Reinmar von Zweter

The iconography in the Manesse Codex (see illustration) suggests that he may have been blind, since he is the only person represented in the manuscript with closed eyes and other people writing.

Living under Leopold VI of Austria and Frederick II, Duke of Austria, his writings indicate a stay in Bohemia under Venceslas I of Bohemia.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages notes that von Zweter composed the work Sangspruchdichtung and “a single Leich (lai/lay)”, as well as “more than two hundred twelve-line, single-stanza songs.” He is considered an important poet, between Walther von der Vogelweide and Heinrich Frauenlob.

von Zweter is featured as a minor character in Richard Wagner's opera Tannhäuser, alongside other poets of the time such as the aforementioned Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach.

A portion of his “Leich” is quoted in the Umberto Eco novel The Name of the Rose.