Burkhard von Hohenfels: Mîn herze hât mînen sin (Lied IX)
Verse 1
Mîn herze hât mînen sin
wilt ze jagen ûz gesant.
der vert nâch mit mînem muote.
vil gedanke vert vor in.
den ist daz vil wol bekant,
daz daz wilt stêt in der huote
bî der, der ich dienstes bin bereit.
ir sin ir muot ir gedenken
kan vor in mit künste wenken:
wol bedorfte ich fuhses kündekeit.
Translation
Verse 1
My heart has sent my wit
to hunt wild game.
It chases after it with my will.
Many thoughts rush ahead of them,
knowing very well
that the wild animal is in the care of the one
I am willing to serve.
Her mind, her will, her thoughts
can artfully evade them:
I would need the cunning of a fox.
Audio sample
Burkhard von Hohenfels: Mîn herze hât mînen sin (Lied IX)
Verse 2
Wie wirt mir daz stolze wilt?
daz ist snel, wîs unde starc.
snel gedenken vert vor winde,
wîser sin bî menschen spilt,
sterke in leuwen sich ie barc:
der gelîch ir muot ich vinde.
ir snelheit mir wenket hôhe enbor,
ir wîsheit mich überwindet,
mit ir sterke sî mich bindet.
Translation
Verse 2
How do I get the proud game?
It is fast, clever and strong.
Its quick thoughts can even outrun greyhounds.
Clever wit plays a role in humans,
strength has always been hidden in lions:
I find her spirit to be of the same kind.
Her speed beckons me from on high,
her wisdom overcomes me,
with her strength she captivates me.
Audio sample
Herzmannsheil!
Off to the hunt: The narrator’s heart sends out the personified thought, will and mind to hunt wild game.
Thoughts (gedanke) rush ahead, while will (muot) and shrewdness (sin) follow in the hunting ensemble. These inner entities, i.e. processes that take place inside the human being, are defined as hunters, but remain rather difficult to imagine: There is no description of what thoughts, will or intellect look like or whether they can achieve anything other than hunting. The personifications hunt game, which, as it later turns out, is Lady Minne (Love) herself. This prey, i.e. the maiden being pursued, is superior to the narrator’s personifications in all respects: her speed beckons to the narrator, her wisdom overcomes him, while her strength captivates him.
Contents
Love is complicated and so is courtship: Burkhard von Hohenfels’ allegorical courtship song, which must be understood symbolically, is about winning the lady in the form of a hunt: the narrator’s wit, thoughts and will take up the trail. The game being pursued is a wild animal that mocks the narrator’s very heart. The narrator repeatedly questions how it can kill the game with the cleverness of a fox (fuhses kündekeit). The symbolic content of courtship unfolds stanza by stanza. In the last stanza, the personification of Lady Minne is introduced, who performs many wild blows (vil wilden strich).
What else?
Abstract internal processes are projected outwards to illustrate them: Have you ever thought about what personified wit might look like? Or a personified thought? And what kind of actions might they perform? Hunting as a topos may not be a particularly obvious connection, especially if the consequence would be killing the game.
