Otto Heinrich von Löben
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand August Otto Heinrich, Graf von Loeben (18 August 1786, Dresden
— 3 April 1825, Dresden
) was a German writer.
He was born into an aristocrat
ic Protestant family, and was educated by private tutors. From 1804 he studied law at the University of Wittenberg, but moved to Heidelberg
in 1807, where he befriended Joseph von Eichendorff, also meeting Achim von Arnim, Clemens Brentano
and Johann Joseph von Görres
. Over the next few years he travelled between Vienna
, Dresden
and Berlin
, meeting Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué
at Nennhausen
. He was involved in the campaign of 1813-14; after his return, he married Johanna Victoria Gottliebe née von Bressler and spent the rest of his life in Dresden
. A stroke suffered in 1822 left him an invalid until his death.
Graf von Loeben was a very prolific writer of the Dresden school, and he influenced Eichendorff and Ludwig Tieck
among others, but quickly fell out of favour, most later critics viewing his work as bordering on parody. His most important novel is Guido, written under the pen-name "Isidorus Orientalis".
An article about him can be found in the Allgemeine deutsche Biographie, and a monograph by Raimund Pissin was published in Berlin in 1905. On the basis of these two sources, Porterfield enumerates his known works as "one conventional drama, one musical-romantic drama, two narrative poems, one of which is on Ferdusi, three collections of poems, between 30 and 40 novelettes, fairy tales and [several thousand] aphorisms and detached thoughts." He is discussed by his friend Eichendorff in Ahnung und Gegenwart (ch. 12) and Erlebtes (ch. 10).
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
— 3 April 1825, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
) was a German writer.
He was born into an aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
ic Protestant family, and was educated by private tutors. From 1804 he studied law at the University of Wittenberg, but moved to Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
in 1807, where he befriended Joseph von Eichendorff, also meeting Achim von Arnim, Clemens Brentano
Clemens Brentano
Clemens Brentano, or Klemens Brentano was a German poet and novelist.-Overview:He was born in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz, Germany. His sister was Bettina von Arnim, Goethe's correspondent. His father's family was of Italian descent. He studied in Halle and Jena, afterwards residing at...
and Johann Joseph von Görres
Johann Joseph von Görres
Johann Joseph von Görres was a German writer and journalist.-Early life:Görres was born at Koblenz. His father was moderately well off, and sent his son to a Latin college under the direction of the Roman Catholic clergy...
. Over the next few years he travelled between Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, meeting Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué
Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué
Friedrich 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...
at Nennhausen
Nennhausen
Nennhausen is a municipality in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany....
. He was involved in the campaign of 1813-14; after his return, he married Johanna Victoria Gottliebe née von Bressler and spent the rest of his life in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. A stroke suffered in 1822 left him an invalid until his death.
Graf von Loeben was a very prolific writer of the Dresden school, and he influenced Eichendorff and Ludwig Tieck
Ludwig Tieck
Johann Ludwig Tieck was a German poet, translator, editor, novelist, writer of Novellen, and critic, who was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-Early life:...
among others, but quickly fell out of favour, most later critics viewing his work as bordering on parody. His most important novel is Guido, written under the pen-name "Isidorus Orientalis".
An article about him can be found in the Allgemeine deutsche Biographie, and a monograph by Raimund Pissin was published in Berlin in 1905. On the basis of these two sources, Porterfield enumerates his known works as "one conventional drama, one musical-romantic drama, two narrative poems, one of which is on Ferdusi, three collections of poems, between 30 and 40 novelettes, fairy tales and [several thousand] aphorisms and detached thoughts." He is discussed by his friend Eichendorff in Ahnung und Gegenwart (ch. 12) and Erlebtes (ch. 10).
Selected works
- Guido, novel
- Das weisse Ross, eine altdeutsche Familienchronik in 36 Bildern, a novelette (1817)
- Die Sonnenkinder, short story
- Die Perle und die Maiblume, novelette
- Cephalus und Procris, play
- Ferdusi
- Persiens Ritter, short story
- Die Zaubernächte am Bosporus
- Prinz Floridio, fairy-tale
- Leda, short story
- Weinmärchen, fairy-tales
- Gesänge
See also
- Porterfield, Allen Wilson. "Graf von Loeben and the Legend of Lorelei." Modern Philology, Vol. 13, No. 6 (Oct., 1915), pp. 305–332. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11066 A highly critical account of some of Loeben's works, dismissing the theory that one of his poems of 1821 provided the inspiration for Heinrich HeineHeinrich HeineChristian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
's Die LoreleiLoreleiThe Lorelei is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, Germany, which soars some 120 metres above the waterline. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea. A very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat...
. - Ignaz Hub, ed. Deutschlands Balladen- und Romanzen-Dichter. Karlsruhe, 1845. Contains five poems, some with alterations.