Early New High German
The song collections consistently give his name as "Nîthart" or, in its later Early New High German form, "Neidhart". While the songs mention a knight "von Riuwental" , the identification of the poet with this knight is not found until the 15th century, and then in texts geographically remote from Neidhart's sphere of activity in Bavaria and Austria. However, this identification of the poet as "Neidhart von Reuental" was adopted by Moriz Haupt in his first critical edition of the songs in 1858 and was widely taken up until recently.