Konrad von Altstetten

Konrad von Altstetten belonged to a family of ministeriales (or Dienstmannen, that is, unfree vassals) of the Abbey of Saint Gall.

A knight named Konrad von Altstetten is attested in 1235 and a priest in 1268, but it is generally accepted that the poet is the Meier (steward) mentioned in a few documents.

[2] Konrad's poetry is light in style and shows the influence of Gottfried von Neifen.

[3] Three of his songs, a total of thirteen stanzas, are preserved in a single manuscript, the Codex Manesse.

All three seem to be dances:[1] In the Codex Manesse, there is an illustration of Konrad holding a hunting falcon and reclining in his lover's arms beneath a rose bush.

Surviving examples of his seal show a helmet with three hackles, which is depicted in the top right of the illustration in the Codex Manesse.