Siegwart, eine Klostergeschichte
Encyclopedia
Siegwart, eine Klostergeschichte ("Siegwart, a Tale of the Cloister", 1776) was a novel by Johann Martin Miller
. It was a bestseller. Dedicated "to all noble souls", and clearly imitating Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, the novel tells two parallel love stories, one happy, the other sad (as foretold by a gypsy woman at the beginning of Part Two). It was published by Weygand at Leipzig
.
named Xaver Siegwart, the youngest of five siblings, has grown up on the banks of the Danube
after the early death of his mother. Restless and active as a boy, excited at the idea of becoming a hunter like his father, he becomes an impressionable youth, in love with silence and the natural world.
He accompanies his father to a Capuchin
monastery where he is visiting his friend Father Anton. After walking through a beautiful wood, they arrive just as the sun is setting among the oaks, and the impressions made by the play of light on wet cobwebs, the sounds of the bells, and the saintliness of the monks, lead him to religion. Years later he travels to Ingolstadt
with the fixed purpose of entering the ministry.
But his plans are disrupted by the social whirl of Ingolstadt, firstly by his entanglement with a woman named Sophie who has fallen violently in love with him, and secondly when he himself falls in love with Mariane Fischer. The match is encouraged by his friend Kronhelm, who admits his own love for Xaver's sister Therese. Mariane returns Xaver's passion, but her father, a court councillor, wishes her to marry another councillor's son, and after facing her intransigence he forces her to enter a convent, where she falls gravely ill. Xaver plans to elope with her, but he is given false news of her death, and he himself enters a monastery. Four years later he encounters her by accident and recognizes her as his Mariane — but she is at the point of death, and soon afterwards he dies also of grief, found sprawled in the moonlight at her grave. This dismal ending is mitigated only by the happy marriage of Kronhelm and Therese Siegwart.
An English translation by Laetitia Matilda Hawkins
, Siegwart, a Monastic Tale, appeared in 1806. The most recent German reprint dates from 1971.
Johann Martin Miller
Johann Martin Miller was a German theologian and writer.- Life :Miller was the son of an Evangelical pastor, Johann Michael Miller...
. It was a bestseller. Dedicated "to all noble souls", and clearly imitating Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, the novel tells two parallel love stories, one happy, the other sad (as foretold by a gypsy woman at the beginning of Part Two). It was published by Weygand at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
Plot introduction
A man from Oettingen in BayernOettingen in Bayern
Oettingen in Bayern is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated northwest of Donauwörth, and northeast of Nördlingen.-Geography:...
named Xaver Siegwart, the youngest of five siblings, has grown up on the banks of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
after the early death of his mother. Restless and active as a boy, excited at the idea of becoming a hunter like his father, he becomes an impressionable youth, in love with silence and the natural world.
He accompanies his father to a Capuchin
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
monastery where he is visiting his friend Father Anton. After walking through a beautiful wood, they arrive just as the sun is setting among the oaks, and the impressions made by the play of light on wet cobwebs, the sounds of the bells, and the saintliness of the monks, lead him to religion. Years later he travels to Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
with the fixed purpose of entering the ministry.
But his plans are disrupted by the social whirl of Ingolstadt, firstly by his entanglement with a woman named Sophie who has fallen violently in love with him, and secondly when he himself falls in love with Mariane Fischer. The match is encouraged by his friend Kronhelm, who admits his own love for Xaver's sister Therese. Mariane returns Xaver's passion, but her father, a court councillor, wishes her to marry another councillor's son, and after facing her intransigence he forces her to enter a convent, where she falls gravely ill. Xaver plans to elope with her, but he is given false news of her death, and he himself enters a monastery. Four years later he encounters her by accident and recognizes her as his Mariane — but she is at the point of death, and soon afterwards he dies also of grief, found sprawled in the moonlight at her grave. This dismal ending is mitigated only by the happy marriage of Kronhelm and Therese Siegwart.
An English translation by Laetitia Matilda Hawkins
Laetitia Matilda Hawkins
Laetitia Matilda Hawkins was an English novelist, associated with Twickenham. She is also a character in Beryl Bainbridge's novel According to Queeney....
, Siegwart, a Monastic Tale, appeared in 1806. The most recent German reprint dates from 1971.
External links
- Siegwart at Google Books