Dû bist mîn, ich bin dîn

Dû bist mîn, ich bin dîn is a medieval love-poem expression identified in the book’s notes as “Dû bist mîn ich bin dîn” (“Thou art mine, I am thine”). The note connects the words to an anonymous twelfth-century poem preserved at Tegernsee monastery, making the phrase a brief declaration of reciprocal belonging with a documented literary source.

Meaning and Form

The gloss gives the expression as “Thou art mine, I am thine.” Its two balanced clauses make the declaration reciprocal: each speaker belongs to the other. The wording is presented as a reference to a poem, rather than as an independently attributed quotation from a known author.

Literary Source

The note dates the love poem to the twelfth century and identifies Tegernsee monastery as the place where it was found. Its author is unknown. The book supplies no further account of the poem’s circumstances or transmission, so the phrase’s significance here rests on this concise record of its medieval origin and anonymous authorship.