Klaj, Johann (Meißen, 1616-56, Kitzingen/Main), a minor poet, studied in Wittenberg and became a private tutor in Nürnberg (1644), where he became acquainted with G. P. Harsdörffer with whom he founded the Löblicher Hirten- und Blumenorden an der Pegnitz. In 1650 he became pastor in Kitzingen. Klaj (who used the pastoral pseudonym Clajus) wrote pastoral poetry, including the volume Pegnesisches Schäfergedicht (1644) in which he collaborated with Harsdörffer. In some of his poetry rich sound is achieved by internal rhyme. His most original works are his oratorios, in which declamation and choruses alternate, and a wide variety of metres is used, often to distinguish different characters. These include Die Aufferstehung Jesu Christi (1644), Die Höllen- und Himmelfahrt Jesu Christi (1644), Der leidende Christus (1645), Herodes der Kindermörder (1645), and Freudengedichte der seligmachenden Geburt Jesu Christi (1650). Klaj also wrote religious poetry, published in Andachtslieder (1646).

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