Cyriakus Günther

GÜNTHER, Cyriakus. b. Goldbach, near Gotha, 15 January 1650; d. Gotha, 7 October 1704. Günther was educated at Goldbach and at Gotha. He studied at the University of Jena, after which he was appointed ‘Conrektor’ at Eisfeld, Thuringia; he returned to Gotha in 1679 as ‘Collega tertius’ (third-form master) at the Gymnasium, remaining in that post until his death. At his death he left a notebook containing over thirty hymns. His son, Friedrich Philipp Günther, verger of St George’s Church at Glaucha (Glauchau), showed the book to his vicar, Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen*, who printed ten of the hymns in his Neues Geist-reiches Gesang-Buch (1714). From this book is taken the hymn in the...