa"|Circa (disambiguation)}}Template:TWCleanup2Circa (from la 'around, about, roughly, approximately') - frequently abbreviated ca. or c. and less frequently circ., cca. or cc. - signifies "approximately" in several European languages and is used as a loanword in English, usually in reference to a date.[1] Circa is widely used in historical writing when the dates of events are not accurately known.

When used in date ranges, circa is applied before each approximate date, while dates without circa immediately preceding them are generally assumed to be known with certainty.

## Examples

* 1732–1799: Both years are known precisely.
* c. 1732 – 1799: The beginning year is approximate; the end year is known precisely.
* 1732 – c. 1799: The beginning year is known precisely; the end year is approximate.
* c. 1732 – c. 1799: Both years are approximate.

## See also

* Floruit

## References

1. ↑ "circa". Dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/circa.

## External links

* v
* t
* e

Chronology

Key topics|

* Archaeology
* Astronomy
* Geology
* History
* Big History
* Paleontology
* Time

* Periods
* Eras
* Epochs

| Calendar eras|

* Human Era
* Ab urbe condita
* Anno Domini / Common Era
* Anno Mundi
* Byzantine era
* Seleucid era
* Spanish era
* Before Present
* Hijri
* Egyptian
* Sothic cycle
* Hindu units of time (Yuga)
* Mesoamerican
* Long Count
* Short Count
* Tzolk'in
* Haab'

|

Regnal year|

* Canon of Kings
* Lists of kings
* Limmu

Era names|

* Chinese
* Japanese
* Korean
* Vietnamese

Calendars|

| Pre-Julian / Julian|

* Pre-Julian Roman
* Original Julian
* Proleptic Julian
* Revised Julian

|

Gregorian|

* Gregorian
* Proleptic Gregorian
* Old Style and New Style dates
* Adoption of the Gregorian calendar
* Dual dating

Astronomical|

* Lunisolar
* Solar
* Lunar
* Astronomical year numbering

Others|

* Chinese sexagenary cycle
* Geologic Calendar
* Hebrew
* Iranian
* Islamic
* ISO week date
* Mesoamerican
* Maya
* Aztec
* Winter count (Plains Indians)

Astronomic time|

* Cosmic Calendar
* Ephemeris
* Galactic year
* Metonic cycle
* Milankovitch cycles

Geologic time|

| Concepts|

* Deep time
* Geological history of Earth
* Geological time units

|

Standards|

* Global Standard Stratigraphic Age (GSSA)
* Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP)

Methods|

* Chronostratigraphy
* Geochronology
* Isotope geochemistry
* Law of superposition
* Luminescence dating
* Samarium–neodymium dating

Chronological
dating|

| Absolute dating|

* Amino acid racemisation
* Archaeomagnetic dating
* Dendrochronology
* Ice core
* Incremental dating
* Lichenometry
* Paleomagnetism
* Radiometric dating
* Radiocarbon
* Uranium–lead
* Potassium–argon
* Tephrochronology
* Luminescence dating
* Thermoluminescence dating

|

Relative dating|

* Fluorine absorption
* Nitrogen dating
* Obsidian hydration
* Seriation
* Stratigraphy

Genetic methods|

* Molecular clock

Linguistic methods|

* Glottochronology

Related topics|

* Chronicle
* New Chronology
* Synchronoptic view
* Timeline
* Year zero
* Circa
* Floruit
* Terminus post quem
* ASPRO chronology

0.00

(0 votes)

|

ISO 639-6| `mdgr`
Glottolog| `midd1343`[1]
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Middle High German (MHG; German: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhdt., Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High German is defined as those varieties of German which were affected by the Second Sound Shift; the Middle Low German and Middle Dutch languages spoken to the North and North West, which did not participate in this sound change, are not part of MHG.

While there is no standard MHG, the prestige of the Hohenstaufen court gave rise in the late 12th century to a supra-regional literary language (mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache) based on Swabian, an Alemannic dialect. This historical interpretation is complicated by the tendency of modern editions of MHG texts to use normalised spellings based on this variety (usually called "Classical MHG"), which make the written language appear more consistent than it actually is in the manuscripts. Scholars are uncertain as to whether the literary language reflected a supra-regional spoken language of the courts.

An important development in this period was the Ostsiedlung, the eastward expansion of German settlement beyond the Elbe-Saale line which marked the limit of Old High German. This process started in the 11th century, and all the East Central German dialects are a result of this expansion.

"Judeo-German", the precursor of the Yiddish language, is attested in the 12th–13th centuries, as a variety of Middle High German written in Hebrew characters.

## Periodisation

German territorial expansion in the Middle High German period (adapted from Walter Kuhn)

* * *

Germanic peoples before AD 700

Ostsiedlung, 8th–11th centuries

Expansion in the 12th century

Expansion in the 13th century

Expansion in the 14th century

German territorial expansion before 1400 from F. W. Putzger

The Middle High German period is generally dated from 1050 to 1350.[2][3][4][5] An older view puts the boundary with (Early) New High German around 1500.[5] [6]

There are several phonological criteria which separate MHG from the preceding Old High German period:[7]

* the weakening of unstressed vowels to ⟨e⟩: OHG taga, MHG tage ("days")[8]
* the full development of Umlaut and its use to mark a number of morphological categories[8]
* the devoicing of final stops: OHG tag > MHG tac ("day")[9][10]

Culturally, the two periods are distinguished by the transition from a predominantly clerical written culture, in which the dominant language was Latin, to one centred on the courts of the great nobles, with German gradually expanding its range of use.[3][11] The rise of the Hohenstaufen dynasty in Swabia makes the South West the dominant region in both political and cultural terms.[12]

Demographically, the MHG period is characterised by a massive rise in population,[13] terminated by the demographic catastrophe of the Black Death (1348).[14] Along with the rise in population comes a territorial expansion eastwards (Ostsiedlung), which saw German-speaking settlers colonise land previously under Slavic control.[15][16]

Linguistically, the transition to Early New High German is marked by four vowel changes which together produce the phonemic system of modern German, though not all dialects participated equally in these changes:[17]

* Diphthongisation of the long high vowels /iː yː uː/ > /aɪ̯ ɔʏ̯ aʊ̯/: MHG hût > NHG Haut ("skin")
* Monophthongisation of the high centering diphthongs /iə yə uə/ > /iː yː uː/: MHG huot > NHG Hut ("hat")
* lengthening of stressed short vowels in open syllables: MHG sagen /zaɡən/ > NHG sagen /zaːɡən/ ("say")
* The loss of unstressed vowels in many circumstances: MHG vrouwe > NHG Frau ("lady")

The centres of culture in the ENHG period are no longer the courts but the towns.[18]

## Dialects

Middle High German dialect boundaries

The dialect map of Germany by the end of the Middle High German period was much the same as that at the start of the 20th century, though the boundary with Low German was further south than it now is:[19][20]

Central German (Mitteldeutsch)[21]

* West Central German (Westmitteldeutsch)
* Central Franconian (Mittelfränkisch)
* Ripuarian (Ripuarisch)
* Moselle Franconian (Moselfränkisch)
* Rhine Franconian (Rheinfränkisch)
* Hessian (Hessisch)
* East Central German (Ostmitteldeutsch)
* Thuringian (Thüringisch)
* Upper Saxon (Obersächsisch)
* Silesian (Schlesisch)
* High Prussian (Hochpreußisch)

Upper German (Oberdeutsch)[22]

* East Franconian (Ostfränkisch)
* South Rhine Franconian (Süd(rhein)fränkisch)
* Alemannic (Alemannisch)
* North Alemannic (Nordalemannisch)
* Swabian (Schwäbisch)
* Low Alemannic (Niederalemannisch/Oberrheinisch)
* High Alemannic/South Alemannic (Hochalemannisch/Südalemannisch) )
* Bavarian (Bairisch)
* Northern Bavarian (Nordbairisch)
* Central Bavarian (Mittelbairisch)
* Southern Bavarian (Südbairisch)

With the exception of Thuringian, the East Central German dialects are new dialects resulting from the Ostsiedlung and arise towards the end of the period.[19][23]

## Writing system

Middle High German texts are written in the Latin alphabet. There was no standardised spelling, but modern editions generally standardise according to a set of conventions established by Karl Lachmann in the 19th century.[24] There are several important features in this standardised orthography which are not characteristics of the original manuscripts:

* the marking of vowel length is almost entirely absent from MHG manuscripts.[25]
* the marking of umlauted vowels is often absent or inconsistent in the manuscripts.[26]
* a curly-tailed z (⟨ȥ⟩ or ⟨ʒ⟩) is used in modern handbooks and grammars to indicate the /s/ or /s/-like sound which arose from Germanic /t/ in the High German consonant shift. This character has no counterpart in the original manuscripts, which typically use ⟨s⟩ or ⟨z⟩ to indicate this sound.[27]
* the original texts often use ⟨i⟩ and ⟨uu⟩ for the semi-vowels /j/ and /w/.[28]

A particular problem is that many manuscripts are of much later date than the works they contain; as a result, they bear the signs of later scribes having modified the spellings, with greater or lesser consistency, in accord with conventions of their time.[29] In addition, there is considerable regional variation in the spellings that appear in the original texts, which modern editions largely conceal.[30]

### Vowels

The standardised orthography of MHG editions uses the following vowel spellings:[25]

* Short vowels: ⟨a e i o u⟩ and the umlauted vowels ⟨ä ö ü⟩
* Long vowels: ⟨â ê î ô û⟩ and the umlauted vowels ⟨æ œ iu⟩
* Diphthongs: ⟨ei ou ie uo⟩; and the umlauted diphthongs ⟨öu eu oi üe⟩

Grammars (as opposed to textual editions) often distinguish between ⟨ë⟩ and ⟨e⟩, the former indicating the mid-open /ɛ/ which derived from Germanic /e/, the latter (often with a dot beneath it) indicating the mid-close /e/ which results from primary umlaut of short /a/. No such orthographic distinction is made in MHG manuscripts.[25]

### Consonants

The standardised orthography of MHG editions uses the following consonant spellings:[27]

* Stops: ⟨p t k/c/q b d g⟩
* Affricates: ⟨pf/ph tz/z⟩
* Fricatives: ⟨v f s ȥ sch ch h⟩
* Nasals: ⟨m n⟩
* Liquids: ⟨l r⟩
* Semivowels: ⟨w j⟩

## Phonology

The charts show the vowel and consonant systems of classical MHG. The spellings indicated are the standard spellings used in modern editions; there is much more variation in the manuscripts.

### Vowels

#### Short and long Vowels

| front  | central  | back

|
|
|

unrounded  | rounded
short  | long  | short  | long  | short  | long  | short  | long
close  | i | iː | y ⟨ü⟩ | yː ⟨iu⟩ |  | u | uː
close-mid  | e |  |  |  |
mid  | ɛ | ɛː | ø ⟨ö⟩ | øː ⟨œ⟩ |  | o | oː
open-mid  | æ ⟨ä⟩ | æː ⟨æ⟩ |  |  |
open  |  | a | aː |

Notes:

1. Not all dialects distinguish the three unrounded mid front vowels.
2. It is probable that the short high and mid vowels are lower than their long equivalents, as in Modern German, but that is impossible to establish from the written sources.
3. The ⟨e⟩ found in unstressed syllables may indicate [ɛ] or schwa [ə].

#### Diphthongs

MHG diphthongs are indicated by the spellings ⟨ei⟩, ⟨ie⟩, ⟨ou⟩, ⟨öu⟩ and ⟨eu⟩, ⟨üe⟩, ⟨uo⟩, and they have the approximate values of /ei/, /iə/, /ou/, /øy/, /eu/, /yə/, /uə/, respectively.

### Consonants

| Bilabial  | Labiodental  | Alveolar  | Postalveolar  | Palatal  | Velar  | Glottal

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Plosive  | p b |  | t d |  |  | k ⟨k, c⟩ ɡ |
Affricates  | p͡f |  | t͡s ⟨z⟩ |  |  |  |
Nasal  | m |  | n |  |  | ŋ ⟨ng⟩ |
Fricative  |  | f v ⟨f, v⟩ | s z ⟨ȥ⟩ ⟨s⟩ | ʃ ⟨sch⟩ |  | x ⟨ch, h⟩ | h
Approximant  | w |  |  |  | j |  |
Liquid  |  |  | r l |  |  |  |

1. Precise information about the articulation of consonants is impossible to establish and must have varied between dialects.
2. In the plosive and fricative series, if there are two consonants in a cell, the first is fortis and the second lenis. The voicing of lenis consonants varied between dialects.
3. There are long consonants, and the following double consonant spellings indicate not vowel length, as they do in Modern German orthography, but rather genuine double consonants: pp, bb, tt, dd, ck (for /kk/), gg, ff, ss, zz, mm, nn, ll, rr.
4. It is reasonable to assume that /x/ has an allophone [χ] after back vowels, as in Modern German.

## Grammar

### Pronouns

Middle High German pronouns of the first person refer to the speaker; those of the second person refer to an addressed person; and those of the third person refer to a person or thing of which one speaks. The pronouns of the third person may be used to replace nominal phrases. These have the same genders, numbers and cases as the original nominal phrase.

#### Personal pronouns

Personal Pronouns  | 1st sg  | 2nd sg  | 3rd sg  | 1st pl  | 2nd pl  | 3rd pl

|
|
|
|
|
|

Nominative  | ich | du | ër | siu | ëȥ | wir | ir | sie / siu
Accusative  | mich | dich | in | sie | ëȥ | uns(ich) | iuch | sie / siu
Dative  | mir | dir | im | ir | im | uns | iu | in
Genitive  | mîn | dîn | sîn | ir | sîn | unser | iuwer | ir

#### Possessive pronouns

The possessive pronouns mîn, dîn, sîn, ir, unser, iuwer are used like adjectives and hence take on adjective endings following the normal rules.

### Articles

The inflected forms of the article depend on the number, the case and the gender of the corresponding noun. The definite article has the same plural forms for all three genders.

Definite article (strong)

Case  | Masculine  | Neuter  | Feminine  | Plural

|
|
|
|

Nominative  | dër | daȥ | diu | die / diu
Accusative  | dën | daȥ | die | die / diu
Dative  | dëm | dër | dën
Genitive  | dës | dër | dër
Instrumental  |  | diu |  |

The instrumental case, only existing in the neuter singular, is used only with prepositions: von diu, ze diu, etc. In all the other genders and in the plural it is substituted with the dative: von dëm, von dër, von dën.

### Nouns

Middle High German nouns were declined according to four cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative), two numbers (singular and plural) and three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), much like Modern High German, though there are several important differences.

#### Strong nouns

| dër tac
day m.  | diu gëbe
gift f.  | daȥ wort
word n.

|
|
|

Singular  | Plural  | Singular  | Plural  | Singular  | Plural
Nominative  | dër tac | die tage | diu gëbe | die gëbe | daȥ wort | diu wort
Genitive  | dës tages | dër tage | dër gëbe | dër gëben | dës wortes | dër worte
Dative  | dëm tage | dën tagen | dër gëbe | dën gëben | dëm worte | dën worten
Accusative  | dën tac | die tage | die gëbe | die gëbe | daȥ wort | diu wort
| dër gast
guest m.  | diu kraft
strength f.  | daȥ lamp
lamb n.

|
|
|

Singular  | Plural  | Singular  | Plural  | Singular  | Plural
Nominative  | dër gast | die geste | diu kraft | die krefte | daȥ lamp | diu lember
Genitive  | dës gastes | dër geste | dër kraft/krefte | dër krefte | dës lambes | dër lember
Dative  | dëm gaste | dën gesten | dër kraft/krefte | dën kreften | dëm lambe | dën lembern
Accusative  | dën gast | die geste | die kraft | die krefte | daȥ lamp | diu lember

#### Weak nouns

| dër veter
(male) cousin m.  | diu zunge
tongue f.  | daȥ herze
heart n.

|
|
|

Singular  | Plural  | Singular  | Plural  | Singular  | Plural
Nominative  | dër veter | die veteren | diu zunge | die zungen | daȥ herze | diu herzen
Genitive  | dës veteren | dër veteren | dër zungen | dër zungen | dës herzen | dër herzen
Dative  | dëm veteren | dën veteren | dër zungen | dën zungen | dëm herzen | dën herzen
Accusative  | dën veteren | die veteren | die zungen | die zungen | daȥ herze | diu herzen

### Verbs

Verbs were conjugated according to three moods (indicative, subjunctive (conjunctive) and imperative), three persons, two numbers (singular and plural) and two tenses (present tense and preterite) There was a present participle, a past participle and a verbal noun that somewhat resembles the Latin gerund, but that only existed in the genitive and dative cases.

An important distinction is made between strong verbs (that exhibited ablaut) and weak verbs (that didn't).

Furthermore, there were also some irregular verbs.

#### Strong verbs

The present tense conjugation went as follows:

| nëmen
to take

|

Indicative  | Subjunctive
1\. sg.  | ich nime | ich nëme
2\. sg.  | du nim(e)st | du nëmest
3\. sg.  | ër nim(e)t | er nëme
1\. pl.  | wir nëmen | wir nëmen
2\. pl.  | ir nëm(e)t | ir nëmet
3\. pl.  | sie nëment | sie nëmen

* Imperative: 2.sg.: nim, 2.pl.: nëmet
* Present participle: nëmende
* Infinitive: nëmen
* Verbal noun: genitive: nëmen(n)es, dative: ze nëmen(n)e

The bold vowels demonstrate umlaut; the vowels in brackets were dropped in rapid speech.

The preterite conjugation went as follows:

| genomen haben
to have taken

|

Indicative  | Subjunctive
1\. sg.  | ich nam | ich næme
2\. sg.  | du næme | du næmest
3\. sg.  | ër nam | er næme
1\. pl.  | wir nâmen | wir næmen
2\. pl.  | ir nâmet | ir næmet
3\. pl.  | sie nâmen | sie næmen

* Past participle: genomen

#### Weak verbs

The present tense conjugation went as follows:

| suochen
to seek

|

Indicative  | Subjunctive
1\. sg.  | ich suoche | ich suoche
2\. sg.  | du suoch(e)st | du suochest
3\. sg.  | ër suoch(e)t | er suoche
1\. pl.  | wir suochen | wir suochen
2\. pl.  | ir suoch(e)t | ir suochet
3\. pl.  | sie suochent | sie suochen

* Imperative: 2.sg: suoche, 2.pl: suochet
* Present participle: suochende
* Infinitive: suochen
* Verbal noun: genitive: suochennes, dative: ze suochenne

The vowels in brackets were dropped in rapid speech.

The preterite conjugation went as follows:

| gesuocht haben
to have sought

|

Indicative  | Subjunctive
1\. sg.  | ich suochete | ich suochete
2\. sg.  | du suochetest | du suochetest
3\. sg.  | ër suochete | er suochete
1\. pl.  | wir suocheten | wir suocheten
2\. pl.  | ir suochetet | ir suochetet
3\. pl.  | sie suochetent | sie suocheten

* Past participle: gesuochet

## Vocabulary

In the Middle High German period, the rise of a courtly culture and the changing nature of knighthood was reflected in changes to the vocabulary.[31] Since the impetus for this set of social changes came largely from France, many of the new words were either loans from French or influenced by French terms.

The French loans mainly cover the areas of chivalry, warfare and equipment, entertainment, and luxury goods:[32]

* MHG âventiure < OF aventure (NHG Abenteuer, "adventure")
* MHG prîs < OF pris (NHG Preis, "prize, reward")
* MHG lanze < OF lance (NHG Lanze, "lance")
* MHG palas < OF palais (NHG Palast, "palace")
* MHG fest, veste < OF feste (NHG Fest, "festival, feast")
* MHG pinsel < OF pincel (NHG Pinsel, "paint brush")
* MHG samît < OF samit (NHG Samt, "velvet")
* MHG rosîn < OF raisin (NHG Rosine, "raisin")

Two highly productive suffixes were borrowed from French in this period:

* The noun suffix -îe is seen initially in borrowings from French such as massenîe ("retinue, household") and then starts to be combined with German nouns to produce, for example, jegerîe ("hunting") from jeger ("huntsman"), or arzatîe, arzenîe ("medicine ") from arzat ("doctor"). With the Early New High German diphthongization the suffix became /ai/ (spelling <ei>) giving NHG Jägerei, Arznei.[33]

* The verb suffix -îeren resulted from adding the German infinitive suffix -en to the Old French infinitive endings -er/ir/ier. Initially, this was just a way of integrating French verbs into German syntax, but the suffix became productive in its own right and was added to non-French roots: MHG turnîeren is based on OF tourner ("to ride a horse"), but halbieren ("to cut in half") has no French source.[34][35]

## Sample texts

### Iwein

Manuscript B of Hartmann von Aue's Iwein (Gießen, UB, Hs. 97), folio 1r

The text is the opening of Hartmann von Aue's Iwein (c. 1200)

Middle High German[36] |  | English translation

|
|

Swer an rehte güete
wendet sîn gemüete,
dem volget sælde und êre.
des gît gewisse lêre
künec Artûs der guote,
der mit rîters muote
nâch lobe kunde strîten.
er hât bî sînen zîten
gelebet alsô schône
daz er der êren krône
dô truoc und noch sîn name treit.
des habent die wârheit
sîne lantliute:
sî jehent er lebe noch hiute:
er hât den lop erworben,
ist im der lîp erstorben,
sô lebet doch iemer sîn name.
er ist lasterlîcher schame
iemer vil gar erwert,
der noch nâch sînem site vert.

[1]

[5]

[10]

[15]

[20]

Whoever to true goodness
Turns his mind
He will meet with fortune and honour.
We are taught this by the example of
Good King Arthur
who with knightly spirit
knew how to strive for praise.
In his day
He lived so well
That he wore the crown of honour
And his name still does so.
The truth of this is known
To his countrymen:
They affirm that he still lives today:
He won such fame that
Although his body died
His name lives on.
Of sinful shame
He will forever be free
Who follows his example.

Commentary: This text shows many typical features of Middle High German poetic language. Most Middle High German words survive into modern German in some form or other: this passage contains only one word (jehen 'say' 14) which has since disappeared from the language. But many words have changed their meaning substantially. Muot (6) means 'state of mind' (cognates with mood), where modern German Mut means courage. Êre (3) can be translated with 'honour', but is quite a different concept of honour from modern German Ehre; the medieval term focuses on reputation and the respect accorded to status in society.[37]

### Nibelungenlied

Manuscript C of the Nibelungenlied, fol. 1r

The text is the opening strophe of the Nibelungenlied (c. 1204).

> Middle High German[38]

> Uns ist in alten mæren wunders vil geseit
>  von helden lobebæren, von grôzer arebeit,
>  von freuden, hôchgezîten, von weinen und von klagen,
>  von küener recken strîten muget ir nu wunder hœren sagen.

> Modern German translation[39]

> In alten Erzählungen wird uns viel Wunderbares berichtet
>  von ruhmreichen Helden, von hartem Streit,
>  von glücklichen Tagen und Festen, von Schmerz und Klage:
>  vom Kampf tapferer Recken: Davon könnt auch Ihr nun Wunderbares berichten hören.

> English translation[40]

> In ancient tales many marvels are told us
>  of renowned heroes, of great hardship
>  of joys, festivities, of weeping and lamenting
>  of bold warriors' battles — now you may hear such marvels told!

Commentary: All the MHG words are recognizable from Modern German, though mære ("tale") and recke ("warrior") are archaic and lobebære ("praiseworthy") has given way to lobenswert. Words which have changed in meaning include arebeit, which means "strife" or "hardship" in MHG, but now means "work", and hôchgezît ("festivity") which now, as Hochzeit, has the narrower meaning of "wedding".[37]

### Erec

The text is from the opening of Hartmann von Aue's Erec (c. 1180–1190). The manuscript (the Ambraser Heldenbuch) dates from 1516, over three centuries after the composition of the poem.

| Original manuscript[41] | Edited text[42] | English translation[43]

|
|
|

nu riten ſÿ vnlange friſt
nebeneinander baide
Ee daz ſy über die haÿde
verre jn allen gahen
zureÿten ſahen
ein Ritter ſelb dritten
Vor ein Gezwerg da einmitten
ein Jŭnckfrawen gemaÿt
ſchon vnd wolgeklait
vnd wundert die kunigin
wer der Ritter moachte ſein
Er was ze harnaſch wol
als ein guot knecht ſol
Eregk der iunge man
ſein frawen fragen began
ob ers erfarn ſolte

nû riten si unlange vrist
neben einander beide,
ê daz si über die heide
verre in allen gâhen
zuo rîten sâhen
einen ritter selbedritten,
vor ein getwerc, dâ enmitten
eine juncvorouwen gemeit,
schœne unde wol gekleit.
nû wunderte die künegîn
wer der ritter möhte sîn.
er was ze harnasche wol,
als ein guot kneht sol.
Êrec der junge man
sîn vrouwen vrâgen began
ob erz ervarn solde.

Now they had not been riding together
with one another very long
when they saw, riding across the heath
from afar, in all haste,
towards them,
a knight and two others with him —
in front of him a dwarf, and between the two there
a comely damsel,
fair and well clad,
and the Queen wondered
who this knight might be.
He was well armed,
as a good knight ought to be.
Young Erec
asked his lady
if he should find out the knight's identity.

## Literature

The following are some of the main authors and works of MHG literature:

* Lyric poetry
* Minnesang
* Codex Manesse
* Reinmar von Hagenau
* Walther von der Vogelweide
* Heinrich Frauenlob
* Oswald von Wolkenstein
* Epic
* Nibelungenlied
* Kudrun
* Chivalric romance
* Hartmann von Aue's Erec and Iwein
* Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival
* Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan
* Ulrich von Türheim's Rennewart and Willehalm
* Rudolf von Ems's works
* Konrad von Würzburg's works
* Eilhart von Oberge's Tristrant
* Spielmannsdichtung
* King Rother
* Herzog Ernst
* Chronicles
* Annolied
* Jans der Enikel's Weltchronik and Fürstenbuch
* Kaiserchronik
* Law
* Sachsenspiegel

## See also

* High German consonant shift
* Matthias Lexer

## Notes

1. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds (2017). "Middle High German". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/midd1343.
2. ↑ Keller 1978, p. 236.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lindgren 1980, p. 580.
4. ↑ Waterman 1976, p. 83.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rautenberg 1985, p. 1120.
6. ↑ Roelcke 1998, pp. 804–811: tabulates the various periodisations.
7. ↑ Roelcke 1998, p. 812.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Waterman 1976, p. 85.
9. ↑ Keller 1978, p. 276.
10. ↑ Brockhaus 1995, p. 6.
11. ↑ Waterman 1976, pp. 87f..
12. ↑ Keller 1978, p. 337.
13. ↑ Keller 1978, pp. 237: "the population appears to have increased about fivefold."
14. ↑ Keller 1978, pp. 336.
15. ↑ Keller 1978, pp. 238–239.
16. ↑ Rautenberg 1985, p. 1121.
17. ↑ Waterman 1976, p. 103.
18. ↑ Eggers1985, p. 1300: "Zu Beginn der frnhd. Periode ist die Stadt längst zum Kultur-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialfaktor geworden." sfn error: no target: CITEREFEggers1985 (help)
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Schmidt 2013, p. 278.
20. ↑ Keller 1978, p. 257.
21. ↑ Paul 2007, pp. 8–9.
22. ↑ Paul 2007, pp. 6–7.
23. ↑ Paul 2007, p. 9.
24. ↑ Paul 2007, pp. 23ff.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Paul 2007, p. 27.
26. ↑ Paul 2007, p. 72–73.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Paul 2007, p. 28.
28. ↑ Paul 2007, p. 142–144.
29. ↑ Paul 2007, p. 25.
30. ↑ Paul 2007, p. 17.
31. ↑ Wießner 1959, p. 205.
32. ↑ Keller 1978, pp. 321–323.
33. ↑ Tschirch 1975, pp. 60–61.
34. ↑ Keller & 19978, p. 322. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKeller19978 (help)
35. ↑ Tschirch 1975, p. 60.
36. ↑ Edwards 2007, p. 2.
37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Lexer 1999.
38. ↑ Bartsch & De Boor 1998. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBartschDe_Boor1998 (help)
39. ↑ Brackert 1970.
40. ↑ Edwards 2010.
41. ↑ Edrich 2014. The text from the Ambraser Heldenbuch, 1516
42. ↑ Leitzmann 1985. Standardised classical MHG.
43. ↑ Edwards 2014, p. 5.

## References

* Brockhaus, Wiebke (1995). Final Devoicing in the Phonology of German. Tübingen: De Gruyter. ISBN 9783484303362.

* Freytag, Hartmut (1959). "Frühmittelhochdeutsch 1065–1170". in Maurer, Friedrich; Rupp, Heinz. Deutsche Wortgeschichte. 1 (3rd ed.). Berlin, New York: de Gruyter. pp. 165-188. doi:10.1515/9783110841916.165. ISBN 3-11-003627-4.
* Keller, R.E. (1978). The German Language. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-11159-9.

* Kunisch, Hermann (1959). "Spätes Mittelalter 1250–1500". in Maurer, Friedrich; Rupp, Heinz. Deutsche Wortgeschichte. 1 (3rd ed.). Berlin, New York: de Gruyter. pp. 255-322. doi:10.1515/9783110841916.255. ISBN 3-11-003627-4.

* Lexer, Matthias (1999). Mittelhochdeutsches Taschenwörterbuch (38 ed.). Stuttgart: S. Hirzel Verlag. ISBN 978-3777604930. http://woerterbuchnetz.de/Lexer/. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
* Lindgren, Kai B. (1980). "Mittelhochdeutsch". Lexikon der Germanistischen Linguistik. III (2 ed.). Tübingen: Niemeyer. pp. 580–584. ISBN 3-484-10391-4.

* Öhmann, Emil (1959). "Der romanische Einfluß auf das Deutsche bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters". in Maurer, Friedrich; Rupp, Heinz. Deutsche Wortgeschichte. 1 (3rd ed.). Berlin, New York: de Gruyter. pp. 321-396. doi:10.1515/9783110841916.323. ISBN 3-11-003627-4.

* Paul, Hermann (1989). Wiehl, Peter. ed. Mittelhochdeutsche Grammatik (23rd ed.). Tübingen: Niemeyer. ISBN 3484102330. https://archive.org/details/mittelhochdeutsc0000wieh.
* Paul, Hermann (2007). Thomas Klein. ed. Mittelhochdeutsche Grammatik (25th ed.). Tübingen: Niemeyer. ISBN 978-3484640344.
* Rautenberg, Ursula (1985). "Soziokulturelle Voraussetzung und Sprachraum des Mittelhochdeutschen". Sprachgeschichte. 2. Berlin, New York: Walter De Gruyter. pp. 1120–29. ISBN 3-11-009590-4.

* Roelcke, Thorsten (1998). "Die Periodisierung der deutschen Sprachgeschichte". Sprachgeschichte. 2 (2nd ed.). Berlin, New York: Walter De Gruyter. pp. 798–815. ISBN 3-11-011257-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=cq_SX4b_e9kC&pg=PA798.

* Schmidt, Wilhelm (2013). Geschichte Der Deutschen Sprache : Ein Lehrbuch Fur Das Germanistische Studium. Stuttgart: Hirzel. ISBN 9783777622729.

* Tschirch, Fritz (1975). Geschichte der Deutschen Sprache (2nd ed.). Berlin: Erich Schmidt. ISBN 3503007857. <

* Waterman, John T. (1976). A History of the German Language (Revised ed.). University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-73807-3. https://archive.org/details/historyofgermanl00wate.
* Wells, C. J. (1987). German: A Linguistic History to 1945. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-815809-2.

* Wießner, Edmund (1959). "Höfisches Rittertum 1200–1300". in Maurer, Friedrich; Rupp, Heinz. Deutsche Wortgeschichte. 1 (3rd ed.). Berlin, New York: de Gruyter. pp. 187-243. doi:10.1515/9783110841916.189. ISBN 3-11-003627-4.

## Sources

* Bartsch, Karl; De Boor, Helmut, eds (1988). Das Nibelungenlied (22 ed.). Mannheim: F.A. Brockhaus. ISBN 3-7653-0373-9.
* Brackert, Helmut, ed (1970). Das Nibelungenlied. Mittelhochdeutscher Text und Übertragung. Frankfurt-am-Main: Fischer. ISBN 3436013137.
* Edrich, Brigitte, ed (2014). "Hartmann von Aue: Erec, Handschrift A". http://hvauep.uni-trier.de/resources/erec/transcriptions/erec_a.pdf.
* Edwards, Cyril, ed (2014). Hartmann von Aue. Erec. Arthurian Archives. German Romance. V. Cambridge: D.S.Brewer. ISBN 978-1-84384-378-8.
* Edwards, Cyril, ed (2007). Hartmann von Aue. Iwein or the Knight with the Lion. Arthurian Romances. III. Cambridge: D.S.Brewer. ISBN 978-0-19-923854-5.
* Edwards, Cyril, ed (2010). The Nibelungenlied. Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-84384-084-8.
* Leitzmann, Albert, ed (1985). Erec. Altdeutsche Textbibliothek. 19 (6th ed.). Tübingen: Niemeyer. ISBN 3-484-20139-8.

## Further reading

* Jones, Howard; Jones, Martin H. (2019). The Oxford Guide to Middle High German, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199654611.
* Walshe, M.O'C. (1974). A Middle High German Reader: With Grammar, Notes and Glossary, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198720823.
* Wright, Joseph & Walshe, M.O'C. (1955). Middle High German Primer, 5th edn., Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. The foregoing link is to a TIFF and PNG format. See also the Germanic Lexicon Project's edition, which is in HTML as well as the preceding formats.

## External links

* Middle High German conceptual database
* Online versions of the two main MHG dictionaries
* Middle High German audio literature

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