| Middle High German | |
|---|---|
| diutsch /tiutsch | |
 Manuscript page fromRolandslied, written in Middle High German in the 12th century | |
| Region | Central and southernGermany,Austria and parts ofSwitzerland |
| Era | High Middle Ages |
Indo-European
| |
Early form | |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | gmh (c. 1050–1500) |
| ISO 639-3 | gmh (c. 1050–1500) |
| ISO 639-6 | mdgr |
| Glottolog | midd1343 |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Middle High German (MHG;endonym:diutsch ortiutsch;New High German:Mittelhochdeutsch[ˈmɪtl̩hoːxˌdɔʏtʃ]ⓘ, shortened asMhdt. orMhd.) is the term for the form ofHighGerman spoken in theHigh Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing fromOld High German (OHG) intoEarly New High German (ENHG).High German is defined as those varieties of German which were affected by theSecond Sound Shift; theMiddle Low German (MLG) andMiddle Dutch languages spoken to the North and North West, which did not participate in thissound change, are not part of MHG.
While there is nostandard MHG, the prestige of theHohenstaufen court gave rise in the late 12th century to a supra-regional literary language (mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache) based onSwabian, anAlemannic dialect. This historical interpretation is complicated by the tendency of modern editions of MHG texts to usenormalised spellings based on this variety (usually called "Classical MHG"), which make the written language appear more consistent than it actually is in the manuscripts. Scholars are uncertain as to whether the literary language reflected a supra-regionalspoken language of the courts.
An important development in this period was theOstsiedlung, the eastward expansion of German settlement beyond theElbe-Saale line which marked the limit ofOld High German. This process started in the 11th century, and all theEast Central German dialects are a result of this expansion.
"Judeo-German", the precursor of theYiddish language, is attested in the 12th–13th centuries, as a variety of Middle High German written in Hebrew characters.
The Middle High German period is generally dated from 1050 to 1350.[1][2][3][4] An older view puts the boundary with (Early) New High German around 1500.[4][5]
There are several phonological criteria which separate MHG from the precedingOld High German period:[6]
Culturally, the two periods are distinguished by the transition from a predominantly clerical written culture, in which the dominant language wasLatin, to one centred on the courts of the great nobles, with German gradually expanding its range of use.[2][10] The rise of theHohenstaufen dynasty inSwabia makes the South West the dominant region in both political and cultural terms.[11]
Demographically, the MHG period is characterised by a massive rise in population,[12] terminated by the demographic catastrophe of theBlack Death (1348).[13] Along with the rise in population comes a territorial expansion eastwards (Ostsiedlung), which saw German-speaking settlers colonise land previously underSlavic control.[14][15]
Linguistically, the transition toEarly New High German is marked by four vowel changes which together produce the phonemic system of modern German, though not all dialects participated equally in these changes:[16]
The centres of culture in the ENHG period are no longer the courts but the towns.[17]
Thedialect map of Germany by the end of the Middle High German period was much the same as that at the start of the 20th century, though the boundary with Low German was further south than it now is:[18][19]
Central German (Mitteldeutsch)[20]
Upper German (Oberdeutsch)[21]
With the exception of Thuringian, the East Central German dialects are new dialects resulting from theOstsiedlung and arise towards the end of the period.[18][22]
Middle High German texts are written in theLatin alphabet. There was no standardised spelling, but modern editions generally standardise according to a set of conventions established byKarl Lachmann in the 19th century.[23] There are several important features in this standardised orthography which are not characteristics of the originalmanuscripts:
A particular problem is that many manuscripts are of much later date than the works they contain; as a result, they bear the signs of later scribes having modified the spellings, with greater or lesser consistency, in accord with conventions of their time.[28] In addition, there is considerable regional variation in the spellings that appear in the original texts, which modern editions largely conceal.[29]
The standardised orthography of MHG editions uses the following vowel spellings:[24]
Grammars (as opposed to textual editions) often distinguish between⟨ë⟩ and⟨e⟩, the former indicating the mid-open/ɛ/ which derived from Germanic/e/, the latter (often with a dot beneath it) indicating the mid-close/e/ which results from primary umlaut of short/a/. No such orthographic distinction is made in MHG manuscripts.[24]
The standardised orthography of MHG editions uses the following consonant spellings:[26]
The charts show the vowel and consonant systems of classical MHG. The spellings indicated are the standard spellings used in modern editions; there is much more variation in the manuscripts.
| Front | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | |||||
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| close | i⟨i⟩ | iː⟨î⟩ | y⟨ü⟩ | yː⟨iu⟩ | u⟨u⟩ | uː⟨û⟩ |
| close-mid | e⟨ë⟩ | eː⟨ê⟩ | ø⟨ö⟩ | øː⟨œ⟩ | o⟨o⟩ | oː⟨ô⟩ |
| mid | ɛ⟨e⟩ | |||||
| open | æ⟨ä⟩ | æː⟨æ⟩ | a⟨a⟩ | aː⟨â⟩ | ||
Notes:
| Front | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | ||
| Closing | /ei/ | /øy/⟨öu/eu⟩ | /ou/ |
| Centering | /iə/⟨ie⟩ | /yə/⟨üe⟩ | /uə/⟨uo⟩ |
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ⟨ng⟩ | |
| Plosive | p b | t d | k⟨k, c⟩ ɡ | |
| Affricate | p͡f | t͡s⟨z⟩ | ||
| Fricative | f⟨f⟩ v⟨v⟩ | s⟨ȥ⟩ s̠⟨s⟩ | x⟨ch, h⟩ | h |
| Approximant | w | l r | j |
Middle High German pronouns of the first person refer to the speaker; those of the second person refer to an addressed person; and those of the third person refer to a person or thing of which one speaks.Thepronouns of the third person may be used to replacenominal phrases. These have the samegenders,numbers andcases as the original nominal phrase.
| 1st sg | 2nd sg | 3rd sg | 1st pl | 2nd pl | 3rd pl | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ich | du | ër | siu | ëȥ | wir | ir | sie /siu |
| Accusative | mich | dich | in | sie | uns(ich) | iuch | ||
| Dative | mir | dir | im | ir | im | uns | iu | in |
| Genitive | mîn | dîn | sîn | sîn | unser | iuwer | ir | |
The possessive pronounsmîn, dîn, sîn, ir, unser, iuwer are used like adjectives and hence take on adjective endings following the normal rules.
The inflected forms of the article depend on the number, the case and the gender of the corresponding noun. The definite article has the same plural forms for all three genders.
Definite article (strong)
| Case | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | dër | daȥ | diu | die /diu |
| Accusative | dën | die | ||
| Dative | dëm | dër | dën | |
| Genitive | dës | dër | ||
| Instrumental | diu | |||
Theinstrumental case, only existing in the neuter singular, is used only withprepositions:von diu,ze diu, etc. In all the other genders and in the plural it is substituted with the dative:von dëm,von dër,von dën.
Middle High Germannouns were declined according to fourcases (nominative,genitive,dative,accusative), twonumbers (singular andplural) and threegenders (masculine, feminine and neuter), much like Modern High German, though there are several important differences.
| dër tac day m. | diu gëbe gift f. | daȥ wort word n. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | dër tac | die tage | diu gëbe | die gëbe | daȥ wort | diu wort |
| Accusative | dën tac | die gëbe | daȥ wort | |||
| Genitive | dës tages | dër tage | dër gëbe | dër gëben | dës wortes | dër worte |
| Dative | dëm tage | dën tagen | dën gëben | dëm worte | dën worten | |
| dër gast guest m. | diu kraft strength f. | daȥ lamp lamb n. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | dër gast | die geste | diu kraft | die krefte | daȥ lamp | diu lember |
| Accusative | dën gast | die kraft | daȥ lamp | |||
| Genitive | dës gastes | dër geste | dër kraft/krefte | dër krefte | dës lambes | dër lember |
| Dative | dëm gaste | dën gesten | dër kraft/krefte | dën kreften | dëm lambe | dën lembern |
| dër veter (male) cousin m. | diu zunge tongue f. | daȥ herze heart n. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | dër veter | die veteren | diu zunge | die zungen | daȥ herze | diu herzen |
| Accusative | dën veteren | die zungen | ||||
| Genitive | dës veteren | dër veteren | dër zungen | dër zungen | dës herzen | dër herzen |
| Dative | dëm veteren | dën veteren | dër zungen | dën zungen | dëm herzen | dën herzen |
Verbs were conjugated according to three moods (indicative,subjunctive (conjunctive) andimperative), three persons, twonumbers (singular andplural) and two tenses (present tense andpreterite) There was a present participle, a past participle and a verbal noun that somewhat resembles theLatingerund, but that only existed in thegenitive anddative cases.
An important distinction is made betweenstrong verbs (that exhibitedablaut) andweak verbs (that didn't).
Furthermore, there were also some irregular verbs.
Thepresent tense conjugation went as follows:
| nëmen to take | ||
|---|---|---|
| Indicative | Subjunctive | |
| 1. sg. | ich nime | ich nëme |
| 2. sg. | du nim(e)st | du nëmest |
| 3. sg. | ër nim(e)t | er nëme |
| 1. pl. | wir nëmen | wir nëmen |
| 2. pl. | ir nëm(e)t | ir nëmet |
| 3. pl. | sie nëment | sie nëmen |
The bold vowels demonstrateumlaut; the vowels in brackets were dropped in rapid speech.
Thepreterite conjugation went as follows:
| genomen haben to have taken | ||
|---|---|---|
| Indicative | Subjunctive | |
| 1. sg. | ich nam | ich næme |
| 2. sg. | du næme | du næmest |
| 3. sg. | ër nam | er næme |
| 1. pl. | wir nâmen | wir næmen |
| 2. pl. | ir nâmet | ir næmet |
| 3. pl. | sie nâmen | sie næmen |
Thepresent tense conjugation went as follows:
| suochen to seek | ||
|---|---|---|
| Indicative | Subjunctive | |
| 1. sg. | ich suoche | ich suoche |
| 2. sg. | du suoch(e)st | du suochest |
| 3. sg. | ër suoch(e)t | er suoche |
| 1. pl. | wir suochen | wir suochen |
| 2. pl. | ir suoch(e)t | ir suochet |
| 3. pl. | sie suochent | sie suochen |
The vowels in brackets were dropped in rapid speech.
Thepreterite conjugation went as follows:
| gesuocht haben to have sought | ||
|---|---|---|
| Indicative | Subjunctive | |
| 1. sg. | ich suochete | ich suochete |
| 2. sg. | du suochetest | du suochetest |
| 3. sg. | ër suochete | er suochete |
| 1. pl. | wir suocheten | wir suocheten |
| 2. pl. | ir suochetet | ir suochetet |
| 3. pl. | sie suochetent | sie suocheten |
In the Middle High German period, the rise of a courtly culture and the changing nature of knighthood was reflected in changes to the vocabulary.[30] Since the impetus for this set of social changes came largely from France, many of the new words were either loans from French or influenced by French terms.
The French loans mainly cover the areas of chivalry, warfare and equipment, entertainment, and luxury goods:[31]
Two highly productive suffixes were borrowed from French in this period:
The text is the opening ofHartmann von Aue'sIwein (c. 1200)
| Middle High German[35] | English translation | |
|---|---|---|
Swer an rehte güete | [1] | Whoever to true goodness |
Commentary: This text shows many typical features of Middle High German poetic language. Most Middle High German words survive into modern German in some form or other: this passage contains only one word (jehen 'say' 14) which has since disappeared from the language. But many words have changed their meaning substantially.Muot (6) means 'state of mind' (cognates withmood), where modern GermanMut means courage.Êre (3) can be translated with 'honour', but is quite a different concept of honour from modern GermanEhre; the medieval term focuses on reputation and the respect accorded to status in society.[36]
The text is the opening strophe of theNibelungenlied (c. 1204).
Middle High German[37]
Uns ist in alten mæren wunders vil geseit
von helden lobebæren, von grôzer arebeit,
von freuden, hôchgezîten, von weinen und von klagen,
von küener recken strîten muget ir nu wunder hœren sagen.Modern German translation[38]
In alten Erzählungen wird uns viel Wunderbares berichtet
von ruhmreichen Helden, von hartem Streit,
von glücklichen Tagen und Festen, von Schmerz und Klage:
vom Kampf tapferer Recken: Davon könnt auch Ihr nun Wunderbares berichten hören.English translation[39]
In ancient tales many marvels are told us
of renowned heroes, of great hardship
of joys, festivities, of weeping and lamenting
of bold warriors' battles — nowyou may hear such marvels told!
Commentary: All the MHG words are recognizable from Modern German, thoughmære ("tale") andrecke ("warrior") are archaic andlobebære ("praiseworthy") has given way tolobenswert. Words which have changed in meaning includearebeit, which means "strife" or "hardship" in MHG, but now means "work", andhôchgezît ("festivity") which now, asHochzeit, has the narrower meaning of "wedding".[36]
The text is from the opening ofHartmann von Aue'sErec (c. 1180–1190). The manuscript (theAmbraser Heldenbuch) dates from 1516, over three centuries after the composition of the poem.
| Original manuscript[40] | Edited text[41] | English translation[42] | |
|---|---|---|---|
5 | nu riten ſÿ vnlange friſt | nû riten si unlange vrist | Now they had not been riding together |
The following are some of the main authors and works of MHG literature:
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
