This volume on Paul Gerhardt includes contributions from literary studies, church history, theology and piety history, as well as musicology, and offers the most comprehensive scholarly picture of his life, work, and reception currently available. Gerhardt's historical context and biography are illuminated, as well as his theological influence and his position within contemporary German and Latin poetry. Special attention is given to his most important composers and the reception of his poems in the Anglo-Saxon and German hymnbook tradition. An edition of documents from his studies in Wittenberg and a comprehensive bibliography of Gerhardt literature up to 2007 are also included.