Nikolaus Herman

HERMAN, Nikolaus. b. Altdorf?, date unknown; d. Joachimsthal, 3 May 1561. Herman’s date of birth is given as ca. 1480 in some sources, and as ca. 1500 in others (the sources that give the date as 1480 give the place of birth as Altdorf, near Nürnberg, Germany). If, as some suggest, he became Master of the Latin School at Joachimsthal (now Jáchimov) in 1518, the date of 1480 is more likely. At Joachimsthal, a mining town in Bohemia, he held a church position, probably that of organist and choirmaster. His hymns, which have continued to be much loved and greatly used, were written principally for the children in his school. His first book, on the Sunday gospels throughout the year, was Die...