Johann Heermann
Encyclopedia
Johann Heermann was a German
poet
and hymn
-writer. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints
of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai
and Paul Gerhardt
.
) in Silesia
, the fourth son of a middle-class Protestant family. None of his elder siblings had survived beyond childhood, so when the infant Heermann became very ill, his mother prayed that, if he survived, she would pay for him to study at university. He attended the local school in Raudten, and when his teacher Johannes Baumann left the school to become the local pastor
in 1597, Heermann’s parents took him to Wohlau, where he lived and studied with Jakob Fuchs, a doctor and apothecary
. At school in Wohlau, he was taught by Georg Gigas, son of Johann Gigas, composer of two popular hymns of the time. After a year he became ill yet again, and his parents brought him home. After recovering, he returned to school in Raudten. At the house of a teacher, Gregorius Fiebing, he began his first poetry at the age of seventeen.
In 1602, he moved to Fraustadt
, where he lived and worked with the theologian Valerius Herberger
, who employed him as amanuensis
and tutor to his son Zacharias. Here, Heermann’s skills as a poet were recognized and encouraged. Despite Herberger’s influence, he stayed only a year in Fraustadt, moving on to study at the Gymnasium
Elisabethanum in Breslau, then to the Gymnasium in Brieg
in Autumn 1604, where he had the opportunity to give speeches and recite his poetry.
He decided to go to university in 1607, but was persuaded by his patron
, Wenzel von Rothkirch, to stay with him, teaching his two sons and accompanying them on a trip around Europe. Heermann agreed, using his spare time to study in the ducal library and that of the university rector
. He was also able to publish small collections of speeches and poems, and came in contact with Matthäus Zuber, a talented poet who had also been made poet laureate
. Heermann, too, aspired to this, achieving laureation on 8 October 1608 in Brieg.
Over Easter 1609 he travelled via Leipzig
and Jena
to Strasbourg
, where they matriculated at the university, attending theology lectures and meeting the professors of rhetoric
and law. The following year, he contracted an eye infection after publishing a book of epigrams
, and returned home on doctor’s advice. He had a nightmare journey home, arriving even less healthy than when he left. Soon after his return, he was ordained and appointed deacon
to the Lutheran congregation in Köben (modern-day Chobienia
, Poland), where the incumbent pastor was old and in poor health. He began work on Ascension Day 1611, and a few days later the pastor died, with Heermann taking on his duties on a temporary basis, despite having only been there for a week. He was put in permanent charge that same Autumn, and also married Dorothea Feige, the daughter of the mayor of Raudten.
After a successful start to his career in Köben, the plague arrived in 1613, then in 1616 a fire swept through the town. In addition, Heermann's wife Dorothea died childless on 13 September 1617. He married again in 1618, this time to Anna Teichmann, daughter of a merchant; they had four children: Samuel, Euphrosina, Johann and Ephraim.
Heermann fell ill once again in 1623 and never really recovered, his nose and air passages having become infected. The effects of the Thirty Years’ War struck soon afterwards, and Köben was plundered by Catholic
troops in 1632, 1633, 1634 and 1642, and Heermann lost his worldly possessions several times. In 1634, his illness prevented him from preaching altogether, and he no longer read out his sermons in church. On doctor’s advice, he moved across the border to Poland, to Leszno
, where he died on 17 February 1647.
poetry
, with his Flores ex Otfridi Evangeliorum vireto being published in 1609. The poems contained in this collection are Latin poems based on passages from the Gospels, yet for each Latin poem, one or two lines of German poetry were added, showing that Heermann had an early desire to write poetry in German too. Later works also belonged to the tradition of versifying passages from the Gospels, such as Andächtiger Kirchenseuftzer (1616), Exercitium pietatis (1630) – a revised version of Flores – Verbessertes Schliessglöcklein (1632) – a revised version of the Kirchenseuftzer – and Sontags- und Festevangelia (1636). Impetus for this process of revision came from Martin Opitz’s Buch von der deutschen Poeterey (1624), which acted both as a defence of German poetry and a set of guidelines on how German poetry should be composed. Johann Heermann can be regarded as one of the first German poets to write according to the rules set out in Opitz’s tract
.
As well as poetry based on the Gospels, Heermann also wrote poetry influenced by works of devotional literature, especially those by Valerius Herberger
, Martin Moller
and Johann Arndt
. These works were often themselves influenced by earlier, pre-Reformation texts by the Church Fathers
, especially Bernard of Clairvaux
, Augustine
and Anselm of Canterbury
. Heermann’s most influential work of devotional poetry was Devoti musica cordis (1630), ‘music for a devout heart’, which combined hymns based on texts of the Church Fathers
and writers such as Moller with hymns Heermann himself had composed. In addition to works of poetry, he also published collections of sermons.
Hymns from Devoti musica cordis
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
-writer. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints
Calendar of Saints (Lutheran)
The Lutheran Calendar of Saints is a listing which details the primary annual festivals and events that are celebrated liturgically by some Lutheran Churches in the United States. The calendars of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod are from the...
of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai
Philipp Nicolai
Philipp Nicolai was a German Lutheran pastor, poet, and composer, author of two famous hymns: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern...
and Paul Gerhardt
Paul Gerhardt
Paul Gerhardt was a German hymn writer.-Biography:Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Fürstenschule in Grimma. The school was known for its pious atmosphere and stern discipline...
.
Life
Heermann was born in Raudten (modern day RudnaRudna, Lower Silesian Voivodeship
Rudna is a village in Lubin County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Rudna. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany...
) in Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, the fourth son of a middle-class Protestant family. None of his elder siblings had survived beyond childhood, so when the infant Heermann became very ill, his mother prayed that, if he survived, she would pay for him to study at university. He attended the local school in Raudten, and when his teacher Johannes Baumann left the school to become the local pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
in 1597, Heermann’s parents took him to Wohlau, where he lived and studied with Jakob Fuchs, a doctor and apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
. At school in Wohlau, he was taught by Georg Gigas, son of Johann Gigas, composer of two popular hymns of the time. After a year he became ill yet again, and his parents brought him home. After recovering, he returned to school in Raudten. At the house of a teacher, Gregorius Fiebing, he began his first poetry at the age of seventeen.
In 1602, he moved to Fraustadt
Wschowa
Wschowa is a town in the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland with 14,607 inhabitants . It is the capital of Wschowa County.-History:Wschowa was originally a border fortress in a region disputed by the Polish dukes of Silesia and Greater Poland. After German colonists had established a settlement nearby,...
, where he lived and worked with the theologian Valerius Herberger
Valerius Herberger
Valerius Herberger was a German Lutheran preacher and theologian.-Life:He was born at Fraustadt, Silesia . He studied for three years at Freystadt in Silesia , and then entered the University of Frankfort-on-the-Oder...
, who employed him as amanuensis
Amanuensis
Amanuensis is a Latin word adopted in various languages, including English, for certain persons performing a function by hand, either writing down the words of another or performing manual labour...
and tutor to his son Zacharias. Here, Heermann’s skills as a poet were recognized and encouraged. Despite Herberger’s influence, he stayed only a year in Fraustadt, moving on to study at the Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
Elisabethanum in Breslau, then to the Gymnasium in Brieg
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
in Autumn 1604, where he had the opportunity to give speeches and recite his poetry.
He decided to go to university in 1607, but was persuaded by his patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
, Wenzel von Rothkirch, to stay with him, teaching his two sons and accompanying them on a trip around Europe. Heermann agreed, using his spare time to study in the ducal library and that of the university rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
. He was also able to publish small collections of speeches and poems, and came in contact with Matthäus Zuber, a talented poet who had also been made poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
. Heermann, too, aspired to this, achieving laureation on 8 October 1608 in Brieg.
Over Easter 1609 he travelled via Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
to Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, where they matriculated at the university, attending theology lectures and meeting the professors of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
and law. The following year, he contracted an eye infection after publishing a book of epigrams
Epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
, and returned home on doctor’s advice. He had a nightmare journey home, arriving even less healthy than when he left. Soon after his return, he was ordained and appointed deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
to the Lutheran congregation in Köben (modern-day Chobienia
Chobienia, Lubin County
Chobienia is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Rudna, within Lubin County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland...
, Poland), where the incumbent pastor was old and in poor health. He began work on Ascension Day 1611, and a few days later the pastor died, with Heermann taking on his duties on a temporary basis, despite having only been there for a week. He was put in permanent charge that same Autumn, and also married Dorothea Feige, the daughter of the mayor of Raudten.
Heermann fell ill once again in 1623 and never really recovered, his nose and air passages having become infected. The effects of the Thirty Years’ War struck soon afterwards, and Köben was plundered by Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
troops in 1632, 1633, 1634 and 1642, and Heermann lost his worldly possessions several times. In 1634, his illness prevented him from preaching altogether, and he no longer read out his sermons in church. On doctor’s advice, he moved across the border to Poland, to Leszno
Leszno
Leszno is a town in central Poland with 63,955 inhabitants . Situated in the southern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously the capital of the Leszno Voivodeship . The town has county status.-History:...
, where he died on 17 February 1647.
Works
Heermann started out writing LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, with his Flores ex Otfridi Evangeliorum vireto being published in 1609. The poems contained in this collection are Latin poems based on passages from the Gospels, yet for each Latin poem, one or two lines of German poetry were added, showing that Heermann had an early desire to write poetry in German too. Later works also belonged to the tradition of versifying passages from the Gospels, such as Andächtiger Kirchenseuftzer (1616), Exercitium pietatis (1630) – a revised version of Flores – Verbessertes Schliessglöcklein (1632) – a revised version of the Kirchenseuftzer – and Sontags- und Festevangelia (1636). Impetus for this process of revision came from Martin Opitz’s Buch von der deutschen Poeterey (1624), which acted both as a defence of German poetry and a set of guidelines on how German poetry should be composed. Johann Heermann can be regarded as one of the first German poets to write according to the rules set out in Opitz’s tract
Tract (literature)
A tract is a literary work, and in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the 21st century, these meant small pamphlets used for religious and political purposes, though far more often the former. They are...
.
As well as poetry based on the Gospels, Heermann also wrote poetry influenced by works of devotional literature, especially those by Valerius Herberger
Valerius Herberger
Valerius Herberger was a German Lutheran preacher and theologian.-Life:He was born at Fraustadt, Silesia . He studied for three years at Freystadt in Silesia , and then entered the University of Frankfort-on-the-Oder...
, Martin Moller
Martin Moller
Martin Moller was a German poet and mystic.- Life :Moller was born in Ließnitz in 1547 and became cantor in Löwenberg in Lower Silesia in 1568. He was ordained in 1572, despite never having been to university, and served as priest and deacon in Kesseldorf, Löwenberg and Sprottau...
and Johann Arndt
Johann Arndt
Johann Arndt was a German Lutheran theologian who wrote several influential books of devotional Christianity...
. These works were often themselves influenced by earlier, pre-Reformation texts by the Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
, especially Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...
, Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
and Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury , also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109...
. Heermann’s most influential work of devotional poetry was Devoti musica cordis (1630), ‘music for a devout heart’, which combined hymns based on texts of the Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
and writers such as Moller with hymns Heermann himself had composed. In addition to works of poetry, he also published collections of sermons.
Hymns from Devoti musica cordis
- Was willst du dich betrübenWas willst du dich betrübenWas willst du dich betrüben is a hymn in seven stanzas by the German Baroque poet, Lutheran minister and hymn-writer Johann Heermann. The chorale was first published in 1630 during the Thirty Years' War...
(Why do you want to distress yourself) - O Jesu Christe, wahres Licht (O Christ, our true and only light)
- Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen (Beloved Jesus, what have you done wrong)
- O Gott, du frommer Gott (O God, Thou faithful God)
- Herr, unser Gott, lass nicht zuschanden werden (O Lord, our Father, shall we be confounded)
- Jesu, deine tiefen Wunden (O what precious balm and healing)
External links
- Johann Heerman (Hymn-Writer) bach-cantatas.com
- Johann Heerman 1585–1647 from Cyber Hymnal
- Johann Heerman from Christian Singers of Germany
- People › Heermann, Johann, 1585–1657 › Texts hymnary.org