Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner (November 18, 1768 – January 17, 1823) 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 ...

dramatist 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 ...

, and preacher. As a dramatist, he is known mainly for inaugurating the era of the so-called "tragedies of fate".

Biography

Werner was born at

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. At the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

, he studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and attended

Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aest ...

's lectures.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

and Rousseau's German disciples were also influences that shaped his view of life. He lived an irregular life and entered a series of unsuccessful marriages. However his talent was soon recognized, and in 1793 he became chamber secretary in the Prussian service in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. In 1805 he obtained a government post in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, but two years later he retired from the public service in order to travel. In the course of his travels, and by correspondence, Werner became acquainted with many eminent literary figures of the time, for example

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

and

Madame de Staël Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

Coppet Coppet is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Coppet is first mentioned in 1294 as ''Copetum''. In 1347 it was mentioned as ''Copet''. Geography Coppet has an area (), of . Of this area, ...

. At

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, he joined the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1811. He was consecrated a priest in 1814 at

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

, and, exchanging the pen for the pulpit, became a popular preacher 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 ...

, where, during a congress in 1814, his eloquent sermons were listened to by crowded congregations. He was later appointed head of the chapter of the cathedral of Kaminiec. Werner died in Vienna.

Works

He succeeded in having his plays put on the stage, where they met with much success.

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's opera ''Attila'' is based on Werner's drama of the same name. Werner's ''Der 24. Februar'', thus titled because his mother and an intimate friend died on that day, introduced the era of the so-called "tragedies of fate." Several of his dramatic poems were designed to evangelize

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Among his titles were: *''Vermischte Gedichte'', 1789 *''Die Söhne des Thals'', 1803-1804, in two parts *''Die Templer auf Cypern'', 1803 *
''The Templars in Cyprus''
English *''Die Kreuzesbrüder'', 1804
''The Brethren of the Cross'': a dramatic poem
English *''Das Kreuz an der Ostsee'', 1806 *''Die Brautnacht'', 1806 *''Martin Luther oder die Weihe der Kraft'', 1806 *''Der vierundzwanzigste Februar'', 1808 (translated into French by Jules Lacroix, Paris, 1849) *''Attila, König der Hunnen, romantische Tragödie'', 1809 *''Wanda'', 1810 *''Die Weihe der Unkraft'', 1813, a recantation of his earlier work ''Martin Luther'' *''Kunigunde die Heilige'', 1815 *''Geistliche Übungen für drei Tage'', 1818 *''Die Mutter der Makkabäer'', 1820 ''Zacharias Werner's Theater'', a collection (without the author's consent) of Werner's work in 6 volumes, appeared in 1816-1818. ''Ausgewählte Schriften'' (Selected writings with a biography by K. J. Schütz) in 15 volumes appeared 1840-1841.

Notes

References

* * * * Attribution: *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias 1768 births 1823 deaths University of Königsberg alumni 19th-century German poets Converts to Roman Catholicism Coppet group German Roman Catholics Writers from Königsberg German male poets 19th-century German male writers Clergy from Königsberg