Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) 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 w ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

Biography

He was born at

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

. His father, a retired major in the

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

army, was a civil engineer and member of the commission for regulating the course of the Rhine; his mother, ''née'' Josephine Krederer, the daughter of a prosperous tradesman at

Oberndorf am Neckar Oberndorf am Neckar (; Swabian: ''Oberndorf am Näggô'') is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Neckar, north of Rottweil. It historically was and currently is a major center of ...

, was a woman of great intellectual powers and of a romantic disposition. Young Scheffel was educated at the lyceum at Karlsruhe and afterwards (1843–1847) at the universities of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

and

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 constitu ...

. After passing the state examination for admission to the judicial service, he graduated ''Doctor juris'' and for four years (1848–1852) held an official position at the town of Säckingen. Here he wrote his poem ''Der Trompeter von Säckingen (The trumpeter of Saeckingen)'' (1853), a romantic and humorous tale which immediately gained extraordinary popularity. It has reached more than 250 editions and was made into an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

by Viktor Nessler in 1884. Scheffel next undertook a journey to

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 ...

. Returning home in 1853 he found his parents more than ever anxious that he should continue his legal career. But in 1854, defective eyesight incapacitated him; he quit the government service and took up his residence at

, with the intention of preparing himself for a post on the teaching staff of the university. His studies were, however, interrupted by eye disease, and in search of health he proceeded to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and took up his abode on the Lake of Constance, and elaborated the plan of his famous historical romance ''Ekkehard'' (1857); (Eng. trans. by Sofie Delffs, Leipzig, 1872). Part of this work was later used by

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard ...

as the libretto for his cantata '' The Lay of the Norsemen''. The first ideas for this work he got from the ''

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'' (''MGH'') is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of Northwestern and Central European history from the end of the Roman Empir ...

''. It was hardly less popular than the ''Trompeter von Säckingen''. In 1901 it reached the 179th edition. Scheffel next returned to Heidelberg, and published ''Gaudeamus, Lieder aus dem Engeren und Weiteren'' (1868), a collection of joyous and humorous songs, the subject- matter of which is taken partly from German legends and partly from historical subjects. In these songs the author shows himself the light-hearted student, a friend of wine and song; and their success is unexampled in German literature and encouraged numerous imitators. One example is

Im schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon "Im schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon" ("In Ashkelon's Black Whale") is a popular academic commercium song. It was known as a beer-drinking song in many German speaking ancient universities. Joseph Victor von Scheffel provided the lyrics under the ti ...

, the lyrics reflect an endorsement of the

bacchanalia The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rom ...

n mayhem of student life. The song describes an ' old assyrian'

drinking binge Binge drinking, or heavy episodic drinking, is drinking alcoholic beverages with an intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time, but definitions ( see below) vary considerably. Binge drinking i ...

with some references to the

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. The large invoice is being provided in

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge- ...

on six brick stones. However the carouser has to admit that he left his money already in Nineves' Lamb inn and gets kicked out. In typical manner of Scheffel, it contains an anachronistic mixture of various times and eras, parodistic notions on current science, as e.g.

Historical criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

. There are various additional verses, including political parody and verses mocking different sorts of fraternities or even one just and only one for mathematics. The song has been used as name for traditional students inns, e.g. in Heidelberg. Scheffel however had some melancholic notions as well, as for the unsuccessful German revolution of 1848 and his personal disappointment in vowing for the love of his live, Emma Heim, 1851 had him disappointed as well. He also used natural science to mock the political environment, as he mocked Hegel with his

Guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

poem or referred to the course of time in his

Ichthyosaurus ''Ichthyosaurus'' (derived from Greek ' () meaning 'fish' and ' () meaning 'lizard') is a genus of ichthyosaurs from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian - Pliensbachian), with possible Late Triassic record, from Europe ( Belgium, England, Germany, ...

poem. Indirectly, Scheffel coined the expression

Biedermeier The ''Biedermeier'' period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in ...

for the pre 1848 age, as two of Scheffel poems ''Biedermanns Abendgemütlichkeit'' and ''Bummelmaiers Klage'', based on the poetry of teacher and poet

Samuel Friedrich Sauter Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

, published 1848, were used in later satires about the reactionary petty bourgeois. Robert Engels 1902

For two years (1857–1859) Scheffel was custodian of the library of Prince Egon von Fürstenberg at

Donaueschingen Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar '' Kreis''. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river D ...

, but giving up his appointment in 1850, visited

Joseph von Laßberg Baron Joseph Maria Christoph von Lassberg (b. Donaueschingen, 10 April 1770; d. 15 March 1855) was a German antiquary. Biography He was descended from an old Catholic noble family originated from Austria. His father Joseph Maria von Laßberg ( ...

, at Meersburg on the Lake of Constance, stayed for a while with the grand duke Charles Alexander of Saxe-Weimar at the Wartburg in

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 ...

, then, settling at Karlsruhe, he married in 1864 Caroline von Malzen, and, in 1872, retired to his Villa Seehalde near

Radolfzell Radolfzell am Bodensee is a town in Germany at the western end of Lake Constance approximately 18 km northwest of Konstanz. It is the third largest town, after Constance and Singen, in the district of Konstanz, in Baden-Württemberg. Rad ...

on the lower Lake of Constance. On the occasion of his jubilee (1876), which was celebrated all over Germany, he was granted a patent of hereditary nobility by the grand duke of Baden. He died at Karlsruhe on 9 April 1886.

Legacy

1891 Joseph Stöckle (1844–1893) founded the Scheffelbund in

Schwetzingen Schwetzingen (; pfl, Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim. Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-si ...

(now Karlsruhe), the largest

literary society A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsle ...

in Germany with about 7.000 members. The Scheffelprize is dedicated to excellent pupils. There are various Scheffel memorials, street and place names. The Scheffel Archive is partially at the Scheffelbund and partially in Badischen Landesbibliothek.

Works

His works, other than those already mentioned, are: *''Frau Aventiure. Lieder aus Heinrich von Ofterdingens Zeit'' (1863) *''Juniperus. Geschichte eines Kreuzfahrers'' (1866) *''Bergpsalmen'' (1870) *''Waldeinsamkeit'' (1880) *''Der Heini von Steier'' (1883) *''Hugideo, eine alte Geschichte'' (1884) Volumes of ''Reisebilder'' (1887); ''Epistein'' (1892); and ''Briefe'' (1898) were published posthumously. Scheffel's ''Gesammelte Werke'' have been published in six volumes (1907).

Editions in English

* ''Ekkehard. A tale of the tenth century''. Translated from the German by Sofie Delffs. In: German Authors. Collection of German Authors. (Tauchnitz edition.) vol. 21–22. 1867. *

Charles Godfrey Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensi ...

, ''Gaudeamus! Humorous Poems by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel''
Ebook-Nr. 35848 on gutenberg.org

Notes

References

* This article in turn cites: ** A. Ruhemann: ''Joseph Victor von Scheffel'' (1887) ** G. Zernin: ''Erinnerungen an Joseph Victor von Scheffel'' (1887) ** J. Proelß: ''Scheffels Leben und Dichten'' (1887) ** L. von Kobell: ''Scheffel und seine Frau'' (1901) ** E. Boerschel: ''J. V. von Scheffel und Emma Heim'' (1906).

External links

* *
Works by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel at zeno.org
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheffel, Joseph 1826 births 1886 deaths Writers from Karlsruhe Members of the Frankfurt Parliament People from the Grand Duchy of Baden 19th-century German poets German untitled nobility Heidelberg University alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Biedermeier writers German male poets 19th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers