Hendrik van Veldeke

Van Veldeke monument in Hasselt, Belgium Heinrich von Veldeke (aka: He(y)nric van Veldeke(n); Modern Dutch: Hendrik van Veldeke, born before or around 1150 – died after 1184) is the first writer in the Low Countries known by name who wrote in a European language other than Latin. He was born in Veldeke, which was a hamlet in what is now Spalbeek, part of the municipality of Hasselt in Belgian Limburg. The "Vel(de)kermolen", a water mill on the Demer River, is the only remainder of the hamlet. In Limburg, he is celebrated as a writer of Old Limburgish.

Veldeke's years of birth and death are uncertain. He must have been born before or around 1150, as he was writing in the early 1170s. There is no evidence that Veldeke was born in 1128, as is often suggested. He certainly died after 1184 because he mentions in his Eneas that he was present at the court day that Emperor Frederick Barbarossa organised in Mainz at Pentecost of that year. He must have died before Wolfram von Eschenbach wrote his Parzival, which was completed between 1205 and 1210. Wolfram mentions in that work that Veldeke died prematurely. Veldeke probably was a member of a ministerial class (unfree nobles) family. The existence of such a family is mentioned in deeds from the 13th century. It may be concluded that he received a thorough education, as he used Latin sources in his works.