Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG, German
Mittelhochdeutsch) is the term used for the period in the history of the
German language between
1050 and
1350. It is preceded by
Old High German and followed by
Early New High German. In some older scholarship, the term covers a longer period, going up to
1500.
Middle High German is not a unified written language and the term covers two main dialect areas:
*
Upper German (
Oberdeutsch)
**
Alemannic (
Alemannisch)
**
Bavarian (
Bayrisch)
**
East Franconian (
Ostfränkisch)
**
South Franconian (
Südfränkisch)
*
Central German (
Mitteldeutsch)
**
Franconian (
Westmitteldeutsch)
***
Rhine Franconian (
Rheinfränkisch)
***
Middle Franconian (
Mittelfränkisch)
**
East Central German (Ostmitteldeutsch)
***
Thuringian (
Thüringisch)
***
Upper Saxon (
Obersächsisch)
***
Silesian (
Schlesisch)
***
High Prussian (
Hochpreußisch)
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. However, the picture is complicated by the fact that modern editions of MHG texts have a tendency to use
normalised spellings based on this variety (usually called "Classical MHG"), which make the written language appear more consistent than is actually the case in the manuscripts. It is uncertain whether the literary language reflected a supra-regional
spoken language of the courts.
An important development in this period was 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" is the precursor of the
Yiddish language which is attested in the 13th-14th centuries as a variety of Middle High German written in Hebrew characters.
There are several criteria which separate MHG from the preceding
Old High German period:
* the weakening of unstressed vowels to /e/ - OHG
taga > MHG
tage ("days")
* the full development of
Umlaut and its use to mark a number of
morphological categories* the devoicing of final stops - OHG
tag > MHG
tac ("day")Culturally, the two periods are distinguished by the transition from a predominantly clerical written culture to one centred on the courts of the great nobles. The
imperial court in
Vienna and the rise of the
Swabian Hohenstaufen and then the
Habsburg dynasties make South Germany the dominant region in both political and cultural terms.
Linguistically, the transition to
Early New High German is marked by four vowel changes which together produce the phonemic system of modern German:
* Monophthongisation of some of the MHG diphthongs: MHG
huot> NHG
Hut ('guardianship')
* Diphthongisation of long vowels MHG
hût > NHG
Haut ("skin"); these two phenomena may be seen together as a
chain shift.
* lengthening of short vowels MHG
sagen // > NHG
sagen // ("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.
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
Notes:# Not all dialects distinguish the three unrounded mid front vowels.# It is probable that the short high and mid vowels are lower than their long equivalents, as in Modern German, but this is impossible to establish from the written sources.# The
found in unstressed syllables may indicate [] or schwa [].Diphthongs
MHG diphthongs are indicated by the spellings: , , , <öu> and , <üe>, .Consonants
#Precise information about the articulation of consonants is impossible to establish, and will have varied between dialects.#In the plosive and fricative series, where there are two consonants in a cell, the first is fortis the second lenis. The voicing of lenis consonants varied between dialects.#MHG has long consonants, and the following double consonant spellings indicate not vowel length as in Modern German orthography, but rather genuine double consonants: pp, bb, tt, dd, ck (for /kk/), gg, ff, ss, zz, mm, nn, ll, rr.#It is reasonable to assume that /x/ had an allophone [] before back vowels, as in Modern German.From the prologue of Hartmann von Aue's Iwein (circa 1200)
5
10
15
20 | 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. | 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.
He will forever be free
Of sinful shame
Who follows his example. |
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 may words have changed their meaning substantially. Muot (6) means 'state of mind', 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 focusses on reputation and the respect accorded to status in society.See also Medieval German literature.
Minnesang
**Codex Manesse
**Walther von der Vogelweide
**Heinrich Frauenlob
**Oswald von Wolkenstein
*Epics
**Hartmann von Aue
**Wolfram von Eschenbach
**Gottfried von Strassburg
*Nibelungenlied
*Kudrun
**Ulrich von Türheim
**Rudolf von Ems
**Konrad von Würzburg
*Nonfiction writings
**Annolied (Early Middle High German)
**Jans der Enikel
**Kaiserchronik
**Sachsenspiegel*High German consonant shift*Wright's Middle High German Primer
*Middle High German conceptual database
*Mediaevum.de's MHG Texts:
** 11th Century (Early MHG)
** 12th Century
** 13th Century
** 14th Century*Hermann Paul, Mittelhochdeutsche Grammatik, 23rd edn, edited by Peter Wiehl and Sigfried Grosse (Niemeyer, 1989) ISBN 3484102330
*M.O'C. Walshe, A Middle High German Reader: With Grammar, Notes and Glossary (Oxford University Press, 1974) ISBN 0198720823
*Joseph Wright, Middle High German Primer, 5th edn revised by M.O'C. Walshe (Oxford University Press, 1955)
