Friederike Brun, née ''Münther'' (3 June 1765 – 25 March 1835), was a Danish author and salonist. She was married to the affluent merchant Constantin Brun and during the

Danish Golden Age The Danish Golden Age ( da, Den danske guldalder) covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century.Kulturnet DanmarkGuide to the Danish Golden Age Although Copenhagen had suffered ...

of the first half of the 19th century she arranged literary salons at Sophienholm, their summer retreat north of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. She is known for writing the poem ''Chamouny at Sunrise'' which was the original of

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...

's '' Hymn in the Vale of Chamouni''.

Early life

Friederike Brun was born on 3 June 1765 in Gräfentonna, in present-day

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Her father was Balthasar Münter, a writer and theologian, and the family moved to Denmark shortly after Friederike 's birth when he assumed a position as priest at St. Peter's Church in

, the church of the city's German congregation. She was a bright child and acquired a thorough knowledge of literature and other cultural subjects in the intellectual home although never receiving any formal schooling. Her family enjoyed frequent visits from German and Danish literary figures such as

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (; 2 July 1724 – 14 March 1803) was a German poet. His best known work is the epic poem ''Der Messias'' ("The Messiah"). One of his major contributions to German literature was to open it up to exploration outside ...

, Johann Andreas Cramer, and the brothers Christian and

Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg-Stolberg (7 November 1750 – 5 December 1819), was a German lawyer, and translator born at Bramstedt in Holstein (then a part of Denmark). He was also a poet of the ''Sturm und Drang'' and early Romantic ...

, and

Johannes Ewald Johannes Ewald (18 November 174317 March 1781) was a Danish national dramatist, psalm writer and poet. The lyrics of a song from one of his plays are used for one of the Danish national anthems, ''Kong Christian stod ved højen mast'' which ...

. In 1783, at the age of 17, she married the wealthy merchant Constantin Brun.

Literary career and travels

Friederike Brun's father had her first poetic experiments, as well as a travel account from Germany, published as early as 1782. These two genre also dominated the rest of her literary career. Her travelogues were fostered by a comprehensive travel activity which she, backed up by her husband's ample financial means, undertook from 1789 to 1810, for some time in company with 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 ...

) and the poet Matthisson. On her travels, she met and befriended many leading European cultural figures of the day, and they feature prominently in her travel writings. With many of them she kept up a prolific correspondence. Among the European intellectuals she associated with were

Johann Wolfgang von 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 t ...

, Friedrich Schiller,

August Wilhelm Schlegel August Wilhelm (after 1812: von) Schlegel (; 8 September 176712 May 1845), usually cited as August Schlegel, was a German poet, translator and critic, and with his brother Friedrich Schlegel the leading influence within Jena Romanticism. His trans ...

, Johann Gottfried Herder,

Wilhelm Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author and anthropologist, and the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm. Life and work Wilhelm was born in February 1786 in Hanau, ...

, and the Swiss female writer

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'' ...

with whom she formed a close friendship. With Matthisson and with the historian

Johannes von Müller Johannes von Müller (3 January 1752 – 29 May 1809) was a Swiss historian. Biography He was born at Schaffhausen, where his father was a clergyman and rector of the gymnasium. In his youth, his maternal grandfather, Johannes Schoop (1696–1 ...

, she spent some time in Switzerland in the house of

Charles Victor de Bonstetten Charles Victor de Bonstetten (german: Karl Viktor von Bonstetten; 3 September 17453 February 1832) was a Swiss liberal writer. Life Charles Victor was born at Bern in Switzerland to one of its great patrician families on 3 September 1745. He b ...

, who was afterward for several years her guest in Copenhagen. Bonstetten corresponded with her, and some of his letters were later published. After a long residence in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, she spent the rest of her life in Copenhagen.

The salons

In addition to her work as an author, Friederike Brun is from 1788 known for her salons, held in the summer at Frederiksdal and in winters in Copenhagen. They were inspired by

's salons at Château de Coppet. Her daughter,

Ida Brun Adelaide Caroline Johanne Brun (known as Ida Brun and later as Ida (de) Bombelles; 20 September 1792 – 23 November 1857) was a Danish singer, dancer, and classical mime artist in the genre known as mimoplastic art or "attitude". The literary sch ...

, who presented mimed "attitudes" inspired by

Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy me ...

, was one of the main attractions at the salons she held in Copenhagen, Geneva and Rome from 1806 to 1816.

Works

Her early poems, edited by Matthisson in 1795 (4th ed., Zürich, 1806), were followed by ''Neue Gedichte'' (Darmstadt, 1812), and ''Neueste Gedichte'' (Bonn, 1820). She described her travels in: * ''Prosaische Schriften'', 4 vols., Zürich, 1799-1801 * * * ''Tagebuch einer Reise durch die östliche, südliche und italienische Schweiz'', 1800 * ''Episoden aus Reisen durch das südliche Deutschland etc.'', 4 vols., 1807-1818 * * Friederike Brun's published works as cited by ''An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers''. *''Gedichte'', 1782. *''Tagebuch meiner ersten Reise'', 1782. *''Gedichte'', 1795. *''Tagebuch über Rom'', 1795–1796. *''Prosaische Schriften'', I-IV, 1799–1801. *''Episoden aus Reisen'', I-IV, 1806–1809. 1816; 1818. *''Briefe aus Rom'', 1808–1810. *''Wahrheit aus Morgenträume'', 1810–1824. *''Neue Gedichte'', 1812. * * *''Neueste Gedichte'', 1820. *''Idas ästhetische Enticklung'', 1824. *''Briefe, Artiklen, Breiträge. Hören; Musenalmanach; Tris, Nytaarsgave for Dame; Minerva; Tilskueren. Römisches Leben'', I-IV, 1833.

References

External links