Anna Sophia von Hessen-Darmstadt

Anna Sophia, daughter of the Landgrave Georg II. of Hesse-Darmstadt, was born at Marburg, Dec. 17, 1638. Carefully educated, especially in Holy Scripture and the Christian Fathers, she was in 1657 elected Pröbstin of the Lutheran Fürsten-Tochter-Stift at Quedlinburg, where she became Abbess 1680, and died Dec, 13, 1683 (Koch, iii. 549-554; Stromberger's preface, &c).
Her hymns, contemplations on the union of the soul with Christ, in the spirit of the Canticles, mostly appeared in her devotional work:—

Der Treue Seelen-Freund Christus Jesus mit nach denklichen Sinn-Gemählden, anmuthigen Lehr-Gedichten und neuen geistreichen Gesangen, abgedruckt und vorgestellet, Jena, 1658. The only one translation into English is Wohl dent der Jesum liebet [Holy Scripture], her best hymn, 1658, Appx. p. 26. The translations are: (l) "How happy they, who know and love," by Dr. G. Walker, 1860, p. 82. (2) "What joy to love the Saviour," in the British Herald, Nov. 1866, p. 363, repeated as No. 433 in Reid's Praise Book, 1872.

[Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)