König Rother

Related Category: German Literature

(kön´ĭk rōt´ər), earliest heroic minstrel epic from the precourtly period of Middle High German literature. Written in Bavaria in popular verse style by an unknown Rhenish poet (c.1140–50), the epic has a fairy-tale quality. It recounts King Rother's adventurous quest to the Middle East for his bride, portraying with sympathy the lord-vassal relationship.

See King Rother (tr. 1962).