Friedrich von Matthisson (23 January 1761 – 12 March 1831) was a German

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, an early member of the

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Romantic movement. His best known poem is probably ''Adelaide'', which was

set to music Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Biography

He was born at Hohendodeleben near

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, the son of the village pastor, on 23 January 1761. After studying

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and

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at the university of Halle, he was appointed in 1781 master at the classical school Philanthropinum in Dessau. This once famous

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

was, however, then rapidly decaying in public favor, and in 1784 Matthisson was glad to accept a travelling tutorship. He lived for two years with the

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author Bonstetten at Nyon on

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. In 1794 he was appointed reader and traveling companion to Princess Louisa of

Anhalt-Dessau Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into t ...

(wife of

Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold III Frederick Franz, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau (10 August 1740 – 9 August 1817), known as "Prince Franz" or "Father Franz", was a German prince of the House of Ascania. From 1751 until 1807 he was reigning prince of the Principality of Anha ...

). They visited

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, and

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. For a time, they were joined in their travels by

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author and salonist Friederike Brun. After Princess Louisa's death in 1811, he entered the service of the

king of Württemberg King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, was ennobled, created counselor of legation, appointed

intendant An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...

of the court theatre and chief librarian of the royal library at

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. He resided for a time in Italy. In 1828 he retired and settled at

Wörlitz is a town and a former municipality in the district of Wittenberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it has been part of the town Oranienbaum-Wörlitz. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, east of Dessau. The historic p ...

near

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

, where he died on 12 March 1831.

Writings

Matthisson enjoyed for a time a great popularity on account of his ''Poems'' (german: Gedichte; 1787; 15th ed., 1851; new ed., 1876), which Schiller extravagantly praised for their melancholy sweetness and their fine descriptions of scenery. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition praised his verse as melodious and written with musical language, but complains that the thought and sentiments expressed are too often artificial and insincere. The 1905 ''New International Encyclopaedia'' judges "his verse melodious and graceful, especially in rural description, but never strong." His ''Adelaide'' was rendered famous by Beethoven's setting. Of Matthisson's elegies, ''Elegy in the Ruins of an Old Castle'' (german: Die Elegie in den Ruinen eines alten Bergschlosses) was still popular in 1911, and is praised by the 1879 ''

American Cyclopaedia American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

'' as one of his finest lyrics. He edited selections from the lyric poets of Germany under the title of ''Lyrische Anthologie'' (20 vols., Zürich, 1803–07). His ''Reminiscences'' (german: Erinnerungen; 5 vols., 1810-1816), contain interesting accounts of his travels. Matthisson's ''Writings'' (german: Schriften) appeared in eight volumes (1825-1829), of which the first contains his poems and the other seven his ''Erinnerungen''; a ninth volume was added in 1833 containing his biography by

Heinrich Döring Heinrich Doring, born Michael Johann Heinrich Döring (8 May 1789, Danzig/ Gdańsk – 14 December 1862, Jena) was a German writer, theologian and mineralogist. He became known mainly as a biographer of the German classical writers, and espec ...

. His ''Literary Remains'' (german: Literarischer Nachlass), with a selection from his correspondence, was published in four volumes by F. R. Schoch in 1832.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthisson, Friedrich von 1761 births 1831 deaths German poets German librarians German theatre managers and producers People from the Duchy of Magdeburg German male poets German-language poets