Tannhäuser, often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265.
Tannhäuser, from the Codex Manesse (about 1300).
In the Venusberg by John Collier, 1901: a gilded setting that is distinctly Italian quattrocento.
Minnesang was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wrote and performed Minnesang were known as Minnesänger, and a single song was called a Minnelied.
Walther von der Vogelweide (Codex Manesse, ca. 1300)
Melody and text of Neidhart von Reuental, "Der schwarze dorn" (MS c)
Otto von Botenlauben Fountain