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Palästinalied (Palestine Song) is a poem written in the early 13th century by Walther von der Vogelweide, the most celebrated German medieval lyric poet. The poem is written in Middle High German. It is the only song by Walter for which a melody has survived. The oldest source for the melody is the Münster fragment, which is dated to the early 14th century.
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Manuscript A (Heidelberg) is the oldest source of the text (dated to the late 13th century), giving seven stanzas. Other manuscripts have up to eleven stanzas, for a total of thirteen distinct stanzas. Of these, one (the third stanza) is clearly younger than the original composition. On the other five stanzas not in manuscript A, there is no expert consensus as to whether they should be regarded as Walter's.
Palästinalied was written at the time of the Fifth Crusade (1217-1221). Its subject is the Christian gospel told from the perspective of a pilgrim setting foot in the Holy Land. The song's conclusion refers to the crusades themselves, asserting that, in view of the claim of all three Abrahamic religions to the land of Palestine, the Christian claim is just (Al diu werlt diu strîtet her / Wir sîn an der rehten ger / Reht ist, daz er uns gewer "All the world is warring here [in the Holy Land] / Our claim is the just one / It is right that He [God] grant it").
Full Poem:
Modern reception
With the increased popularity of Medieval rock, Neofolk and related musical styles in the late 1980s and 1990s, Palästinalied became a sort of staple song for such genres and is now well known to modern audiences due to performances by mainly German bands, including (among others):
Palästinalied-Projekt is a compilation of 20 performances of the song (2002; Palästinalied at Discogs).
The Austrian Ensemble for Early Music Dulamans Vröudenton recorded a reconstructionist performance of "Palästinalied".
Lou Harrison's String Quartet Set's 1st movement takes much of its melody from this song.