Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (11 October 1825 – 28 November 1898) was a Swiss

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

ist, a master of

literary realism Literary realism is a movement and genre of literature that attempts to represent mundane and ordinary subject-matter in a faithful and straightforward way, avoiding grandiose or exotic subject-matter, exaggerated portrayals, and speculative ele ...

who is mainly remembered for stirring narrative ballads like "Die Füße im Feuer" (The Feet in the Fire).

Biography

Meyer was born in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. His father, who died early, was a statesman and historian, while his mother was a highly cultured woman. Throughout his childhood two traits were observed that later characterized the man and the poet: he had a most scrupulous regard for neatness and cleanliness, and he lived and experienced more deeply in memory than in the immediate present. He suffered from bouts of mental illness, sometimes requiring hospitalization; his mother, similarly but more severely afflicted, killed herself. Having finished the gymnasium, he took up the study of law, but history and the humanities were of greater interest to him. He went for considerable periods to

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he interested himself in historical research. The two historians who influenced Meyer particularly were Louis Vulliemin at Lausanne and

Jacob Burckhardt Carl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt (; ; 25 May 1818 – 8 August 1897) was a Swiss historian of art and culture and an influential figure in the historiography of both fields. His best known work is '' The Civilization of the Renaissance in ...

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, whose book on the ''Culture of the Renaissance'' stimulated his imagination and interest. From his travels in France and Italy (1857) Meyer derived much inspiration for the settings and characters of his historical novels. In 1875, he settled at Kilchberg, above Zürich. Meyer found his calling only late in life; for many years, being practically bilingual, he wavered between French and German. The

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

brought the final decision. In Meyer's novels, a great crisis often releases latent energies and precipitates a catastrophe. In the same manner, his own life which before the war had been one of dreaming and experimenting, was stirred to the very depths by the events of 1870. Meyer identified himself with the German cause, and as a manifesto of his sympathies published the little epic ''Hutten's Last Days'' in 1871. After that his works appeared in rapid succession. In 1880, he received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. He died in his home in Kilchberg on 28 November 1898, aged 73.

Works

His works were collected into eight volumes in 1912.

Novels

The periods of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and Counter Reformation furnished the subjects for most of his novels. Most of his plots spring from the deeper conflict between freedom and fate and culminate in a dramatic crisis in which the hero, in the face of a great temptation, loses his moral freedom and is forced to fulfill the higher law of destiny. * 1876 ''Jürg Jenatsch'' – Graubünden,

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, a story of Switzerland in the 17th century through the conflict between Spain-Austria and France. The hero is a Protestant minister and fanatic patriot who, in his determination to preserve the independence of his little country, does not shrink from murder and treason and in whom noble and base motives are strangely blended. * 1891 ''Angela Borgia'' –

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

Novellas

Meyer's main works are historical novellas: * 1873 ''Das Amulett'' (The Amulet) – France during the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre * 1878 ''Der Schuss von der Kanzel'' (The Shot from the Pulpit) – Switzerland * 1879 '' Der Heilige'' (The Saint) –

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

, Middle Ages, England * 1881 ''Plautus im Nonnenkloster'' (Plautus in the Nunnery) – Renaissance, Switzerland * 1882 ''Gustav Adolfs Page'' ( Gustav Adolf's Page) – Thirty Years' War * 1883 ''Das Leiden eines Knaben'' (The Suffering of a Boy) - France during reign of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

* 1884 ''Die Hochzeit des Mönchs'' (The Wedding of the Monk) – Italy,

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

himself is introduced at the court of Cangrande in Verona as narrator of the strange adventure of a monk who, after the death of his brother, is forced by his father to break his vows but who, instead of marrying the widow, falls in love with another young girl and runs blindly to his fate. * 1885 ''Die Richterin'' (The Judge) – Carolingian time, Grisons, introduces

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

and his palace school * 1887 ''Die Versuchung des Pescara'' (The Temptation of Pescara) – Renaissance, Italy – tells of the great crisis in the life of Fernando d'Ávalos, general of Charles V and husband of Victoria Colonna

Lyrics

* 1867 ''Balladen'' * 1870 ''Romanzen und Bilder'' (Romances and pictures) * 1872 ''Huttens letzte Tage'' ( Hutten's Last Days) – a short epic poem * 1873 ''Engelberg'' * 1882 ''Gedichte'' (Poems)

Legacy

It is as a master of narrative

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, often on historical themes, that Meyer is mostly remembered. His fiction also typically focuses on key historical moments from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

and

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

. Meyer's lyric verse is almost entirely the product of his later years.Friedrich Burns, ed.
''A Book of German Lyrics''
(Project Gutenberg). He frequently celebrated human handiwork, especially works of art.

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and the monumental work of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

were among decisive experiences in his life.

Notes

External links

* * *
English translation of Meyer's ''Roman Fountain''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Conrad Ferdinand 1825 births 1898 deaths Writers from Zurich Swiss poets in German 19th-century Swiss writers 19th-century Swiss novelists 19th-century Swiss poets Swiss male novelists Swiss male poets 19th-century Swiss male writers