Der Pleier
Der Pleier is the pen name of a 13th-century German poet whose real name is unknown. Three of his works survive, all Middle High German romances on Arthurian subjects: Garel, Tandareis und Flordibel, and Meleranz. Little else is known of him, but he was an important figure in the revival of Arthurian literature in Germany in the mid-13th century, after decades of declining interest in the subject. Name and biography Der Pleier was active between around 1240 and 1270. His real name is unknown. The meaning of his pseudonym is also unknown, though it may mean "The Blower," as in glassblower, and may refer to his tendency to break down old material and reforge it, much as a glassblower melts down old material to shape it into something new. Textual evidence in his work implies he may have been from Austria, perhaps the area around Salzburg. He had a broad knowledge of German Arthurian literature, and most of his work takes plots, scenes, and especially characters from older romances. Works Der Pleier is best known for his longest work, Garel von dem blühenden Tal, consisting of 21,310 lines in short rhyming couplets. The story follows King Arthur's young knight Garel