Der Marner was one of the most significant representatives of the Sangspruch genre in 13th century Germany. Here his work is looked at from a poetological point of view and the history of the reception and dissemination of his texts is also traced. The aim in this is first of all to point up the significance of the Sangspruch as meisterliche Kunst. The strophes handed down to us as the work of Marner and those Meisterlieder containing older strophic material are discussed in terms of their literary coherence. In addition, the present debate on how to establish authorial identity and authenticity of ancient texts is taken up and applied to the case of Marner in such a way as to arrive at results which could conceivably claim exemplary character for the genre as a whole.