a general term for an envious person and as a name for the devil. There are only the most approximate dates for Neidhart's life. He is mentioned in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Willehalm, which would indicate that he was active in the 1210s, and born, therefore, perhaps in the 1190s. He is mentioned as deceased by in , (). Neidhart names Frederick II, Duke of Austria as his patron — since Frederick died in 1246 and there is no lament for him in Neidhart's surviving songs, it is assumed that Neidhart must already have died by that date. While there is no certainty that apparently biographical details in the songs are correct, the evidence suggests that Neidhart spent the early part of his career in Bavaria and, possibly as a result of loss of patronage or political events surrounding the murder of Ludwig I of Bavaria, moved in the 1230s to the court of Duke Frederick II in Vienna. The songs mention not only Bavaria and Austria, but many individual places, including Landshut (the seat of the Bavarian dukes), Vienna, and locations in the vicinity of Vienna, which indicate detailed local knowledge. His tomb, probably erected at the behest of Duke Rudolf IV of Austria (1339–1365), is preserved on the south side of St. Stephen's Cathedral. The Songs Neidhart's songs fall, both lyrically and musically, into two main categories, Summer Songs () and Winter Songs (). Although the terms themselves were first proposed in 1848 by Rochus von Liliencron, the distinction is already apparent in the way the songs are grouped in the 15th-century MS c., and the two types of song contrast both thematically and in structure. Lyrics In their lyrics, Neidhart's songs represent a break with the tradition of Minnesang. While his protagonist in the songs is a knight unable to attain the reward from his beloved that he believes he merits for his service to her — a standard Minnesang theme — instead of the court, the setting is that of the medieval village. The impoverished knight, often named as "von Riuewental", is enamored of a village maiden whose love he is unable to attain, but the reason is either the interference of the girl's mother or the competition from the upstart village males, who ape courtly dress and manners to impress the girl. The effect is essentially humorous, even satirical, contrasting court and village, and mocking both