XLVIII. Jakob Ayrer

A prolific Nürnberg dramatist (died in 1605), wno might be styled a lesser Hans Sachs. He wrote some sixty-nine plays which show, more especially in the prominence of the clown, the influence of the English actors who began to visit Germany toward the end of the 16th century. Among his shrovetide plays are several of a new species, called by him Singtspiele, in which the parts, instead of being spoken, were sung to a preëxisting tune. A selection from one of these musical comedies is given below, the text according to the Bibliothek des literarischen Vereins in Stuttgart, Vol. 80. The meter is an eight-line stanza called the Roland’s Ton.