Georg Philipp Harsdörffer

Georg Philipp Harsdörffer (1 November 1607 – 17 September 1658) was a Jurist, Baroque-period German poet and translator.

Born in Nuremberg, he studied law at Altdorf and Strassburg. He studied at the University of Strassburg under professor Matthias Bernegger. He subsequently traveled through the Netherlands, England, France and Italy. While he was in Italy, he came into contact with members of learned academies. He shared his desire for reform in literary and linguistic for the improvement of moral and culture of the society.

His knowledge of languages earned him the appellation "the learned." He was well-versed in contemporary French culture and literature. As an innovative poet, he was receptive to ideas from abroad. He is still known for his "Germanizations" of foreign-language terms. As a member of the Fruitbearing Society (Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft) he was called der Spielende (the player). In 1644 jointly with Johann Klaj he founded the Pegnesischer Blumenorden, a literary society, in Nuremberg. He was known by the name Strephon among the members of this order.

His writings in German and Latin fill fifty volumes, and a selection of his poems, which are mostly interesting for their form, can be found in Müller's Bibliothek deutscher Dichter des 17ten Jahrhunderts, vol. ix (Leipzig, 1826). Widmann (Altdorf, 1707) wrote a biography of him.

In his Treatise to Protect the Work on the German Language (1644), he asserted that German ‘speaks with the tongues of nature.'

He was the father of Karl Gottlieb Harsdörffer (1637–1708).

Selected works

 * Frauenzimmer Gesprächspiele, 8 Bde. (1641–1649)
 * Das geistlich Waldgedicht oder Freudenspiel, genant Seelewig (1644)
 * Poetischer Trichter-die Teutsche Dicht- und Reimkunst ohne Behuf der lateinischen Sprache, in VI Stunden einzugießen (1647–1653)
 * Hertzbewegliche Sonntagsandachten (1649–1652)
 * Der Grosse Schau-Platz Jämmerlicher Mord-Geschichte (1649–1650)
 * Der Grosse Schau-Platz Lust- und Lehr-reicher Geschichte (1650–1651)
 * Nathan und Jotham (1650–1651)
 * Ars Apophthegmatica, 2 Bde. (1655–1656)