Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1962. — 470 c. Volume I covers the period from the early Middle Ages to the 17th century. Included. Here the reader will find a characteristic of medieval German literature, which gave the world such masterpieces as “The Song of the Nibelungs”, the lyrics of Walter von der Vogelweide, the novels of Wolfram von Eschenbach and Gottfried of Strasbourg .. Much attention is paid to the literature of German humanism, the art of the Renaissance, which in Germany is marked by the mighty rise of the masses, the Great Peasant War of 1525. The task of the team working on the History of German Literature was to show the origin, formation and development of German literature from the early Middle Ages to 1945. In this work, the history of literature is associated with the history of the people, so the authors considered it impossible to consider the history of German, Austrian and Swiss literature as a whole, but the specifics of the interaction between these peoples and their literatures are given great attention. Showing the national identity and significance of German literature, It has given the world so many bright and noble names. authors sought to highlight the world importance of great works, created by the genius of the German people , Study international relations of German literature , which has contributed to its dissemination and recognition...................................... While working on the History of German Literature, Soviet scientists sought to create a work that would be useful not only for philologists, but also for the general readership. (from editorial)