The most eminent philologist of the German language in the seventeenth century, Justus Georg Schottelius strove to assert the supremacy of German over Latin. His grammar book was highly regarded at the time, and, while he wrote dramas and poetry, he is better known as the author of one of the most stimulating and influential poetics of the period. His achievement has to be seen within the context of the patriotic movement to promote both German culture and language; a manifestation of this movement was the establishment of the Sprachgesellschaften (language societies). The Thirty Years' War and the presence of foreign armies on German soil had intensified patriotic sentiments; according to Schottelius, the war had brought with it "eine eintringende Frömdgierigkeit" (a pernicious and pervasive tendency to emulate foreign fashions). This tendency had a particularly damaging effect on the German language, which he was determined to...