Jakob Püterich von Reichertshausen, Der Ehrenbrief (The Letter of Honour)

The "Letter of Honour" is the only work preserved by Jakob Püterich von Reichertshausen (c. 1400-1469). It was written in 1462 for the Palatine Countess Mechthild von Rottenburg who was interested in literature. The letter comprises 148 artful Titurel verses in emulation of Wolfram von Eschenbach and is divided into three parts: Salutatio (verse 1-29), Narratio (main part, verse 30-144) and Conclusio (verse 145-148).

After a homage to courtly love, the focus is on a list of the Bavarian dynasties who are eligible for tournaments as well as the request for a list of books including unknown literary works from Mechthild's possession. It is followed by a description of Püterich's own library, comprising 164 manuscripts, which contains books by 13th century authors, i.e. the heyday of German courtly poetry (Wolfram, Gottfried von Strasburg, Thomasin von Zerclaere).

The "Ehrenbrief" is regarded as an important document in German courtly literature's history of influence: for the first time, German poetry becomes the subject of reflections on its quality and authenticity. The work, which has only been preserved in one copy, can be found at the top of the handwritten part in the last third of a large 16th century anthology and was handed over to the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in 1997.

To the digitised copy