Dietrich of Bern
Preserved but no longer current.
The name given by the German minnesingers to Theodonc the Great (454-526), king of the Ostrogoths (Bern = Verona). He appears in many Middle High German poems, especially the Nibel- ungenhed, where he is one of the liegemen of King Etzel.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Dietrich of Bern” mean?
The name given by the German minnesingers to Theodonc the Great (454-526), king of the Ostrogoths (Bern = Verona). He appears in many Middle High German poems, especially the Nibel- ungenhed, where he is one of the liegemen of King Etzel.
Is “Dietrich of Bern” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.