Benedikt David Arnstein (15 October 1765 – 6 January 1841), also known by the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Arenhof, was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. He is considered the first

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

-language

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

dramatist and poet.

Biography

Benedikt Arnstein was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

into a prominent

banking family, the son of wholesaler David Isaak Arnstein. His grandfather was the prominent banker Adam Isaac von Arnstein (son of ), and his aunt the socialite

Fanny von Arnstein Baroness Franziska "Fanny" von Arnstein (29 September 1758 – 8 June 1818), born Vögele Itzig, was a Viennese socialite and salonnière. Biography Fanny Arnstein was born in Berlin, the daughter of Daniel Itzig. She was a member of the extensiv ...

. He began working at his grandfather's banking house in 1782, but left in 1786 to undertake a series of travels across Germany, France, Spain and Italy. This enabled him to become personally acquainted with many distinguished writers of his time, including and , who introduced him to classical

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...

. His literary circle included , Joseph Schreyvogel,

August von Kotzebue August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (; – ) was a German dramatist and writer who also worked as a consul in Russia and Germany. In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl L ...

, , and . Apart from individual poems, which appeared in monographs and almanacs, Arnstein published numerous dramatic works, some of which were performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna. His 1782 work ''Einige jüdische Familienscenen'' celebrated the

Edict of Tolerance An edict of toleration is a declaration, made by a government or ruler, and states that members of a given religion will not be persecuted for engaging in their religious practices and traditions. The edict implies tacit acceptance of the religio ...

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnstein, Benedikt David 1765 births 1840 deaths 18th-century Austrian poets 18th-century dramatists and playwrights 18th-century Austrian Jews 19th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Austrian Jews 19th-century Austrian poets Austrian male dramatists and playwrights Austrian male poets Jewish Austrian writers Jewish dramatists and playwrights Jewish poets Jews and Judaism in Vienna Writers from Vienna