Göttinger Hainbund
Encyclopedia
The Göttinger Hainbund was a German literary group in the late 18th century, nature-loving and classified as part of the Sturm und Drang
movement.
, Gottlieb Dieterich von Miller, Johann Friedrich Hahn
and Johann Thomas Ludwig Wehrs
, in the university town of Göttingen
. The members knew one other through their presence at the university or through their contributions to the Göttinger Musenalmanach
, a literary annual founded by Heinrich Christian Boie
in 1770.
Their evident delight in wilderness and untamed Nature (as a counterweight to the rationalism of the Enlightenment) is what scholars use to connect them to Sturm und Drang, although not all commentators agree on who influenced whom, and in what way.
In the poetry of the 48-year-old Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
they found their ideal. Their respect for him ran parallel to their disdain for Christoph Martin Wieland
's jesting poetry, which they saw as frivolous, Frenchified work. On 2 July 1773, they celebrated Klopstock's birthday:
Wieland was untroubled and responded generously, referring to the members of the Hainbund, in a letter to Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi
, as "well-meaning" youngsters without experience of the world. In fact, by 1779, Voss was counted among Wieland's friends.
The term Hainbund refers to Klopstock's ode "Der Hügel und der Hain" ("The Hill and the Grove", 1767), which contrasts citified Ancient Greek artistic ideals (symbolised by Mount Parnassus
) with the simple rural virtue of the German bard. The two literary predecessors, Poet and Barde, vie for the allegiance of the modern Dichter. The Poet condemns the "voice of coarse Nature", but the Barde wins by emphasizing the closer spiritual connection he holds with the living German, and the Dichter exclaims:
Another father figure (although not a member) was Gottfried August Bürger
. He and Hölty are known as the inventors of the German Kunstballade ("art ballad").
On Sunday, 18 September 1774, Klopstock passed through the city and paid them a visit. He had intended to leave early the next morning, but transportation was difficult to find, and to their delight he spent nearly the whole of the Monday in their company.
In 1775, most of its members having completed their education, the Hainbund gradually broke up as they returned to their home cities.
Sturm und Drang
Sturm und Drang is a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music taking place from the late 1760s through the early 1780s, in which individual subjectivity and, in particular, extremes of emotion were given free expression in reaction to the perceived constraints of rationalism...
movement.
Origin and description
It was by means of a midnight ritual in an oaken grove that the Göttinger Hainbund was founded on 12 September 1772 by Johann Heinrich Voss, Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty, Johann Martin MillerJohann Martin Miller
Johann Martin Miller was a German theologian and writer.- Life :Miller was the son of an Evangelical pastor, Johann Michael Miller...
, Gottlieb Dieterich von Miller, Johann Friedrich Hahn
Johann Friedrich Hahn
Johann Friedrich Hahn was a German lyric poet.Hahn, an evangelical Lutheran, began his studies on 22 April 1771 at the University of Göttingen, first law, then theology. On 12 September 1772 he helped to establish the Göttinger Hainbund literary group.After his graduation he became a confidante of...
and Johann Thomas Ludwig Wehrs
Johann Thomas Ludwig Wehrs
Johann Thomas Ludwig Wehrs was a German theologian and a founder of the Göttinger Hainbund literary group....
, in the university town of Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
. The members knew one other through their presence at the university or through their contributions to the Göttinger Musenalmanach
Göttinger Musenalmanach
Göttinger Musenalmanach was the title of two different literary magazines published in Göttingen, Germany, one running from 1770 to 1807, the other 1896 to 1953...
, a literary annual founded by Heinrich Christian Boie
Heinrich Christian Boie
Heinrich Christian Boie was a German author.He was born at Meldorf in Holstein...
in 1770.
Their evident delight in wilderness and untamed Nature (as a counterweight to the rationalism of the Enlightenment) is what scholars use to connect them to Sturm und Drang, although not all commentators agree on who influenced whom, and in what way.
In the poetry of the 48-year-old Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock was a German poet.-Biography:Klopstock was born at Quedlinburg, the eldest son of a lawyer.Both in his birthplace and on the estate of Friedeburg on the Saale, which his father later rented, young Klopstock passed a happy childhood; and more attention having been given...
they found their ideal. Their respect for him ran parallel to their disdain for Christoph Martin Wieland
Christoph Martin Wieland
Christoph Martin Wieland was a German poet and writer.- Biography :He was born at Oberholzheim , which then belonged to the Free Imperial City of Biberach an der Riss in the south-east of the modern-day state of Baden-Württemberg...
's jesting poetry, which they saw as frivolous, Frenchified work. On 2 July 1773, they celebrated Klopstock's birthday:
- Klopstock's chair, adorned with roses and carnations, stood at the head of the long table, also decorated with flowers; on it were placed the works of the poet, while under the chair lay Wieland's Idris torn up. "Cramer," relates Voss, "read some of Klopstock's odes having relation to Germany; then we took coffee, and made lighters for our pipes out of Wieland's writings. Even Boie, who did not smoke, was compelled to light one and to stamp upon the torn Idris. Afterwards we drank, in Rhine wine, to the health of Klopstock, the League, Ebert, Goethe, and Herder, and to the memory of Luther and Hermann. Klopstock's "Ode to Rhine Wine," and some others, were read. Conversation then flowed freely. With hats on, we talked about liberty and Germany and virtue; you can just imagine how. Then we supped, and finally burnt Wieland's Idris and likeness. Whether Klopstock has heard of our doings, or only guessed at them, I do not know; but he has written to ask for a description of the day."
Wieland was untroubled and responded generously, referring to the members of the Hainbund, in a letter to Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi was an influential German philosopher, literary figure, socialite and the younger brother of poet Johann Georg Jacobi...
, as "well-meaning" youngsters without experience of the world. In fact, by 1779, Voss was counted among Wieland's friends.
The term Hainbund refers to Klopstock's ode "Der Hügel und der Hain" ("The Hill and the Grove", 1767), which contrasts citified Ancient Greek artistic ideals (symbolised by Mount Parnassus
Mount Parnassus
Mount Parnassus, also Parnassos , is a mountain of limestone in central Greece that towers above Delphi, north of the Gulf of Corinth, and offers scenic views of the surrounding olive groves and countryside. According to Greek mythology, this mountain was sacred to Apollo and the Corycian nymphs,...
) with the simple rural virtue of the German bard. The two literary predecessors, Poet and Barde, vie for the allegiance of the modern Dichter. The Poet condemns the "voice of coarse Nature", but the Barde wins by emphasizing the closer spiritual connection he holds with the living German, and the Dichter exclaims:
| Des Hügels Quell ertönet von Zeus, Von Wodan der Quell des Hains. Weck' ich aus dem alten Untergange Götter Zu Gemählden des fabelhaften Liedes auf; |
The fountain of the hill resounds to Zeus, To Woden does the copse's spring belong. If I awaken gods whose sun hath set, To lovely paintings of their mythic song, |
| So haben die in Teutoniens Hain Edlere Züge für mich! Mich weilet dann der Achäer Hügel nicht: Ich geh zu dem Quell des Hains! |
Then shall they have in Germania's woods Nobler paths for me on which to rove! 'Tis not the Achaean hill that me awaits: I go unto the fountain in the grove! |
Another father figure (although not a member) was Gottfried August Bürger
Gottfried August Bürger
Gottfried August Bürger was a German poet. His ballads were very popular in Germany. His most noted ballad, Lenore, found an audience beyond readers of the German language in an English adaptation and a French translation.-Biography:He was born in Molmerswende , Principality of Halberstadt, where...
. He and Hölty are known as the inventors of the German Kunstballade ("art ballad").
On Sunday, 18 September 1774, Klopstock passed through the city and paid them a visit. He had intended to leave early the next morning, but transportation was difficult to find, and to their delight he spent nearly the whole of the Monday in their company.
In 1775, most of its members having completed their education, the Hainbund gradually broke up as they returned to their home cities.
Members
- Heinrich Christian BoieHeinrich Christian BoieHeinrich Christian Boie was a German author.He was born at Meldorf in Holstein...
- Ernst Theodor Johann Brückner
- Carl Christian Clauswitz
- Carl August Wilhelm von Closen
- Carl Friedrich Cramer
- Christian Hieronymus Esmarch
- Schack Hermann Ewald
- Johann Friedrich HahnJohann Friedrich HahnJohann Friedrich Hahn was a German lyric poet.Hahn, an evangelical Lutheran, began his studies on 22 April 1771 at the University of Göttingen, first law, then theology. On 12 September 1772 he helped to establish the Göttinger Hainbund literary group.After his graduation he became a confidante of...
- Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty
- Johann Anton LeisewitzJohann Anton LeisewitzJohann Anton Leisewitz was a German dramatic poet.-Biography:He went to Göttingen in 1770, and became a member of the circle of poets called Der Hainbund, which included Stolberg and Voss, and contributed two poems to the Göttinger Musenalmanach for 1775, both essentially dramatic and democratic...
- Johann Martin MillerJohann Martin MillerJohann Martin Miller was a German theologian and writer.- Life :Miller was the son of an Evangelical pastor, Johann Michael Miller...
- Gottlieb Dieterich von Miller
- Christian zu Stolberg-Stolberg
- Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg
- Johann Heinrich VoßJohann Heinrich VoßJohann Heinrich Voss was a German poet and translator, known mostly for his translation of Homer's Odyssey into German .-Life:Voss was born at Sommersdorf in Mecklenburg-Strelitz as the son of a farmer...
- Johann Thomas Ludwig WehrsJohann Thomas Ludwig WehrsJohann Thomas Ludwig Wehrs was a German theologian and a founder of the Göttinger Hainbund literary group....
Associates
- Gottfried August BürgerGottfried August BürgerGottfried August Bürger was a German poet. His ballads were very popular in Germany. His most noted ballad, Lenore, found an audience beyond readers of the German language in an English adaptation and a French translation.-Biography:He was born in Molmerswende , Principality of Halberstadt, where...
- Matthias ClaudiusMatthias ClaudiusMatthias Claudius was a German poet, otherwise known by the penname of “Asmus”.-Life:Claudius was born at Reinfeld, near Lübeck, and studied at Jena...
- Friedrich de la Motte FouquéFriedrich de la Motte FouquéFriedrich Heinrich Karl de la Motte, Baron Fouqué was a German writer of the romantic style.-Biography:He was born at Brandenburg an der Havel, of a family of French Huguenot origin, as evidenced in his family name...
- Leopold Friedrich Günther von GoeckingkLeopold Friedrich Günther von GoeckingkLeopold Friedrich Günther von Goeckingk, also Göckingk was a German lyric poet, journalist, and Prussian official.- Life :...
- Friedrich Wilhelm GotterFriedrich Wilhelm GotterFriedrich Wilhelm Gotter was a German poet and dramatist.He was born at Gotha. After the completion of his university course at Göttingen, he was appointed second director of the Gotha Archive. He subsequently went to Wetzlar, the seat of the imperial law courts, as secretary to the...
- Friedrich Gottlieb KlopstockFriedrich Gottlieb KlopstockFriedrich Gottlieb Klopstock was a German poet.-Biography:Klopstock was born at Quedlinburg, the eldest son of a lawyer.Both in his birthplace and on the estate of Friedeburg on the Saale, which his father later rented, young Klopstock passed a happy childhood; and more attention having been given...
- Joseph Martin KrausJoseph Martin KrausJoseph Martin Kraus , was a composer in the classical era who was born in Miltenberg am Main, Germany. He moved to Sweden at age 21, and died at the age of 36 in Stockholm...
- Christian Adolph OverbeckChristian Adolph OverbeckChristian Adolph Overbeck was a German poet, and the Burgomaster of Lübeck.- Family :...
- Gottlob Friedrich Ernst Schönborn
- Christian Friedrich Daniel SchubartChristian Friedrich Daniel SchubartChristian Friedrich Daniel Schubart , was a German poet, born at Obersontheim in Swabia.He entered the university of Erlangen in 1758 as a student of theology. He led a dissolute life, and after two years' stay was summoned home by his parents...
- Johann Gottfried Friedrich Seebach
- Anton Matthias SprickmannAnton Matthias SprickmannAnton Matthias Sprickmann was a German writer and lawyer....