Jakob Ayrer

Jakob Ayrer (born March? 1543, Nürnberg, Franconia [Germany]—died March 26, 1605, Nürnberg) was a dramatist who incorporated elements of Elizabethan plays (e.g., spectacular stage effects, violent action, histrionic bombast, the stock figure of the clown) into his own plays, particularly his Fastnachtsspiele, the farces performed at Shrovetide (the three days preceding Ash Wednesday). A lawyer by profession, Ayrer lived in Bamberg from 1570 to 1593. He then returned to Nürnberg, where he spent his last...