This Festschrift has been written by 26 friends, colleagues and former pupils to honour a medieval Germanist whose work has illuminated the linguistic and literary achievements and courtly culture of the classical Middle High German period with humour and elegance. His recently published history of the medieval Blütezeit (Golden Age), the monumental pinnacle of his contribution to the field, is set to remain a seminal work in this most important area for many years to come. The contributors to the Festschrift give their response to the works, authors and themes dealt with in Johnson's history. Central to the volume, therefore, are the great literary works which remained influential well beyond the Middle Ages and today enjoy a firm place within the canon of world literature: Walther von der Vogelweide's lyrics and Spruchdichtung, the Nibelungenlied, and the epics of Wolfram von Eschenbach.