Autoritt Freidank

With reference to the reception accorded to Freidank, this study investigates the transformation of an historical author into a figure inscribed into cultural memory with a clearly delineated set of features and competencies. Initially no more than a reference in a corpus of edifying Sprüche, Freidank's name gradually turned into a symbol of veracity and God-fearing living in the course of a long receptive process extending from the 14th to the 17th century. Freidank thus attained the status of an authority. Similar processes of semiotization and ascriptions of significance are observable in the reception accorded to Wolfram von Eschenbach and Neidhart. Accordingly, these figures are drawn upon for purposes of comparison.