Guido Görres (28 May 1805 – 14 July 1852) was a German Catholic historian, publicist and poet.

Life

Born in

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, he was the son of

Joseph Görres Johann Joseph Görres, since 1839 von Görres (25 January 1776 – 29 January 1848), was a German writer, philosopher, theologian, historian and journalist. Early life Görres was born in Koblenz. His father was moderately well off, and sent his ...

, and made his early classical studies in his native town. During his father's banishment he went to

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...

and Strasburg to pursue his education. Reaching the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

in 1824, he devoted himself chiefly to the study of philology and history.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Guido Görres." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 2 November 2022 In Munich he continued his linguistic studies, and in 1830 received a prize from the

French Academy French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. In the meantime (1827) his father had received a call as professor of history to Munich, and Guido, influenced by his father's lectures, took up history as his chief study. In 1844 Görres married the composer and writer Maria Vespermann, who gave him three daughters. But his conjugal happiness was not to last more than eight years, for he died at Munich at the age of forty-seven years.

Works

The fruits of Görres's historical studies were " Nikolaus von der Flüe" (Ratisbon, 1831) and "Die Jungfrau von Orleans" (Ratisbon, 1834) ''Nikolaus von der Flüe'' was the first critical historical investigation into the life of Nicholas. In doing research for his biography of Joan of Arc, he made a tour of investigation through France in search of material relating to the Maid of Orléans and became friends with

Charles Forbes René de Montalembert Charles-Forbes-René, comte de Montalembert (; 15 April 1810 – 13 March 1870) was a French publicist, historian and Count of Montalembert, Deux-Sèvres, and a prominent representative of liberal Catholicism. Family Charles Forbes René de ...

.Roegele, Otto, "Görres, Guido", ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' 6 (1964), pp. 531-532
/ref> Jointly with Count Franz Pocci, he published from 1834 to 1839 an illustrated serial on the festivals of the Church, the "Festkalender in Bildern und Liedern", the first illustrated magazine for the young in German. But before long his work took a different direction. He edited from 1838 the "Historisch-politische Blätter", a publication established to maintain the defense of the rights of the Catholic Church and to champion the Interests of German Catholics. Guido Görres took charge of the editorial management with George Phillips, and continued at this post until his death. It was widely influential, and kept German Catholics informed of events in the wider world Church. At the same time his talents as a poet found expression in many beautiful compositions. He became one of the foremost lyricists among the modern Catholic poets of Germany. Under the influence of

Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz a ...

, with whom he was friends, Görres wrote late-Romantic fairy tales, sagas and legends, but above all poems (poems for children, spiritual Marian songs), some of which went into popular songs and were used in the church. In Rome in 1842, he wrote a collection of "Marienlieder" to celebrate Mary in the month of May. The tale "Schön Röslein" (Munich, 1838), " Das Weihnaehtskripplein" (Schaflthausen, 1843), "Das Leben der hl. Cäcilia in drei Gesangen" (Munich, 1843), and the widely known and popular poems "Die Gottesfahrt nach Trier" (Coblenz, 1844), "Die arme Pilgerin zum hl. Rock" (Coblenz, 1845), the "Gedichte" (Munich, 1844), evince true art, deep perception and delicate tenderness, combined with power of conception and vigour of form. His work "Der hürnen Siegfried und sein Kampf mit dem Drachen" (The Heroic Life and Exploits of Siegfried the Dragon-Slayer) (Schaffhausen, 1843) was illustrated by

Wilhelm von Kaulbach Wilhelm von Kaulbach (15 October 18057 April 1874) was a Germans, German painter, noted mainly as a muralist, but also as a book illustrator. His murals decorate buildings in Munich. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Bio ...

."Wilhelm Kaulbach in Der hürnen Siegfried", Germanic Mythology
/ref> In 1840, he wrote a detailed account of the

Oberammergau Passion Play The Oberammergau Passion Play () is a passion play that has been performed every 10 years from 1634 to 1674 and each decadal year since 1680 (with a few exceptions) by the inhabitants of the village of Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany. It was wr ...

. In 1846 he began with Count Pocci, as he had formerly done in the case of the Feast Calendar, the publication of an illustrated magazine called the "Deutsches Hausbuch", which however appeared for two years only. On the death of Brentano, Görres edited his "Märchen" (2 volumes, Stuttgart, 1846). He also produced an excellent German translation of "

The Imitation of Christ ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

" (St. Pölten, 1839, with illustrations by Steinle).

References

External links

''Der hürnen Siegfried und sein Kampf mit dem Drachen''
Schaffhausen, 1843, Digitized edition at E-rara {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorres, Guido 1805 births 1852 deaths Writers from Koblenz People from the Rhine Province German Roman Catholics German magazine publishers (people) 19th-century German historians German editors University of Bonn alumni German male poets 19th-century German poets 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers