# Matthias Claudius > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Matthias_Claudius > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Matthias_Claudius.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Claudius > Source revision: 1347047122 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|German poet and journalist (1740–1815)}} {{redirect|Asmus|the Polish village|Asmus, Poland|other uses|Asmus (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox writer | name = Matthias Claudius | image = Portrait claudius.jpg | image_size = 220 | alt = | caption = | pseudonym = Asmus | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1740|8|15|df=y}} | birth_place = [Reinfeld](/source/Reinfeld%2C_Holstein), [Duchy of Holstein](/source/Duchy_of_Holstein) | death_date = {{Death date and age|1815|1|21|1740|8|15|df=y}} | death_place = [Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg](/source/Free_and_Hanseatic_City_of_Hamburg) | resting_place = | occupation = | language = [German](/source/German_language) | nationality = German | ethnicity = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | period = | genre = | subject = | movement = | notableworks = | spouse = | relatives = [Friedrich Christoph Perthes](/source/Friedrich_Christoph_Perthes) (son-in-law)
[Carl Wigand Maximilian Jacobi](/source/Carl_Wigand_Maximilian_Jacobi) (son-in-law) | awards = | signature = }} '''Matthias Claudius''' (15 August 1740 – 21 January 1815) was a German poet and journalist, otherwise known by the pen name of "Asmus". ==Life== Claudius was born at [Reinfeld](/source/Reinfeld%2C_Holstein), near [Lübeck](/source/L%C3%BCbeck), and studied at [Jena](/source/Jena). He spent the greater part of his life in the town of [Wandsbeck](/source/Wandsbek_(quarter)), where he earned his first literary reputation by editing from 1771 to 1775, a newspaper called ''{{ill|Der Wandsbecker Bothe|de}}'' (The Wandsbeck Messenger) (''Wandsbeck'' until the year 1879 still written with "ck". Today only with "k".), in which he published a large number of prose essays and poems. They were written in pure and simple German, and appealed to the popular taste; in many there was a vein of extravagant humour or even burlesque, while others were full of quiet meditation and solemn sentiment. In his later days, perhaps through the influence of [Klopstock](/source/Friedrich_Gottlieb_Klopstock), with whom he had formed an intimate acquaintance, Claudius became strongly pietistic, and the graver side of his nature showed itself. In 1814 he moved to [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg), to the house of his son-in-law, the publisher [Friedrich Christoph Perthes](/source/Friedrich_Christoph_Perthes), where he died on 21 January 1815. ==Work== Claudius's poem ''Death and the Maiden'' was used by composer [Franz Schubert](/source/Franz_Schubert) in 1817 for one of his most celebrated [songs](/source/Death_and_the_Maiden_(song)), which in turn became the basis for the 1824 [string quartet](/source/Death_and_the_Maiden_Quartet_(Schubert)) of the same name. In Germany, his poem ''Abendlied'' (Evening song), also known as "[Der Mond ist aufgegangen](/source/Der_Mond_ist_aufgegangen)" remains popular. Claudius's collected works were published under the title of '''''Asmus''' omnia sua secum portans, oder Sämtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Boten'' (8 vols., 1775–1812; 13th edition, by C. Redich, 2 vols., 1902). His biography has been written by Wilhelm Herbst (4th ed., 1878). See also M. Schneidereit, ''M. Claudius, seine Weltanschauung und Lebensweisheit'' (1898). ===Poems=== *''Abendlied'' ("Evening Song"), aka "[Der Mond ist aufgegangen](/source/Der_Mond_ist_aufgegangen)" ("The moon has risen") *"Der Mensch lebt und bestehet", [set to music by Max Reger](/source/Der_Mensch_lebt_und_bestehet) *"Christiane" *"Die Sternseherin Lise" (Lise the astrologer) *"Die Liebe" (Love) *"Der Tod (Death) *"Ein Wiegenlied bei Mondschein zu singen" (A lullaby to sing in moonlight) *"Täglich zu singen" (To be sung every day) *"{{Interlanguage link|Kriegslied|de|3=Kriegslied (Matthias Claudius)}}" (Song of war) *"Der Frühling. Am ersten Maimorgen" (The Spring. On the first morning in May) *"Der Säemann säet den Samen" (The sower sows the seeds), set to music by [Ernst Krenek](/source/Ernst_Krenek) (''Drei gemischte a cappella-Chöre'', Opus 22 ) *{{ill|Der Tod und das Mädchen (Poem)|lt="Der Tod und das Mädchen"|de|Der Tod und das Mädchen (Gedicht)}} (The Death and the maiden), [set to music by Schubert](/source/Der_Tod_und_das_M%C3%A4dchen) *"[Wir pflügen und wir streuen](/source/Wir_pfl%C3%BCgen_und_wir_streuen)" ("[We plough the fields and scatter](/source/We_plough_the_fields_and_scatter)" – sung in Germany and England as a harvest festival hymn) == Honours == * Asteroid [7117 Claudius](/source/7117_Claudius) was named after him. ==References== {{Reflist}} *{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Claudius, Matthias}} * Reinhard Görisch: ''Matthias Claudius oder Leben als Hauptberuf''. Marburg: Francke ²2014. * ''Jahresschriften der Claudius-Gesellschaft'', Kiel: Stamp media 1992ff. ==External links== * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Matthias Claudius}} * {{Librivox author |id=106}} * [http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Matthias_Claudius Settings of Matthias Claudius' poetry in the Choral Public Domain Library] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Claudius, Matthias}} Category:1740 births Category:1815 deaths Category:People from Stormarn (district) Category:People from the Duchy of Holstein Category:German Lutherans Category:19th-century German poets Category:German male poets Category:French–German translators Category:Writers from Denmark–Norway Category:19th-century German journalists Category:University of Jena alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Matthias Claudius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Claudius) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Claudius?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.