HELDENBUCH, DAS

English Book of Heroes collection of German metrical romances of the 13th century. The individual poems deal with heroic themes of the struggles and conquests of the Germanic tribes during the great migrations. The poems of the Heldenbuch belong to two cycles. One group deals with the Ostrogothic sagas of Ermanaric, Etzel (Attila), and Dietrich von Bern (q.v.), who is its central figure and the ideal type of German medieval hero. The chief romances of this cycle are Biterolf und Dietlieb, Der Rosengarten, and Laurin und der kleine Rosengarten. The second cycle, probably of Franconian origin, is of less literary value. It includes several long, popular romances, notably those about the heroes Hugdietrich, Ortnit, and Wolfdietrich (q.v.).