Hartmann von Aue:
Ein Ritter so geleret was
Daz er an den buchen las
Waz er dar an geschriben vant
Der was hartman genannt,
Un was ein diensteman von owe.
There once was a knight so learned
That he could read everything that he found written in books.
He was called Hartmann
And was a liegeman zu Aue.
An unusual document of a nobleman being able to read is provided by Hartmann von Aue. In 1190 he wrote these lines in the prologue to his Armer Heinrich.The author identifies himself as an educated knight who could at least read, thus emphasizing his own cultivation and revealing himself as a learned and competent narrator.
