Karl Joseph Simrock (28 August 1802 – 18 July 1876) was a German poet and writer. He is primarily known for his translation of ''Das

Nibelungenlied The ( gmh, Der Nibelunge liet or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germani ...

'' into modern German.

Life

He was born in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, where his father was a music publisher. He studied law at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

and

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...

, Berlin, and in 1823 entered the

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 e ...

n civil service, from which he was expelled in 1830 for writing a poem in praise of the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first in 1789. It led to ...

in France. Afterwards he became a lecturer at the University of Bonn, where in 1850 he was made a professor of Old German literature and where he died.

Work

Simrock, Karl – Deutschen Volksbucher, 1845 – BEIC 4197471

Simrock established his reputation by his excellent modern rendering of ''Das

'' (1827), and of the poems of Walther von der Vogelweide (1833). Among other works translated by him into modern German were the '' Arme Heinrich'' of

Hartmann von Aue Hartmann von Aue, also known as Hartmann von Ouwe, (born ''c.'' 1160–70, died ''c.'' 1210–20) was a German knight and poet. With his works including ''Erec'', ''Iwein'', '' Gregorius'', and ''Der arme Heinrich'', he introduced the Arthuria ...

(1830), the ''Parzival'' and ''Titurel'' of

Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. There ar ...

(1842), the ''Tristan'' of Gottfried von Strassburg (1855) and the ''Heldenbuch'' (1843–1849), which he supplemented with independent poems. Before the publication of this work he had shown an original poetical faculty in ''Wieland der Schmied'' (1835); and in 1844 he issued a volume of ''Gedichte'' in which there are many good lyrics, romances and ballads. In 1850 appeared ''Lauda Sion'', and in 1857 the ''Deutsche Sionsharfe'', collections of Old German sacred poetry. Of his publications the most popular and the most valuable were the ''Deutsche Volksbücher'', of which fifty-five were printed between 1839 and 1867. His best contribution to scholarship was his ''Handbuch der deutschen Mythologie'' (1853–1855). At an early stage of his career Simrock gained high standing among students of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

for his ''Quellen des Shakespeare in Novellen, Märchen und Sagen'' (1831); afterwards he translated Shakespeare's poems and a considerable number of his dramas. The large number of editions through which Simrock's translations from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

have passed (more than 53 of ''Das Nibelungenlied'') bear witness to their popularity. An edition of his ''Ausgewählte Werke'' in 12 vols. was published by G. Klee (1907).

Notes

References

* * * This work in turn cites: ** N. Hocker, ''Karl Simrock, sein Leben und seine Werke'' (1877) ** H. Düntzer, "Erinnerungen an Karl Simrock," in ''Monatsschrift für Westdeutschland'' (1877) **

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simrock, Karl Joseph 1802 births 1876 deaths University of Bonn alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the University of Bonn Writers on Germanic paganism 19th-century German translators 19th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers Translators of the Poetic Edda