Johannes Clajus (1535–1592) was a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

pastor and schoolmaster. He wrote the first grammar of the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

, ''Grammatica Germanicae lingua'', published in 1578.

Life

Clajus grew up in poor circumstances. His father Anton died early, so his mother Katharina Schickrath initially became his point of reference. Through supporters, he was able to attend the Princely School in Grimma and studied at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

from 1555 to 1559. In order to support himself, he took unsatisfactory teaching positions in Herzberg from 1559 to 1568, in

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from 1559 to 1568, and in Frankenstein in 1569. However, he wanted to devote himself more to theology, so he went to the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

and initially obtained the Magister degree in 1572. Subsequently, he took over the rectorate of the school in

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: * Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district **Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city * Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost ...

from 1570 to 1572 and was able to obtain a parish position in

Bendeleben Bendeleben is a village and a former municipality in the district Kyffhäuserkreis, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 31 December 2012, it is part of the municipality Kyffhäuserland Kyffhäuserland is a municipality in the district Kyffhäuserkreis ...

in 1573. Here he had the time to deal with the grammar of the German language. This led to his work ''

Grammatica Germanicae Linguae ''Grammatica Germanicae Linguae'' is a grammar book of the German language written by Johannes Clajus. First published in 1578, it is considered one of the earliest systematic grammar books for the German language. The book was written in Latin ...

'' in 1578, which, alongside Albert Ölinger's and Laurentius Albertus' works, paved the way for "written German grammar" in an independent achievement. The template for this was

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

's translation of the

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in the revised edition of 1545. In doing so, he seems to have oriented himself on the division of Latin grammar into Orthographia, Prosodia, Etymologia, and Syntaxis and presented his explanations based on phonetics and morphology. The abundant examples of his rules prove the existence of older vocabulary that receded more and more in the 18th century. They thus become important word-historical testimonies. A brief verse theory concludes the grammar. The grammar was published more than ten times until 1720, mostly in Central German printing locations. This shows the preferred distribution area of the work, which, however, has not remained unknown in the Low German area and on Upper German soil. It may have served for direct teaching well into the 17th century. Justus Georg Schottel (1612–1676) and German grammars after him until the 18th century build on Clajus. Johannes Clajus was married three times. The first marriage to Anna Storke († 1576) took place on July 18, 1558. After her death, he married Anna Martha Pisiquin († 1587) on September 16, 1576, and subsequently Elisabeth Anna Martha. From these marriages, six children were born from his first marriage, three children from his second marriage, and one daughter from his third marriage. His tombstone can be found in the village church of Bendeleben.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clajus, Johannes 16th-century German people German grammar 1535 births 1592 deaths Grammarians from Germany