contrast between the Summer and Winter songs, the former being more "exuberant and carefree" in their melodies. Lewon remarks that the melodies in the Frankfurt manuscript demand considerable virtuosity from the singer. The main modes are the Dorian mode and the major mode. The Manuscript tradition The earliest recorded lyric of Neidhart's is a single strophe "Nu gruonet aber diu heide" (R 12),in the Carmina Burana manuscript, . But the main manuscripts are: R — Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, mgf. 1062 (also called the "Riedegg MS", from its previous location in Schloss Riedegg in Upper Austria). Compiled in the late 13th century, probably in Lower Austria, it contains 58 song texts (383 strophes). C — Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg cpg 848 (Manesse Codex) contains 209 strophes under Neidhart's name and, under various names, a further 48 which are attributed to Neidhart in other sources. It was probably compiled in Zürich in the first half of the 14th century. It contains a full-page illustration of Neidhart surrounded by peasants. c — Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, mgf 779 (also called the "Ried MS" after an 18th-century owner), compiled probably in Nürnberg in the second half of the 15th century. It is the largest Neidhart collection, containing 131 songs (1098 strophes), along with 45 melodies (and space left for others), and is the largest single-author collection for any . In contrast to earlier manuscripts, each song here has a heading (a title or a genre description). Uniquely, the songs are grouped into Summer and Winter Songs. All but a handful of Neidhart's songs are found in one or more of these three manuscripts. In addition, there are a further 28 manuscripts and fragments with song lyrics, including both the Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift (Minnesang MS A, 14 songs) and the Weingarten MS (Minnesang MS B, 13 songs). Reception Neidhart's songs had a significant influence on later . In particular the simple rhyming scheme of the and the motif of the dialogue between two villagers (), mother and daughter or two girlfriends, are taken up by later Minnesänger. The conflict between court and village found in Neidhart's comic tales () finds its way into narrative verse works, as in, for example, Wernher der Gartenære's Meier Helmbrecht. Neidhartspiele In the 14th and 15th centuries the comic tales, particularly "The Tale of the Violet" (), formed the basis of five plays (). The earliest known