Der Stricker is most noted as a major transitional figure from the rarefied courtly world of the Blütezeit (golden age of German medieval literature, 1180 to 1230) to the more mundane, everyday arena of postclassical literature. His two early poems--the Arthurian romance Daniel von dem blühenden Tal (1210-1225; translated as Daniel of the Blossoming Valley, 1990) and the heroic epic Karl der Große (Charlemagne, 1217-1225)--give way to the less sublime verse narratives and fables of the poet's later years. It was in this latter field that Der Stricker discovered his true literary prowess and established his enduring reputation as a poet.

Little is known about the lives of even the most renowned of the German poets of the Middle Ages, and Der Stricker is no exception. An early scholar, Karl Goedeke, attempted to associate the name Stricker with the verb strîchen (to...