Anna Ovena Hoyer (1584-1655) came from a family of wealthy estate owners in North Friesland and was well educated. She began writing poetry as a young woman and eventually turned to religious subjects. Living in a mostly Lutheran area, she was critical of Protestant orthodoxy and the local clergy. She supported mystical and ascetic movements and religious dissenters, and as a result, frequently clashed with local authorities. In the 1630s she and five of her children joined a group of Mennonites and emigrated to Sweden, where she continued to write songs and poetry commenting on Germany’s religious and political division. This song titled “The Song of the Money-Loving Friends of Worldly Life” stems from her collection Geistliche und Weltliche Poemata [Spiritual and Worldly Poems], published in Amsterdam in 1650