The arrival of the Early Modern Period brought the period of the Minnesanger to an end, however German Literature continued to develop and flourish. Literature of this period was very different than that of the previous. Where the Minnesangers celebrated knights, chivalry, and gallantry, the writers of the Early Modern Period satirized the idea of such things. This was was mainly due to the decline of knighthood and the rise of the middle class. Some of these writers include Sebastian Brant with his "Narrenshiff", Johann Baptist Fischart, and the Meistersanger Hans Sachs with his "zwei Meisterlieder".

Folklore was also popular during the time. This caused a rise in popular literature, which became increasingly available due to the invention of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg. Due to these two factors, literacy amongst the German people increased dramatically during this time. Such tales as those of Till Eulenspiegel became very popular amongst the rising middle class. This period also saw the first traces of the Faust legend.

The popularity of poetry decreased during the period, but prose writing filled its void and indeed thrived doing so. Contributors were Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, and Johannes von Tepl with his "Der Ackerman von Böhmen".

Amongst all writers of this time, none were as controversial nor as well known as Martin Luther. Shortly after he nailed his "95 Theses" to a Catholic church official's door, he was pronounced a heretic by the church. He spent much of his time in the Wartburg near Eisenach. There, he produced a large number of hymns, but what he is most famous for is the translation of the Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew texts. One of the most amazing feats Luther accomplished while translating was to translate the entire New Testament from the original Greek texts in 11 weeks. By doing so, he put the word of God into the hands of the German people so that they no longer depended on the church to dictate to them from Latin texts. This one feat is credited for drastically increasing the literacy rates amongst the German people, and in fact, a majority of the Western world. With the help of Gutenberg's printing press, the Bible was translated and distributed to many other nations and became the most published and purchased book in the world.