Sachs, Hans
Sachs, Hans
Sachs, Hans , famous German poet and Meistersinger; b. Nuremberg, Nov. 5, 1494; d. there, Jan. 19, 1576. He was educated at the Nuremberg grammar school (1501–09). After serving his apprenticeship (1511–16), he returned to Nuremberg as a master shoemaker in 1520; joined the Meistersinger guild about 1509, where he received instruction from Linhard Nunnenbeck. Under Sachs, the Meistergesang was an active force in the Reformation movement from 1520. He wrote over 6,000 poetic works, ranging from Meisterlieder to dramatic pieces; he also wrote 13 Meistertone. For his musical works, see E. Goetze and C. Drescher, eds., Hans Sachs: Sämtliche Fabeln und Schwanke (Halle, 1893–1913) and F. Ellis, ed., The Early Meisterlieder of Hans Sachs (Bloomington, Ind., 1974). Sachs is the central figure in Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
Bibliography
C. Schweitzer, Un Poète allemand au XVIe siècle: Étude sur la vie et les oeuvres de H. S.(Nancy, 1889); K. Drescher, Studien zu H. S.(Marburg, 1891); R. Genée, H. S. und seine Zeit (Leipzig, 1894; second ed., 1901); B. Suphan, H. S.: Humanitätszeit und Gegenwart (Weimar, 1895); H. Holzschuher, H. S. in seiner Bedeutung für unsere Zeit (Berlin, 1906); H. Nutzhorn, Meistersangeren H. S.(Copenhagen, 1911); F. Ellis, H. S. Studies (Bloom-ington, Ind., 1941); B. Könneker, H. S.(Stuttgart, 1971); H. Brunner, G. Hirschmann, and F. Schnelbogl, eds., H. S. und Nürnberg: H. S. zum 400. Todestag (Nuremberg, 1976); N. Holzberg, H.-S.-Bibliographie (Nuremberg, 1976); K. Wedler, H. S.(Leipzig, 1976).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire