Sachs

Sachs, Hans (1494-1576), the best of the German meister-singers, was born at Nuremberg of humble family. He became a shoemaker, and remained one all his life. From one Nunnebeck, a weaver, he learned the art of rhyming, and joined the guild of singers in his native town. Sometimes he travelled a little, but it was in 1511 that he made a really extended tour through the principal towns of Germany. In 1519 he married, and when his wife died in 1560, he married a second time. He was a staunch follower of Luther, and ardently desired the Reformation, for which he wrote numerous songs and hymns of great popularity. His writings are amazingly voluminous, there being over 6,200 poems by him, including over 200 tragedies, known to scholars. Only a portion of this vast material has been printed. It was Goethe who did much to rescue his memory from oblivion, the poetry of Sachs and other artisan-poets is more remarkable for vigour than for beauty.