Walther von Metze

Walther von Mezze was German lyric poet in the Minnesang tradition, probably active in the first half of the 13th century.

Walther was probably born in the late 12th century. His coat of arms, as shown in the Codex Manesse, does not narrow down his origins, for in the Weingarten Manuscript the same arms are attributed to the poet Rubin. His portrait is a notable example of the tendency by the later 13th century to cover all of a knight's accoutrements in his coat of arms. Besides his painted shield, his cloth tabard, caparison and banner all bear the same patter. Walther is mentioned as deceased in a poem by Reinmar von Brennenberg, who himself died in 1276.

Walther's songs are preserved in two codices, the aforementioned Codex Manesse with 31 strophes and ten melodies and the Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift with 16 strophes and eight melodies. The codices have ten stanzas and four melodies in common.