n.
(from German, Minne : "love") Any of certain German poet-musicians, 0441; 1150 0441; 1325, parallel to the troubadour s and trouvère s.
Like their French counterparts, the minnesingers' subjects were not limited to love but also included politics and ethics. Originally members of the high nobility, minnesingers later came from the emerging middle class and had an economic as well as social interest in singing. Walther von der Vogelweide, Neidhardt von Reuental ( 0441; 1180 0441; 1250), and Tannhäuser were among the most famous of the minnesingers.