Friedrich Rudolf Ludwig Freiherr von Canitz (27 November 1654 – 11 August 1699) was a German

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and diplomat. He was one of the few German poets of his era that

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

enjoyed.

Biography

Canitz was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

. He was influenced by Boileau. He attended the universities of

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and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, travelled in

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France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

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and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and on his return was appointed groom of the bedchamber (Kammerjunker) to

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...

, whom he accompanied on his campaigns in

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

and Sweden. In 1680 Canitz became councillor of legation, and he was employed on various embassies. In 1697 Elector Frederick III made him a privy councillor, and Emperor Leopold I created him a baron of the Empire. Having fallen ill on an embassy to

the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, he obtained his discharge and died at Berlin in 1699. He wrote verse in a restrained, sober style. He was considered as one of the poets who “produced verse that was specifically aimed at entertaining and flattering princes and high courtiers.” Although he liked making verse in many languages, he never published any of them. Canitz's poems (''Nebenstunden unterschiedener Gedichte''), which did not appear until after his death (1700), are for the most part dry and stilted imitations of French and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

models, but they formed a healthy contrast to the coarseness and bombast of the later

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

n poets. A complete edition of Canitz's poems was published by U. König in 1727; see also L. Fulda, ''Die Gegner der zweiten schlesischen Schule, ii.'' (1883).

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canitz, Friedrich von 1654 births 1699 deaths Writers from Berlin German poets People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg Prussian diplomats Prussian politicians Leipzig University alumni 17th-century diplomats 17th-century German poets German male poets 17th-century German male writers