The Castle of Love: A Medieval German Allegorical Poem

“McConnell’s epoch-making translation of the Minneburg is the first complete and definitive translation in English of the most important allegorical poem of the Late German Middle Ages.” - Francis B. Brévart, University of Pennsylvania “This translation is an essential addition to the canon of German literature in translation, offering a profound encounter with the sophisticated allegorical mind of the late Middle Ages.” - Tina Boyer, Wake Forest University “An authoritative and highly accessible translation that will, for the very first time in its seven-hundred-year history, unlock this fascinating work for English-language readers.” - Michael Resler, Boston College “Not just a tour-de-force, but a delight. McConnell gives us The Castle of Love in a natural, flowing, elegant, and above all else, very readable prose.” - Brian Murdoch, University of Stirling This annotated translation of the Minneburg is the first to appear of the complete work in English, or, for that matter, in any language. The Minneburg, composed in the middle of the fourteenth century in the vicinity of Würzburg, is one of the most extensive and fascinating allegories of Love from the German Middle Ages. The reader encounters here a unique depiction of the intimate connection between love and God, set against a backdrop of otherworldly castles and allegorical figures. The Minneburg is not simply a fascinating commentary on how the love of a noble woman should be procured, but rather a didactic treatise on the acquisition of love as a triumph of virtue over vice, albeit love that, while instigated by a male suitor, requires reciprocity as an integral component if it is to be sanctioned by God. WINDER McCONNELL is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of California, Davis. He is the author, editor, or translator of many books on medieval German literature, including A Companion to the Nibelungenlied and The Epic of Kudrun: A Critical Commentary.