biography
| name: |
Oswald von Wolkenstein
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pronunciation:
[osvalt fon volken
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (c.1337–1445)
|
| biography:
| Poet, born in the castle of Schöneck-Pustertal, Tyrol. A Minnesänger of noble birth, he led a picaresque life, from the age of 10 travelling throughout Europe in such diverse guises as cook and minstrel. He twice served King Sigismund as a diplomat to various European courts (1415, 1431–4), and in the intervening period was imprisoned by the knight Martin Jäger (over an inheritance dispute - he was lured into captivity by Sabine Jäger, whom he loved) and for conspiracy by Friedrich IV of Tyrol. Considered the leading German poet of the late Middle Ages, his love, drinking, and dance songs remain formal in style, but are innovatory in content and marked by earthy sensuality and individualism. |
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