Tannhauser (died after 1265) was a German songwriter and poet. Historically; his biography is obscure beyond the poetry; which dates between 1245 and 1265. Socially; he presumed familial lineage with the old nobles; the Lords of Thannhausen; residents in their castle at Tannhausen; near Ellwangen and Dinkelsuhl; moreover; the historical Tannhausen castle; is at Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz.

Tannhauser was an active courtier at the court of Frederick II of Austria (1230-1246); and the Codex Manesse (1340) depicts him clad in the Teutonic Order habit; suggesting he might have fought the Fifth Crusade (1213-21). Pictures From History