Ayrer

Ayrer, Jacob, a German writer who began life at Nuremberg as a dealer in iron, but afterwards took successfully to the law. It was, however, as a dramatist that he became known to posterity. He wrote thirty-six plays in the style of his contemporary Hans Sachs, some of them being of high merit for their vigour and spirit, though rough and irregular in form. It has been suggested that he borrowed from Shakespeare, but as his works were published posthumously in 1618, this view can hardly be correct.