Hans Erasmus Aßmann, Freiherr von Abschatz (4 February 1646 – 22 April 1699) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

and

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

from the second

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

n school.

Life

Abschatz was born at Würbitz ( Wierzbnica) in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

in the

Bohemian crown lands The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods with feudal obligations to the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bohemia, an electorate of the Hol ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Even though his parents died early, Abschatz attended college in

Liegnitz Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. L ...

and then studied law at the universities of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and

Leyden Leiden ( ; ; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 127,046 (31 January 2023), but the city forms one densely connecte ...

. This was followed by a three-year travel to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Returning to Silesia at the age of 23, he assumed the administration of his estate and married Anna von Hund in 1669. His financial condition was favourable and his private life fortunate, only disturbed by the death of few close relatives. With the death of the last

Silesian Piast The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his here ...

(Duke George William) and the annexation of Silesia to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, the talent he showed in the administration of his manors led Abschatz to enter political life. He was twice a representative to the imperial court at Vienna: the first time as a syndic for the

Duchy of Liegnitz The Duchy of Legnica (, ) or Duchy of Liegnitz () was one of the Duchies of Silesia, formed during the fragmentation of Poland into smaller provincial duchies, ruled by a local line of the Piast dynasty between 1248 and 1675. Its capital was Legni ...

, the second time as a representative for all Silesian lands. Emperor Leopold I made him a baron (''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

''). In 1679, Abschatz was elected to be a permanent deputy of Legnica to the

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

of the Silesian sovereigns (the so-called ''Fürstentage'' in Breslau). Through his public service, he gained the respect of his fellow countrymen and acquired what he once claimed to be the highest tribute to a life's work — an inscription on his tombstone saying ''he was an honest man in his fatherland''.

Poet

Abschatz is considered to be a member of the school of poetry called ''second Silesian school'' (''Zweite Schlesische Schule''), together with writers such as Daniel Casper von Lohenstein,

Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius (; 2 October 161616 July 1664) was a German poet and playwright. With his eloquent sonnets, which contains "The Suffering, Frailty of Life and the World", he is considered one of the most important Baroque poets of the Germanos ...

, Gottfried Benjamin Hancke and Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau. He was a close friend of Lohenstein. Abschatz was also an accurate translator, translating ''

Il pastor fido ''Il pastor fido'' (''The Faithfull Shepherd'' in Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet, Richard Fanshawe's 1647 English translation) is a pastoral tragicomedy set in Arcadia (utopia), Arcadia by Giovanni Battista Guarini, first published in 1590 ...

''.The new international encyclopaedia - Internet Archive
/ref> Today, Abschatz is notable by the very fact that he — a nobleman — was interested in poetry at all. At that time, it was seen as a sign of change in the attitude towards literature and signaled that

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

could keep pace with the literary development of

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He also alluded to his hopes in this direction. He is quoted that:

Notes

Citations

Sources

* ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' - online version at

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abschatz, Hans Erasmus Assmann Freiherr von 1646 births 1699 deaths 17th-century German politicians 17th-century German poets People from Nowa Sól County German poets German male poets