Bligger von Steinach

Bligger von Steinach was the name of a series of feudal lords of Steinach, today Neckarsteinach in Hesse, Germany. Collectively the noble family was known as the Edelfreien von Steinach. The family was influential, having close connections to the Holy Roman Emperor and to the Bishopric of Worms. The family held Steinach in fief to Worms. The name Bligger is of Germanic origin, meaning lightning spear. As a poet, Bligger II was mentioned by Gottfried von Strassburg in his work Tristan und Isolt. There he praised his “sweet words and clever sensibilities musically entwined”. Gottfried also praised Bligger’s work der umbehanc (The Tapestry), which remains lost to this day. Some scholars argue that this work refers to the Nibelungenlied, but this remains in dispute. Bligger’s work appears in the Codex Manesse. The codex also displays the coat-of-arms that he created. It is a harp, which is used today by the city of Neckarsteinach. References