The papers collected in Part I are a result of the research project conducted by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities on the History of transmission and typology of the medieval German vernacular song . They deal among other things with the layering, the origins and the editorial concepts of the great manuscripts of medieval song (Minnesang etc.), and of the compilation of author corpora (Walther von der Vogelweide, Frauenlob), with problems of ascribing authorship, with illuminating peripheral transmission channels, with the genre-specific use of tones, with multiple manifestations of contrafact, and they reveal connections of relevance for the history of literature beyond the individual case.
Part II is devoted principally to the first publication of a newly-discovered group of songs from the early 14th century and the St. Katharinentaler Liedersammlung from about 1420/30. In addition, it contains the indexes to both parts.