Sibylle Schwarz
Sibylle Schwarz was a notable Baroque era poet recognized for her significant contributions to literature as one of the few active female writers of her time. Born into an upper-class Protestant family in northern Germany, she was the youngest of seven children and had access to an informal education through her father's connections with local scholars. Schwarz began writing poetry at a young age and gained recognition for her talent, despite facing personal tragedies such as the death of her mother and the devastation of her hometown during the Thirty Years' War.
Her literary career was further influenced by her interactions with the theology scholar Samuel Gerlach, who introduced her to various poetic conventions and prominent literary figures, including the renowned poet Martin Opitz. After her untimely death from dysentery at the age of seventeen, Gerlach published her poems posthumously, solidifying her legacy in German literature. Throughout her brief life, Schwarz was an advocate for the recognition of female poets, as exemplified by her translation of a work that celebrated virtuous women. Overall, her poetry and her advocacy for women's literary contributions continue to resonate, reflecting the challenges and aspirations of women in her era.
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Sibylle Schwarz
Poet
- Born: February 14, 1621
- Birthplace: Greifswald, Pomerania, Germany
- Died: July 31, 1638
Biography
Baroque era poet Sibylle Schwarz is noted not only for being one of the few active female writers of the time, but also for achieving the composition of so much text in such a short life. She was the youngest of seven children of an upper-class northern German Protestant family headed by Christian Schwarz, a lawyer and local politician, and Regina Schwarz. As a child and teenager, Schwarz served as her father’s secretary. Because her father was associated with University of Greifswald professors and students (among them professor of medicine Johann Schoner, metaphysics professor Alexander Christian, and professor of theology Barthold Krakewitz), Schwarz was able to receive an informal education in literature and poetry while receiving private tutoring in reading, the catechism, music, and mathematics at home.
During the Thirty Years’ War, troops invaded Greifswald in the late 1620’s. Schwarz and her siblings were sent Fretow, a town she lovingly idealized in her writing. The next few years brought great trauma to Schwarz: Fretow was burned, her mother died, and her father received a distant civil-service post. The children of the family were essentially orphaned for much of 1630 and 1631.
Schwarz began writing her own poetry as a child, including a wedding poem composed in December, 1633, and a poem addressed to a duke’s nephew written in 1634 (made possible by her father’s connections royalty and nobility). Barely a teenager, Schwarz began earning a reputation in her town and in northern Germany for her poetic talents. Schwarz met a theology scholar, Samuel Gerlach, in 1637, and he introduced her to many of poetry’s conventions and leading figures. It was through Gerlach that Schwarz learned of the works of Opitz, whose influence can be seen in Schwarz’s own poetry.
Following Schwarz’s death, Geralch published her poems in two volumes as Sibyllen Schwarzin vohn Greiffswald aus Pommerm, Deutsche Poëtische Gedichte, nuhn zum ersten mahl, au� ihren eigenen Handschrifften herau� gegeben und verleget in 1650. It is apparent from letters exchanged between the two in months previous that Gerlach had been planning and working toward publishing her poems for some time. Prior to her death from dysentery at the age of seventeen, Schwarz defended the status of female poets, translating the preface to Daniel Heinsius’s Spiegel van de doorluchtige Vrouwen (mirror of eminent women) from the Dutch as “Lob der Verständigen und Tugendsamen Frauen, verdeutschet au� dem Niederländischen” (in praise of wise and virtuous women).