Jenaer Liederhandschrift

The (German, the “Jena song manuscript”) is a 14th-century manuscript containing lyrics and melodies to songs in Middle High German. The majority of the lyrics belong to the genre of Spruchdichtung and, with 91 melodies, the manuscript is the single most important source for the music of this genre. It is currently held in the , Jena, with the shelf-mark Ms. El. f. 101. In Minnesang scholarship it is referred to as Manuscript J. A further fragment, consisting of a single sheet, is in the in Dillingen, Bavaria (XV Fragm. 19). Description The manuscript comprises 133 (of an original 154) folios and contains collections of lyrics by 31 named poets, along with an anonymous religious song (a Leich), and the text of the Wartburgkrieg (“The song-contest at the Wartburg”). The quality of the manuscript is exceptional: Of the melodies, Bernoulli notes, “On the whole we cannot imagine a more clearly written example of a document using square notation.” For these reasons, it seems likely that the manuscript was commissioned for display (or possibly as a gift) rather than for use in musical performance. History The manuscript was compiled in about 1330 in Central Germany, possibly Thuringia fo