riod saw the simplification of case endings and changes in
certain vowel sounds; but the most significant develop-
ment was the emergence of a standardized written lan-
guage, as writing became more widespread, encompassing
new spheres, from trade to expression of the emotions.
The chief promoting factors were the increase in trade and
business, the advent of PRINTING, and the Reformation; the
impact of HUMANISMwas more complex.
Humanism in Germany did not give rise directly to a
vernacular literary florescence, as in Italy, France, and
England. By their use of Latin for education and poetry as
well as for communication, the humanists even retarded
German linguistic growth. Also, the Reformation chan-
neled the energies of many scholars away from the refine-
ment of literary skills and into religious disputes. The
humanists mainly exerted a literary influence through
their translations of works in Latin and romance lan-
guages (one by-product of this was an influx of new vo-
cabulary into German in the form of loan words from
these languages). Humanist literature, however, on the
whole remained separate from the popular vernacular lit-
erature (such as the SCHWÄNKE), which was flourishing by
the 16th century as the new middle classes began to pro-
vide their own literary entertainment. The nationalistic
concern of some humanist scholars was also significant, as
they directed their attention to German literary achieve-
ments. This motivated the rediscovery of forgotten manu-
scripts in the vernacular, the publication of the first
German dictionaries in the late 15th century, and the pro-
duction of German grammars in the 16th. Scholarly inter-
est in the German language flourished in the 17th century
with the formation of societies to unify and purify the lan-
guage, such as Die Fruchtbringende Gessellschaft (“the
fruitful society”) founded in Weimar in 1617, and with
Martin Opitz’s championship of German as a language fit
for poetry in his Buch von der Deutschen Poetery (1624).
Latin remained the language of scholarship until very late,
however; only in 1681 did the number of German-
language books printed in Germany exceed those in Latin,
and German only began to be used for university lectures
in 1687.
The increasing standardization of German during the
period is attributable largely to the growth of trade and
business. Merchants generally did not know Latin, and the
prosperous activities of the HANSEATIC LEAGUEin the 14th
and 15th centuries resulted in the incipient development
of a standardized written language based on Low German
(i.e. North German) dialects. German also came to be
used as the language of documentation in the chancel-
leries of local princes; this was instrumental in introduc-
ing standardization in other regions in the 15th century.
Most notable were a southern standard based on the
Kanzleisprache (chancellery language) of the imperial
court, and an east-central standard (in, for example, Sax-
ony). As the economic power of the north declined, the
southern and central forms gained in importance.
The process of regional standardization was furthered
by printing, as it both satisfied and stimulated the growing
demand for the new scholarship and literature. As print-
ers strove to achieve the widest possible sales, they re-
duced regional variation in their texts and took care over
orthographic consistency. The 16th century saw five re-
gional standards of German in use among printers. Again,
as the major centers of printing were in central and south-
ern Germany, this strengthened the linguistic importance
of these areas over the north.
The final step in the evolution of a written standard
was LUTHER’s translation of the Bible, published between
1522 and 1534. His was not the first, but it was outstand-
ing in its scholarship and in the power of its appeal. In
order to spread his message as widely and clearly as pos-
sible, Luther deliberately used everyday (even vulgar) lan-
guage, introducing a new vitality and vividness to the
stilted written forms then in use. A measure of his suc-
cess were the 100,000 copies printed by Hans Lufft’s press
in Wittenberg alone between 1534 and 1584. As well as
achieving a literary masterpiece, Luther exerted a de-
cisive linguistic influence throughout Germany; even
subsequent Catholic translations drew on his usage. The
form of German that Luther used was east-central
German, modified with usages from other areas and ex-
tended by his own innovations to cover a variety of regis-
ters. This form became the basis of modern standard
German.Gerusalemme liberata (1581) An epic poem in 20 can-
tos by Torquato TASSO. Although he had completed his
masterpiece by 1575, Tasso remained dissatisfied, trou-
bled by both aesthetic and religious qualms, and the poem
underwent several revisions after its first publication.
Retitled Gerusalemme conquistata, the latest of these ap-
peared in 1593, a sorry testimony to Tasso’s urge to ap-
pease Counter-Reformation morality and academic rules.
Like BOIARDOand ARIOSTO, his predecessors at the Este
court in Ferrara, Tasso wrote in OTTAVA RIMA, aiming to
produce a Christian epic founded on historical truth with-
out, however, foregoing the appeal of the chivalric and
marvelous elements (materia cavalleresca) of earlier ro-
mances based on the legends of ARTHURand CHARLE-
MAGNEand Roland. His subject was the climax of the First
Crusade, the siege and conquest of Jerusalem in 1099
by the army of Godfrey of Boulogne. To the historical par-
ticipants—Godfrey, Baldwin, Tancred, Raymond of
Toulouse, Bohemond, Peter the Hermit, and Solyman,
Sultan of Nicaea—Tasso added essential fictional charac-
ters: Rinaldo (introduced as the ancestor of the Este),
the enchantress Armida, Argante, and Clorinda and Er-
minia, who are romantically involved with Tancredi. The
Christians defeat the many stratagems of the forces ofGGeerruussaalleemmmmee lliibbeerraattaa 220099