Nationality German Known for Lutheran hymns | Name Ludwig Helmbold Role Poet | |
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Born January 21, 1532 ( 1532-01-21 ) Muhlhausen Occupation Poet, philosopher and ecclesiastical minister Died April 8, 1598, Muhlhausen, Germany | ||
Ludwig Helmbold, also spelled Ludwig Heimbold, (21 January 1532 – 8 April 1598) was a poet of Lutheran hymns. He is probably best known for his hymn "Nun laßt uns Gott dem Herren", of which J. S. Bach used the fifth stanza for his cantata O heilges Geist- und Wasserbad, BWV 165; Bach also used his words in BWV 73, 79 and 186a.
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Biography
Helmbold was born in Mühlhausen. He became a professor of Philosophy an der Erfurt University in 1554. In 1571 he was appointed a minister at the Marienkirche in Mühlhausen, later as Superintendent.
Helmbold was crowned poeta laureatus by Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1566 on the Reichstag at Augsburg.
Hymns
The Mühlhausen cantors Joachim à Burck and Johannes Eccard set many of Helmbold's more than hundred hymns to music. Some of his works were used by Johann Sebastian Bach in his cantatas, such as
A few of his hymns are still included in the German Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG):
Other recognition
In 1998, a street named Helmboldstraße, next to Bonatstraße, was named after him in Mühlhausen.