Women of the Teutonic Nations

by Hermann Schoenfeld

"She took the beauteous wreath I chose,

And like a child at praises glowing,

Her cheeks blush'd crimson as the rose

When by the snow-white lily growing;

But all from those bright eyes eclipse

Receiv'd; and then, my toil to pay,

Kind, precious words fell from her lips;

What more than this I shall not say."

Minnesong represented at first, and during its growth, purity in love, and profound respect for noble womanhood. Goethe's word: "Wilt thou in life know what is seemly, inquire it of noble women," is fully realized. We like to dwell on this phase of our theme, for soon we shall have to descend to the very depths of corruption and impurity.

If we had not the chronological records of history, it would be hard to believe that a nation could be swept by a century of religious wars from the ideals set forth in minnesong to the degeneracy that characterized the "Era of Desolation."