Friedrich von Hausen

He was born in middle Rhenish territory, as is shown by his dialect, especially by his rhymes, but several towns claim to be his birthplace, and the question cannot be definitely decided.

The next year he was present when Frederick I, Barbarossa and Philip Augustus met between Mouzon and Yvois, and in 1188 he was at Worms in the company of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut.

He accompanied the Emperor Frederick, by whom he was held in high esteem, on the Third Crusade in 1189, and met his death at the battle of Philomelium (modern-day Akşehir, Turkey), when he fell with his horse while pursuing the enemy.

Friedrich von Hausen is one of the earliest of the minnesingers who are known to have imitated French models, with which he became acquainted on his travels through Burgundy and Provence.

The Provençal influence is especially evident in the dactylic rhythm of his verses, which resulted from the adoption into German of a Romance ten-syllable line with four or five stresses.