Oswald von Wolkenstein

Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376/1377–1445), born at Pfalzen near Brixen in Tyrol, was one of the finest German poets and composers of the later Middle Ages. As a youth he served as a squire for fourteen years, travelling as far as Crete, Lithuania, Crimea, Turkey and the Holy Land, journeys he recalled in autobiographical songs.

After an inheritance quarrel with his brother, he received a share of Hauenstein Castle in 1407 but occupied the whole castle. From 1414 he served Emperor Sigismund as a diplomat, visiting England, Scotland and Portugal.

He married Margarete von Schwangau in 1417 and fought in Tyrol's noble wars against Duke Frederick IV, who held him captive in 1421–1422. He died at Meran in 1445.