GERHARDT, PAUL. - German religious poet, b. at Gräfenhainichen (Saxony) on 12 March 1607, d. archdeacon at Lübben on the Spree on 27 March 1676. He studied theology and pursued an ecclesiastical career; from his practice as a pastor he drew material for many of his lyrics, which, however, never remained merely occasional poems.
He has been called the greatest Protestant religious poet after Lutero. In the seventeenth century it is difficult to find anyone who can stand beside him; yet the tone of his lyric poetry is neither dramatic, as in the founder of the pseudo-Reformation, nor sweetly enchanted, as in the Catholic Friedrich von Spee, but inwardly gathered in a sincere, powerful intimacy that would make him greatly appreciated by the followers of Pietism toward the end of the century. He made use of all the models of Christian hymnology, from St. Bernardo to J. Arnd, and his Lieder were immediately set to music by composers, the most famous of whom was Giovanni Sebastiano Bach (among others, one may recall the celebrated O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden from the Passione secondo s. Matteo).