ow-white, blue veined temples and the mild blue
lustre of the eyes. A slender neck, a firm and plastic bust of moderate
fulness, strong hips, round, white arms, long, slender fingers, straight
legs, small, well-arched feet, must not be wanting. There are, of
course, constant variations of that ideal according to the aesthetic
views and the sensuous predilections of the love singers. In the late
Middle Ages the womanly ideal of beauty becomes materialized and merely
sensual: the different parts of woman's form are brought together from
the various lands according to the particular local reputation for
womanly beauty. Among the hundreds of types, Konrad Fleck's description
of _Blancheflur_ may be mentioned: gold shining hair fell around her
temples, which were whiter than snow; fine straight eyebrows arched
above her eyes, the power of which conquered everybody; her cheeks and
lips were red and white, her teeth ivory, her throat and neck were those
of the swan; her bosom was full, her limbs were long and slender, her
waist was tender and delicate.

This detail painting of womanly beauty by the Minnesingers is a great
advance over the descriptions given by the epic poets, which deal mostly
in poetic generalities. A minnesong type is given in this description of
the appearance of Kriemhilde:

"Now came that lady bright,
And as the rosy morn
Dispels the misty clouds,
So he who long had borne
Her image in his heart,
Did banish all his care,
And now before his eyes
Stood forth that lady fair.

"From her embroider'd vest
There glittered many a gem,
While o'er her lovely cheek
The rosy red did beam;
Whoe'er in raptur'd thought
Had imag'd lady bright,
Confess'd that lov'lier maid
Ne'er stood before his sight.

"And as the beaming moon
Rides high the stars among,
And moves with lustre mild
The mirky clouds along;
So, midst her maiden throng,
Uprose that matchless fair;
And higher swell'd the soul
Of many a hero there."

Most expressive of popular feeling toward woman is, perhaps, the ballad
and folklore poetry of a people. Though preserved mostly without date or
name they breathe national sentiment most faithfully. True folk songs
would betray the nationality from which they sprang even though the
language did not. All the cha