Philipp von Zesen
Encyclopedia
Philipp von Zesen, also Filip Cösius or Caesius (8 October 1619 - 13 November 1689) was a German
poet
, hymn
ist and writer
. Some of his works are published under his pen name
Ritterhold von Blauen.
near Dessau
. From 1639 to 1641 he studied rhetorics and poetry
at the University of Wittenberg
.
During the war years from 1642 to 1648 von Zesen lived in Holland working as a translator.
In 1648 he returned to his hometown of Priorau and was accepted to the Fruitbearing Society
in 1649.
From 1656 he worked in Holland again, being a major contributor to Elsevier
publishing company.
When he married Maria Becker in 1672 he moved to Hamburg
where he spent the rest of his life.
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...
, 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...
ist and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. Some of his works are published under his pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Ritterhold von Blauen.
Biography
Von Zesen was born in PriorauSchierau
Schierau is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Raguhn-Jeßnitz....
near Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
. From 1639 to 1641 he studied rhetorics 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...
at the University of Wittenberg
University of Halle-Wittenberg
The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg , also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg within Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
.
During the war years from 1642 to 1648 von Zesen lived in Holland working as a translator.
In 1648 he returned to his hometown of Priorau and was accepted to the Fruitbearing Society
Fruitbearing Society
The Fruitbearing Society was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility to emulate the idea of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence and similar groups already thriving in Italy, to be followed in later years also in France and Britain...
in 1649.
From 1656 he worked in Holland again, being a major contributor to Elsevier
Elsevier
Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....
publishing company.
When he married Maria Becker in 1672 he moved to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
where he spent the rest of his life.
Style
Although his purist language found many opponents, a number of the neologisms he coined are still in use in the German language today, co-existing with loanwords he sought to replace. Examples include "Abstand" for "Distanz" (distance), "Leidenschaft" for "Passion" (passion), or "Rechtschreibung" for "Orthographie" (orthography).Selected Works
- Melpomene (1638)
- Deutscher Helicon (1640)
- Himmlische Kleio (1641)
- FrühlingsLust oder Lob-, Lust- und Liebeslieder (1642)
- Poetischer Rosen-Wälder Vorschmack (1642), PastoralPastoralThe adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
- Hooch-Deutsche Spraachübrung, (1643,)
- Liebesbeschreibung Lysanders und Kalisten (1644), translation of Vital d'Audiguier's Lysandre et Caliste
- Die Adriatische Rosemund (1645)
- Lustinne (1645)
- Die afrikanische Sofonisbe (1646)
- Kurze gründl. Anleitung zur Höflichkeit (1649)
- Leo Belgicus (1656)
- Beschreibung der Stadt Amsterdam (Description of Amsterdam) (1664)
- Schöne Hamburgerin (1668) Songs
- Assenat (1670)
- Reiselieder (1677)
- Simson (1679)