"THE MEISTERGESANG,' Or the origin of which nothing positive is known, had its principal seats in the towns of Mayence, Nüremberg, Memmingen, Colmar, and Ulm. Its members, a corporate body of citizens, representing the various trades and handicrafts, met after the day's work at their clubs, for the purpose of practising there the noble art of rhyming. Their poetical effusions, thongh deficient in elegance and refinement, truthfully depict those qualities for which the German citizens of that age were distinguished. Virtue, morality, contentment, concord, are reflected therein. It was the custom to display on Sundays a large board, called 'Die Schultafel,' which announced that in the afternoon, after service, the singing club was to meet in order to comment on the respective merits of the songs composed during the week. A select committee, whose decision was final, was then appointed; it consisted of the chairman (gemerk), supported by the cashier (büchsenmeister), the administrator (schlüsselmeister), the head-marker (merkmeister), the crown-master (kronmeister). Near the Merkmeister stood the 'Merkers,' that is to say, the Judges. The prize consisted either of a wreath of flowers, or some precious gem, always kept as an heirloom by the handicraft to which the successful candidates respectively belonged. In the more populous and wealthy towns, a great number of these prize gems were always kept in readiness; such a gem was called 'kleinod,' and it was considered a great honour to obtain it. The Schlüsselmeister was entrusted with the keeping of a large book, in which the best songs were carefully copied. Such were the harmless pre-occupations of the German handicraftsmen of those times, in every respect so conducive to the cause of morality and temperance. The era of the Meistergesang lasted several centuries; it flourished most in the 16th, and ceased about the middle of the 18th. It was subject to the most rigid and pedantic regulations, thirty-two of which alone related to the various modes of punishment. Very little attention was paid to the rules of prosody, provided every thing was in uniformity with the statutes, orderly, and neat. Their stanzas, like those of the Minnesängers, were divided into three parts, each of which contained sometimes a hundred rhymes. The most fantastic names were given to the different styles of rhyming, besides the 'red and blue' rhyme, there existed a streaked saffron flower, and 'red nut blossom' style, also the 'warm winter,' 'English tin,' 'yellow lionskin,'' short monkey,' and 'fat badger' styles. Among the most prominent Meistersingers, whose name was legion, Heinrich von Müglin, Suchensinn, Muscatblüt, Michel Beheim, Hans Sachs, and Adam Puschmann, deserve to be mentioned here. Diametrically opposed to the Meistergesang was the Volkslied, the hearty, unfettered, vigorous, unadorned expression of the people's sentiments, of their weal and woe; the origin of which dates from the 14th century; it increased during the 15th, and certainly reached its culminating point in the 16th century. The 'Volkslied,' like all the epic poems of antiquity, represents reality. Simplicity of style and truthful delineation of characters and events constitute its chief merit. A considerable number of the Volkslieder' are love, farewell, and drinking songs, as, for instance, the well-known Warum bist du denn so traurig, Also the beautiful song: Laub und Gras, das mag verwelken, So viel Stern' am Himmel stehen, and so many others which have been lastingly impressed on the German heart. Our most eminent poets, Herder, Göthe, Bürger, have largely drawn from the Volkslied; their best lyric productions being founded on this essentially national basis. It is remarkable, however, that its origin should date from a time when the storm, raging in the physical and literary regions, had spread everywhere gloom, little calculated to fill the heart with glowing sentiments, and that cheerfulness of mind, from which the people's poetry has always sprung. But we must recollect, that if these essential conditions were wanting, others calculated to favour and foster such tendencies existed; for, during periods of national adversities, the ties of fellowship are drawn closer, then the heart longs for those sympathetic interchanges from which it derives consolation and support. The German citizens, at all times fond of social intercourse, were then also in the habit of meeting after the day's labour, and the 'Volkslied,' the joint production of all, and the genuine expression of the people's sentiments, has unquestionably derived its origin from these evening meetings. The Volkslied, though principally celebrating love, wine, and friendship, did not, on that account, exclude subjects of a more martial character, such as the events of the Hussite war, and the description of the deadly struggle then taking place between G Austria and Switzerland, for the battle-songs of Suter, Veit Weber, Zoller, Lenz, Sterner, and Meyler show, that these otherwise peaceable citizens, appreciated also deeds of gallantry performed on the field. THE SACRED HYMN (KIRCHENLIED), Although cultivated already by some of the minstrels, dates likewise more especially from this era. Springing from the popular song, the Kirchenlied' is distinct from the religious song (religiöse Lied), the latter bearing an individual character, whilst the former, intended for the masses, was sung collectively by the whole congregation. Sacred songs were also sung at those theatrical displays (called Mysteries), where the history of the life and sufferings of Christ were read by persons representing the apostles, high priests, or men alluded to in Scripture; ultimately the costume was added, and finally these biblical events were publicly acted, the language used being the Latin, the theatre the church. These religious displays, at first of a very sober and solemn character, degenerated afterwards into the more worldly, and far too worldly 'Oster and Fastnachtsspiele' (Easter and Carnival plays), not always of the purest description. Plays of an essentially worldly character may be traced to a very remote period of German history, for the annual representation of the return of summer, still celebrated in some parts of Germany, is unquestionably of heathen origin. The ancient chronicles tell us also that the Emperor Henry III., when celebrating his marriage in 1043, invited actors to play on that occasion. The number of plays written in the second half of the 15th century, amounts to about 150, among which those of Hans Volz and Rosenblüt are the most prominent. The plot is usually of the most simple kind, the intrigue not having then attained that æsthetic perfection for which the modern drama is so unenviably conspicuous. The language was necessarily coarse, and even indelicate; we have to listen to long gossips about marriage, dowries, domestic quarrels, and adventures of questionable morality. They treat almost exclnsively of home-affairs, if we except Das Spiel vom Pabst, Cardinal und von den Bischoffen, Des Türken Vastnachtsspiel, and a few Sacred hymns were chanted during the religious processions of the so-called Flagellants, a sect, the members of which, whilst passing through the south and west of Germany, inflicted upon themselves the most cruel tortures. Among their songs called Leisen, from Lais, or Kyrie eleison, we mention an Easter Hymn, supposed to have been derived from the Latin, and written by more. Conrad von Queinfurt; also the Dulce Jubilo, considered to be the most beautiful of all. Sacred plays, probably suggested by the rituals of the Romish Church, were calculated to impress the imagination of the beholder. At first, they were acted exclusively in Latin, on Christmas-day, Good Friday, and Easter, festivals more strikingly commemorative of the events on which the Christian faith is based. These 'mysteries,' as they were then called, at first very austere, became at last of so scandalous a character, that they had to be forbidden by the Pope. The representation of the Life of the Virgin, her wailings (Klage), and the Ascension, seem to have been the favorite topics of the day. The number of persons acting at the same time, amounted often to several hundred, each performer being introduced to the public by a kind of herald, called precursor (einschreier); and as the poor condition of the scenery, the narrowness of the place (for the church was the theatre), rendered it impossible to conceal the actors before their appearance, they had to take their places near the spot where they appeared. The comical parts in these plays was performed by the Evil One. Ultimately, these mysteries assumed a more popular character, when worldly subjects, such as one might meet at public fairs, were introduced. The oldest Easter play, written in Latin by Wernher von Tegernsee, describes the arrival and destruction of Anti-christ. The sufferings of Christ (Christi Leiden), a play interspersed with German notes, dates from the 13th century; another is known under the name of 'Ludas de nocte Pascha-half German, half Latin; and the Marienklage,' bears a very austere character. The Passion-plays, or Passionspiele, took their name from the place where they were written, like those of Frankfort, Alsfeld, and Donaueschingen. Of Christmas plays, we possess one which is preserved in a St. Gall document, dating from the 13th century, and entitled 'Die Kindheit Jesu' (childhood of Christ). These sacred plays were always acted in the day-time, after the morning service, and lasted often for several days, the scenery being of a ludicrously primitive character. เ When they were over, it was customary for the actors to address the audience, then still under the influence of strong emotions. A performer would step forward, and thus address the people in the pit: Ladies and gentlemen, it is all very well applauding us, and I am sure we are most thankful for your kindness, but pray remember, that your applause will not fill our empty stomachs, and that the smallest trifle, be it money, ham, beef, or cake, would be gratefully received by your humble servants. 'Ihnen sollt' ihr bringen, Braten, Schinken und auch Fladen, Wer ihnen giebt seinen Braten, Den will Gott heute und immer gut berathen, Wer ihnen gibt seinen Fladen, Den will Gott in das Himmelreich laden.' Which condensed into Anglo-Saxon, means— If you give us ham and beef or cake You are blessed, so give for Heaven's sake. Prose-writing, at first belonging to the upper classes, divested itself of the poetical element, in proportion as the higher and middle classes began to cultivate the didactic and historical style. Different versions of the old legends of the Heldenbuch, the Horny Siegfried, Duke Ernest, Wigalois, and Tristan, appeared conjointly with a number of chronicles, written by those somewhat primitive historians who shone so conspicuously in the records of Limbourg, Strasburg, Alsatia, Thuringia, Switzerland, and Bavaria; documents, which, notwithstanding their unæsthetic character, laid, no doubt, the foundation for those great historical works which distinguish the literature of the 18th and 19th centuries. Then appeared the Novel, a plant of foreign growth. Lothe and Maller,' dating from the Carlovingian era, translated from the Latin into French by Margaret, Countess of Widmont, wife of Frederic of Lothringen (1405), and ultimately into German by her daughter Elizabeth, Countess of Nassau (1437). Pontus and Sidonia,' translated from the French by Eleanor of Scotland, who married Sigismund of Austria in 1448. 'Melusine the Beautiful,' translated from the French by Thüring von Ringoltingen or Ruggeltingen (1456). Euriolus and Lucretia,' by Æneas Sylvius, and 'Pope Pius II,' translated into German by Niclas von Weyl. 'Fortunatus' sprung from a Spanish or north French source (15th century), the principal basis of which we find in the Gesta Romanorum. Fierabras,' belonging to the Carlovingian era, and published in German in 1533. 'Die Haimonskinder,' also a Carlovingian novel, derived from the French and Dutch translation (1535 and 1604). 'Die schöne Magelone,' translated from the French by Veit Warbeck, 1535. A characteristic feature of those times, was the great number of satirical writers; among whom Rosenblüt, Volz, Hans Sachs, Johann Fischart, called Menzer, are most prominent. From this era also dates, though its origin may be traced to a period far more antecedent, the poem of Renard the Fox, Reinecke Fuchs, which assumed at that time the comical character which it did not possess originally. |