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Froberger, Johann Jakob

(Encyclopedia)Froberger, Johann Jakob yōˈhān yāˈkôp frōˈbĕrgər [key], 1616–67, German organist and composer; pupil of Frescobaldi. His style influenced German keyboard music during the baroque era. He i...

Schleiden, Matthias Jakob

(Encyclopedia)Schleiden, Matthias Jakob mätēˈäs yäˈkôp shlīˈdən [key], 1804–81, German botanist. He was professor at the universities of Jena (1839–63) and Dorpat (1863–64). With Theodor Schwann, he...

Herzog, Johann Jakob

(Encyclopedia)Herzog, Johann Jakob yōˈhän yäˈkôp hĕrˈtsōkh [key], 1805–82, German Protestant theologian. His most important contribution was the founding and editing of the standard reference work Realen...

Bodmer, Johann Jakob

(Encyclopedia)Bodmer, Johann Jakob yōˈhän yäˈkôp bōdˈmər [key], 1698–1783, Swiss critic, poet, and editor. He translated Milton's Paradise Lost and Middle High German poetry. Inspired by the Spectator, B...

folklore

(Encyclopedia)folklore, the body of customs, legends, beliefs, and superstitions passed on by oral tradition. It includes folk dances, folk songs, folk medicine (the use of magical charms and herbs), and folktales ...

Lenz, Jakob Michael Reinhold

(Encyclopedia)Lenz, Jakob Michael Reinhold yäˈkôp mĭkhˈäĕl rīnˈhôlt lĕnts [key], 1751–92, German writer. He was a friend of Goethe, whom he first imitated, then lampooned. A gifted poet, he wrote lyric...

Grimmelshausen, Hans Jakob Christoffel von

(Encyclopedia)Grimmelshausen, Hans Jakob Christoffel von häns yäˈkôp krĭsˈtôfəl fən grĭmˈəlshouˌzən [key], 1625–76, German novelist. Impressed into the Thirty Years War at the age of 10, he educated...

Bidermann, Jakob

(Encyclopedia)Bidermann, Jakob yäˈkôp bēˈdərmän [key], 1578–1639, German Jesuit dramatist and poet. Based on saint and martyr legends, Bidermann's plays were among the finest artistic expressions of the Co...

Steiner, Jakob

(Encyclopedia)Steiner, Jakob yäˈkôp shtīˈnər [key], 1796–1863, Swiss mathematician. He was largely self-taught and was professor of geometry at the Univ. of Berlin from 1834. A pioneer in the development of...

Pied Piper of Hamelin

(Encyclopedia)Pied Piper of Hamelin, legendary figure of Hameln, Germany. He rid the town of its rats and mice by charming them away with his flute playing. When the citizens refused to pay him the price they had a...
 

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