Rudolf Gottschall
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Rudolf Gottschall (von Gottschall since 1877; 30 September 1823 – 21 March 1909) 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 wri ...
,
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 ...
, literary critic and literary historian.


Biography

He was born at Breslau, the son of a
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n artillery officer. He was educated at the gymnasia in
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and
Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...
, and subsequently at Rastenburg in East Prussia. In 1841 he entered 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 ...
as a
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 ...
student, but was expelled for his outspoken liberal opinions. The academic authorities at Breslau and
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
were equally intolerant towards him, and it was only in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
that he found himself free to pursue his studies. During this period he issued ''Lieder der Gegenwart'' (“Songs of the present,” 1842) and ''Zensurflüchtlinge'' (“Refugees from censoring,” 1843) - the poetical fruits of his political enthusiasm. He completed his studies in Berlin, and took the degree of ''doctor juris'' in Königsberg. His political views continued to stand in the way of his career, and Gottschall gave up the law to devote himself entirely to literature. He met with immediate success, and beginning as a
dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...
in Königsberg with ''Der Blinde von Alcala'' (1846) and ''Lord Byron in Italien'' (1847), he went on to
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where he occupied a similar position. His political and social sympathies with the revolutionary movement of 1848 were shown in the dramas ''Wiener Immortellen'' (1848), ''Lambertine von Méricourt'' (1850), and ''
Ferdinand von Schill Ferdinand Baptista von Schill (6 January 1776 – 31 May 1809) was a Prussian major who revolted unsuccessfully against French domination of Prussia in May 1809. Schill's rebellion ended at the Battle of Stralsund, a battle which also saw Schil ...
'' (1851), as well as in his first collection of poems, ''Gedichte'' (1850), and in a lyric epic, ''Die Göttin, ein hohes Lied vom Weibe'' (1853). In 1852 he married Marie, baroness von Seherr-Thoss, and for the next few years lived in
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
. From this time on, his work became more serene in temper and style. An epic, ''Carlo Zeno'', was followed by a very successful historical comedy (after the style of Scribe), ''Pitt und Fox'' (1854), and this by literary and historical studies, whose final titles were: ''Die deutsche National Litteratur des XIX. Jahrhunderts'' (1892) and ''Poetik: Die Dichtkunst und ihre Formen'' (1858). In 1862 he took over the editorship of a newspaper, but in 1864 moved to Leipzig. Gottschall was raised, in 1877, by the king of Prussia to the hereditary nobility with the prefix "von," having been previously made a ''Geheimer Hofrat'' by the Grand Duke of Weimar. Down to 1887 Gottschall edited the ''Brockhaussche Blätter für litterarische Unterhaltung'' and the monthly periodical ''Unsere Zeit''. He died at Leipzig. Gottschall was also a noted
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
player. The ''Deutschen Schachbund'' (DSB) was founded in Leipzig on 18 July 1877 by athletes and intellectuals such as
Adolf Anderssen Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (July 6, 1818 – March 13, 1879)"Anderssen, Adolf" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a German chess master. He won the great internat ...
, Rudolf Gottschall, Hermann Zwanziger,
Max Lange Max Lange (August 7, 1832, Magdeburg – December 8, 1899, Leipzig) was a German chess player and problem composer. Chess career In 1858–64, Lange was an editor of the ''Deutsche Schachzeitung'' (German Chess Newsletter). He was a founder of ...
and
Carl Göring Carl Theodor Göring (Goering) (28 April 1841 in Brüheim – 2 April 1879 in Eisenach) was a German professor, philosopher and chess master. In 1870, he took 3rd in the first Austrian Chess Federation Congress, held in Graz ( Johann Berger ...
. When the next meeting took place on 15 July 1879 in Leipzig (the 1st
DSB Congress The ''Deutscher Schachbund'' (DSB) was founded in Leipzig on 18 July, 1877. When the next meeting took place in the Schützenhaus on 15 July 1879, sixty-two clubs had become member of the chess federation. Hofrat Rudolf von Gottschall became Chairm ...
), sixty-two clubs had become member of the German Chess Federation (DSB). Hofrat von Gottschall became Chairman and Zwanziger the General Secretary.


Works

Gottschall's prolific literary productions cover the fields of poetry, novel-writing and literary criticism. Among his volumes of lyric poetry are ''Sebastopol'' (1856), ''Janus'' (1873), ''Bunte Blüten'' (1891). Among his epics, ''Carlo Zeno'' (1854), ''Maja'' (1864), dealing with an episode in the Indian Mutiny, and ''Merlins Wanderungen'' (1887). ''Pitt und Fox'' (1854) was never surpassed by his other lighter dramas, among which may be mentioned ''Die Welt des Schwindels'' and ''Der Spion von Rheinsberg''. The tragedies, ''Mazeppa'', ''Catharine Howard'', ''Amy Robsart'' and ''Der Gotze von Venedig'', were very successful; and the historical novels, ''Im Banne des schwarzen Adlers'' (1875; 4th ed., 1884), ''Die Erbschaft des Blutes'' (1881), ''Die Tochter
Rübezahl Rübezahl ( pl, Liczyrzepa, Duch Gór, Karkonosz, Rzepiór, or Rzepolicz; cs, Krakonoš) is a folkloric mountain spirit ( woodwose) of the Giant Mountains (''Krkonoše'', ''Riesengebirge'', ''Karkonosze''), a mountain range along the border bet ...
s'' (1889), and ''Verkümmerte Existenzen'' (1892), enjoyed a high degree of popularity. His ''Die deutsche Nationalliteratur des 19. Jahrhunderts'' (1855), and ''Poetik'' (1858) commanded the respect of all students of literature. Of his many novels, the first, ''Im Baune des schwarzen Adlers'' (1876), is considered by many critics his best. Gottschall was active as an editor and compiler of anthologies. Gottschall's collected ''Dramatische Werke'' appeared in 12 vols. in 1880 (2nd ed., 1884); he also later published many volumes of collected essays and criticisms. See his autobiography, ''Aus meiner Jugend'' (1898).


References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottschall, Rudolf 1823 births 1909 deaths German chess players German untitled nobility German autobiographers German literary historians German literary critics Sportspeople from Wrocław People from the Province of Silesia University of Königsberg alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers 19th-century chess players