Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen

Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen (1620?-1676), German writer, born reputedly in Gelnhausen. He fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648); in the latter part of his life he was converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism, and in 1667 he became a magistrate at Renchen, Baden-Württemberg. Grimmelshausen was the author of a number of picaresque novels, notably The Adventurous Simplicissimus (1669; trans. 1912), one of the outstanding German novels of the 17th century. This work, dealing with the adventures of a naive youth who is in turn soldier, jester, robber, slave, and hermit, gives a realistic picture of the social and economic conditions created by the Thirty Years' War. His other novels include Der keusche Joseph (Innocent Joseph, 1667) and Dietwald und Amelinde (1670).