c. 1621–1676

Novelist

Early Years.

Hans Jacob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen's early life coincided with one of Germany's most dismal epics: the Thirty Years' War. He was born to Protestant parents, but as a child he was kidnapped by invading armies and impressed into service in one of the armies that was then making its way through the country. Later, he joined the Catholic forces of the emperor before serving as an assistant to Count Reinhard von Schauenberg. When the war finally concluded, Schauenberg's family gave him a position as a caretaker on their lands. In turn, he served the family as a tax collector, innkeeper, and bailiff. When it came to light that he had been stealing from them, though, the Schauenbergs quickly dismissed him. In the next few years, Grimmelshausen became an assistant to a physician, and he also found...