Josef Lauff

Who was Josef Lauff?

Josef Lauff was a German poet and dramatist.

He was born at Cologne, the son of a jurist. He was educated at Münster in Westphalia, and entering the army served as a lieutenant of artillery at Thorn and subsequently at Cologne, where he attained the rank of captain in 1890. In 1898 he was summoned by the German emperor, William II, to Wiesbaden, being at the same time promoted to major's rank, in order that he might devote his great dramatic talents to the royal theatre.

His literary career began with the epic poems Jan van Calker, ein Malerlied vom Niederrhein and Der Helfensteiner, em Sang aus dem Bauernkriege. These were followed by Die Overstolzin, Ilerodias and the Geislerin. He also wrote the novels Die Hexe, Regina coeli, Die Hauptmannsfrau and Marie Verwahnen.

But he is best known as a dramatist. Beginning with the tragedy Ignez de Castro, he proceeded to dramatize the great monarchs of his country, and, in a Hohenzollern tetralogy, issued Der Burggraf and Der Eisenzahn, to be followed by Der grosse Kurfurst and Friedrich der Grosse.