Ruodlieb is a fragmentary romance in Latin verse written by an unknown southern German poet who flourished about 1030.

The poem is one of the earliest German romances of knightly adventure, and its vivid picture of feudal manners gives it a certain value as a historical document.

Ruodlieb was left unfinished, and furthermore the manuscript was cut up and used for binding books, so that the fragments were only gradually discovered (from 1807 onwards) and pieced together.

The proverbs, usually three in number, were increased in Ruodlieb to twelve, each of which was the starting-point of an episode by which the hero was made to appreciate its value.

In return for his freedom, the dwarf reveals the whereabouts of a large treasure and utters the prophecy that the knight will marry Heriburg after he has slain her father and brother.