Old High German literature

thumb|200px|The second page of the Hildebrandslied manuscript The Hildebrandslied (; ) is a heroic lay written in Old High German alliterative verse. It is the earliest poetic text in German, and it tells of the tragic encounter in battle between a father (Hildebrand) and a son (Hadubrand) who does not recognize him. It is the only surviving example in German of a genre which must have been important in the oral literature of the Germanic tribes.

medieval spells written in Old High German

Carolingian priest and poet

thumb|First page of the St. Gall Codex Abrogens (Stiftsbibliothek, cod. 911) Heading: ("Here begins the commentary on the Old Testament") Abrogans, also German Abrogans or Codex Abrogans (St Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 911), is a Middle Latin–Old High German glossary, whose preserved copy in the Abbey Library of St Gall is regarded as the oldest preserved book in the German language.

literary work

Muspilli is an Old High German alliterative verse poem known in incomplete form (103 lines) from a ninth-century Bavarian manuscript. Its subject is the fate of the soul immediately after death and at the Last Judgment. Many aspects of the interpretation of the poem, including its title, remain controversial among scholars.

Medieval bishop and author

thumb|The first two pages of the Ludwigslied The Ludwigslied (in English, Lay or Song of Ludwig) is an Old High German (OHG) poem of 59 rhyming couplets, celebrating the victory of the Frankish army, led by Louis III of France, over Danish (Viking) raiders at the Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu on 3 August 881.