 In the epilogue of the Heidelberg manuscript, the poet calls himself "der Pfaffe Kuonrat", and informs us that he translated from the French, first into Latin, and then into German, without adding or omitting.We learn further that the French original was procured for him by Duke Henry, at whose request he composed his lay.Formerly it was supposed that this duke was Henry the Lion (1156–80), and that the poem was composed between 1173 and 1177.