What do you think?
Rate this book
Simplicianische Zyklus #1-6
Der Abentheurliche Simplicissimus Teutsch Und Continuatio Des Abentheurlichen Simplicissimus: Abdruck Der Beiden Erstausg. (1669) Mit Den Varianten Der Ihnen Sprachlich Nahestehenden Ausgaben
"Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus" ist das unumstrittene Hauptwerk des bedeutendsten deutschen Erzählers der Barockzeit und der erste deutsche Prosaroman, der Weltgeltung erlangte. Der "Simplicissimus" ist ein Schelmenroman, in dem sich derbe Landsknechtsmanier mit Witz und Weisheit, barocker Naturalismus und groteske Satire mit Phantasie und Sentiment verbinden. Beim Lesen, beim Durchblättern schon verwandelt sich dieses dicke Buch zum großen Zeitpanorama, zum deutschen Welt- und Zauberspiegel, der uns mit jeder Seite, bei jedem Nachschlagen und Nachlesen neue Facetten der Vergangenheit und der unvergänglichen menschlichen Eitelkeit enthüllt.
665 pages, Hardcover
Published June 10, 1997
8 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen
156 books47 followersGrimmelshausen was born at Gelnhausen. At the age of ten he was kidnapped by Hessian soldiery, and in their midst tasted the adventures of military life in the Thirty Years' War. At its close, Grimmelshausen entered the service of Franz Egon von Fürstenberg, bishop in Straßburg and in 1665 was made Schultheiss (magistrate) at Renchen in Baden.
On obtaining this appointment, he devoted himself to literary pursuits, and in 1668 published Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch, d.h. die Beschreibung des Lebens eines seltsamen Vaganten, genannt Melchior Sternfels von Fuchsheim, the greatest German novel of the 17th century. For this work he took as his model the picaresque romances of Spain, already to some extent known in Germany. Simplicissimus is in great measure its author's autobiography; he begins with the childhood of his hero, and describes the latter's adventures amid the stirring scenes of the Thirty Years' War. The rustic detail with which these pictures are presented makes the book one of the most valuable documents of its time. In the later parts Grimmelshausen, however, over-indulges in allegory, and finally loses himself in a Robinson Crusoe story.
The historian Robert Ergang, however, draws upon Gustav Könnecke's Quellen und Forschungen zur Lebensgeschichte Grimmelshausens to convey the assertion that "the events related in the novel Simplicissimus could hardly have been autobiographical since [Grimmelshausen] lived a peaceful existence in quiet towns and villages on the fringe of the Black Forest and that the material he incorporated in his work was not taken from actual experience, but was either borrowed from the past, collected from hearsay, or created by a vivid imagination."
Among his other works, the most important are the so-called Simplicianische Schriften:
* Die Ertzbetrügerin and Landstörtzerin Courasche (1669)
* Der seltsame Springinsfeld (1670)
* Das wunderbarliche Vogelnest (1672)
His satires, such as Der teutsche Michel (1670), and gallant novels, like Dietwald und Amelinde (1670) are of inferior interest. He died at Renchen on August 17, 1676, where a monument was erected to him in 1779.
Grimmelshausen's Landstörtzerin Courasche became an important inspiration for Bertolt Brecht´s play Mutter Courage.
On obtaining this appointment, he devoted himself to literary pursuits, and in 1668 published Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch, d.h. die Beschreibung des Lebens eines seltsamen Vaganten, genannt Melchior Sternfels von Fuchsheim, the greatest German novel of the 17th century. For this work he took as his model the picaresque romances of Spain, already to some extent known in Germany. Simplicissimus is in great measure its author's autobiography; he begins with the childhood of his hero, and describes the latter's adventures amid the stirring scenes of the Thirty Years' War. The rustic detail with which these pictures are presented makes the book one of the most valuable documents of its time. In the later parts Grimmelshausen, however, over-indulges in allegory, and finally loses himself in a Robinson Crusoe story.
The historian Robert Ergang, however, draws upon Gustav Könnecke's Quellen und Forschungen zur Lebensgeschichte Grimmelshausens to convey the assertion that "the events related in the novel Simplicissimus could hardly have been autobiographical since [Grimmelshausen] lived a peaceful existence in quiet towns and villages on the fringe of the Black Forest and that the material he incorporated in his work was not taken from actual experience, but was either borrowed from the past, collected from hearsay, or created by a vivid imagination."
Among his other works, the most important are the so-called Simplicianische Schriften:
* Die Ertzbetrügerin and Landstörtzerin Courasche (1669)
* Der seltsame Springinsfeld (1670)
* Das wunderbarliche Vogelnest (1672)
His satires, such as Der teutsche Michel (1670), and gallant novels, like Dietwald und Amelinde (1670) are of inferior interest. He died at Renchen on August 17, 1676, where a monument was erected to him in 1779.
Grimmelshausen's Landstörtzerin Courasche became an important inspiration for Bertolt Brecht´s play Mutter Courage.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 28, 2025
De mucha relevancia histórica, primera novela en lengua alemana y por eso muy interesante. Entretenida muchas veces y otras muchas pesada, no voy a mentir. No la recomiendo si no es por interés en la historia de la literatura alemana.
August 27, 2024
Olle zwe Seiten wiad da Protagonist entweda vo barbarischen Schweden entführt, greid haarknapp ned ob oda siniert in lateinischen Geschwafel.
Es war… ein Erlebnis, Christoffel?
Es war… ein Erlebnis, Christoffel?
May 18, 2021
I read sections of this decades ago for my masters, but this became essential reading as I tried to get a better understanding of how people experienced the Thirty Years War. At times this tested the limits of my German, but it certainly offers a perspective as Simplicissimus goes from being a truthsayer and clown into a warrior with a declining moral compass as the war goes on. True to its epoch, one of its themes is everything is ephemeral. Simplicissimus gains and loses several fortunes. It takes a long time for him to recognize what has become of himself. That is probably not an inaccurate portrayal of the effects of a life spent in warfare. I do wonder about Grimmelshausen's misogyny though. Simplicissimus really finds his male relationships much more satisfying than his relationships than women, something that reaches a peak in the Continuatio with the Abyssinian woman who destroys the relationship between Simplicisius and his male companion Zimmermann. Apart from the rather interesting competition of deadly sins, though could have done without the Continuatio. The story so clearly ends with the fifth volume, though I can understand why Grimmelshausen found it necessary to strand his hero and make him unavailable for pirated alternative adventures. It may be the time to pick up Grass's The Tin Drum soon to compare that work while this work is fresh in my mind.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews