Sibylla Schwarz
Encyclopedia
Sibylla Schwarz, also known as Sibylle Schwartz (14 February 1621 in Greifswald
– 31 July 1638 in Greifswald
) was a German
poet of the Baroque
era.
Her life was relatively untroubled until the Thirty Years' War
reached Greifswald in 1627
and her mother suddenly died in 1630. She began to write poetry at the age of seven. Her verse reflects the difficult times in the middle of the Thirty Years' War, of which she saw neither the beginning nor the end. Greifswald was first occupied by Wallenstein and then by the Swedish army
under Gustavus Adolphus. Important themes in her work include friendship, love, war and death. In 1638 she suddenly fell ill and died at the age of 17.
Her verse was published posthumously in 1650 by her teacher Samuel Gerlach under the title Deutsche Poëtische Gedichte in two parts containing over 100 poems. She was famous as the "Pomerania
n Sappho
", but her work fell into oblivion in the 18th century. Literary historians began to pay renewed attention to her in the 19th century as one of the few notable female writers of Baroque literature in German.
This article contains material translated from the German version of Wikipedia
Greifswald
Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...
– 31 July 1638 in Greifswald
Greifswald
Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...
) was a German
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 of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
era.
Life
Sibylla Schwarz was the daughter of Christian Schwarz, mayor of Greifswald, and Regina Schwarz.Her life was relatively untroubled until the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
reached Greifswald in 1627
Capitulation of Franzburg
The Capitulation of Franzburg was a treaty providing for the capitulation of the Duchy of Pomerania to the forces of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War...
and her mother suddenly died in 1630. She began to write poetry at the age of seven. Her verse reflects the difficult times in the middle of the Thirty Years' War, of which she saw neither the beginning nor the end. Greifswald was first occupied by Wallenstein and then by the Swedish army
Treaty of Stettin (1630)
The Treaty of Stettin or Alliance of Stettin was the legal framework for the occupation of the Duchy of Pomerania by the Swedish Empire during the Thirty Years' War...
under Gustavus Adolphus. Important themes in her work include friendship, love, war and death. In 1638 she suddenly fell ill and died at the age of 17.
Her verse was published posthumously in 1650 by her teacher Samuel Gerlach under the title Deutsche Poëtische Gedichte in two parts containing over 100 poems. She was famous as the "Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
n Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
", but her work fell into oblivion in the 18th century. Literary historians began to pay renewed attention to her in the 19th century as one of the few notable female writers of Baroque literature in German.
Edition
- Sibylle Schwarz: Deutsche Poëtische Gedichte. Facsimile of the edition of 1650. Edited with an afterword by Helmut W. Ziefle. Bern, Frankfurt am Main, Las Vegas: Peter Lang, 1980.
Secondary literature
- Guido K. Brand: Die Frühvollendeten. Ein Beitrag zur Literaturgeschichte. Berlin: W. de Gruyter & Co. 1929 [1928]. S. 26-30.
- Kurt Gassen: Sibylle Schwarz, eine pommersche Dichterin, in: Pommersche Jahrbücher, Vol. 21 (1921), 1-108
- Ludwig Giesebrecht: Über einige Gedichte der Sibylle Schwarz. Stettin 1865
- Helmut W. Ziefle: Sibylle Schwarz, Leben und Werke. Bonn 1975
- Gerhard Dünnhaupt: Sibylle Schwarz, in: Personalbibliographien zu den Drucken des Barock, Vol. 5. Stuttgart: Hiersemann 1991, pp. 3895-96 (Werk- und Literaturverzeichnis). ISBN 3-7772-9133-1
- Ganzenmueller, Petra: Wider die Ges(ch)ichtslosigkeit der Frau. Weibliche Selbstbewußtwerdung zu Anfang des 17. Jahrhunderts am Beispiel der Sibylle Schwarz. Diss., Vancouver 1998.
- Gugrel-Steindl, Susanne: Ausgewählte dramatische Literatur von Andreas Gryphius, Johann Christian Hallmann und Sibylle Schwarz. Diss., Wien 1991.
- Weiß, Konrad: SCHWARZ, Sibylla. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Vol. XXIII (2004), Sp. 1331-1337, ISBN 3-88309-155-3.
- Ziefle, Helmut W.: Sibylle Schwarz: Leben und Werk. Bonn: Bouvier, 1975 (Studien zur Germanistik, Anglistik und Komparatistik; Bd. 35).
This article contains material translated from the German version of Wikipedia