The Autobiography of Sir Götz von Berlichingen

The Autobiography of Sir Götz von Berlichingen is the memoir of the German knight (c. 1480-1562) who lost his right hand to a cannonball at twenty-four and fought on for decades with an iron prosthesis, earning the name Götz of the Iron Hand. Dictated in his old age, the memoir recounts feuds, ransoms, the Peasants’ War, and imperial campaigns with unapologetic relish. Goethe built his first famous play on this text in 1773, putting Götz’s notorious defiant retort into German literary legend. The memoir is a rare unvarnished voice from the last age of knighthood. Free PDF download available on BDeBooks.