Palästinalied

Palästinalied (Palestine Song) is a poem written in the early 13th century by Walther von der Vogelweide, the most celebrated German mediaeval lyric poet. It is the only song by Walter for which a melody has been recorded, the melody's oldest source being the Münster fragment, dated to the early 14th century.

Text

Manuscript A (Heidelberg) is the oldest source of the text (dated to the late 13th century), giving seven verses. Other manuscripts have up to eleven verses, for a total of 13 distinct verses. Of these, one ("verse 3") is clearly younger than the original composition. On the other five verses not in manuscript A, there is no expert consensus as to whether they should be regarded as Walter's.

Palästinalied was written at the time of the Fifth Crusade (1217-1221).[1] Its subject is the Christian gospel told from the perspective of a pilgrim setting foot in the Holy Land. The song's conclusion refers to the crusades themselves, asserting that in view of the claim of all three Abrahamic religions to the land of Palestine, the Christian claim is just (Al diu werlt diu strîtet her / Wir sîn an der rehten ger / Reht ist, daz er uns gewer "All the world is warring here [in the Holy Land] / Our claim is the just one / It is right that He [God] grant it").

Modern reception

With the increased popularity of Medieval rock, Neofolk and related musical styles in the late 1980s and 1990s, Palästinalied became a sort of staple song for such genres and is now well known to modern audiences due to performances by mainly German bands, including (among others):

Palästinalied-Projekt is a compilation of 20 performances of the song (2002; Palästinalied at Discogs).

The Austrian Ensemble for Early Music Dulamans Vröudenton recorded a reconstructionist performance of "Palästinalied".[2]

Lou Harrison's String Quartet Set's 1st movement takes much of its melody from this song.

References

  1. ↑ Walther's presence in Vienna is recorded for 1217, and again for 1219, after the return of Duke Leopold VI from the crusade. It is not known whether Walther himself participated in Leopold's crusade.
  2. ↑ Listen/Anhören altemusik.net
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