During the Middle High German period, some of the highest quality literature was produced to date, especially during the Golden Age (1180-1220). One of the best known developments during this period was the Minnesang.

The Minnesang was "the German tradition of courtly lyric and secular monophony that flourished in the 12th to the 14th centuries. It can be considered the German branch of the Provençal troubadour tradition, though it has independent features. It was cultivated particularly by the nobility, and diffused by traveling musicians. The word 'Minne' can be taken to represent love with both its spiritual and sensual overtones, and its essentially aristocratic poetry was based on the concept of Minnedienst - servitude to love - itself inextricably linked to the feudal system. A recurrent theme is that of the knight's love for an unattainable lady, of undying service without reward. During the peak period of Minnesang (circa 1165-1200), the hôhiu minne ('high Minne') represented the ideal spiritual love between man and woman, the nideriu minne (low Minne) the more physical demands of the man for possession of a woman." (from: The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music)

There were six general types of Minnesang: Minnelied- the man's expression of love; Frauenlied- the woman's song; Wechsel- in which the lovers 'exchange' their views; the Tagelied- like the Provençal Alba, the parting of the lovers at dawn; Tanzlied- dance song; Kreuzlied- crusading song.

One of the most famous Minnesangers was Walther von der Vogelweide. Though chivalry, knighthood, and gallantry were common themes in works like "Iwein" by Hartman von Aue, "Parzival" by Wolfram von Eschenbach, and "Tristan und Isolde" by Gottfried von Straßburg, Walther chose to write about love, emotion, and other human feelings.

The Middle High German Period also saw the rise of the epic. A few examples have already been listed. One of the most famous epics of the time was "Nibelungenlied" [in English | auf Deutsch] and has been compared to the German equivalent of "The Illiad".