Christoph Martin Wieland (; ; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a
German poet and writer, representative of literary
Rococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''
Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...
'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the epic ''
Oberon'', which formed the basis for both
Friederike Sophie Seyler's
opera of the same name and
Carl Maria von Weber's
opera of the same name. His thought was representative of the
cosmopolitanism of the German
Enlightenment, exemplified in his remark: "Only a true cosmopolitan can be a good citizen." He was a key figure of
Weimar Classicism and a collaborator of
Abel Seyler's
theatre company.
Biography
Christoph Martin Wieland was born in
Oberholzheim (now part of
Achstetten), half of which then belonged to the
Free Imperial City of
Biberach an der Riss and the other half to
Gutenzell Abbey in the south-east of the modern-day state of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
.
His father, who was
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
in Oberholzheim and subsequently in Biberach, took great pains with his son's education. From the town school of Biberach he passed on at the age of twelve to the
Kloster Berge ''
gymnasium'', near
Magdeburg. He was a precocious child, and when he left school in 1749 was widely read in the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
classics and the leading contemporary French writers; amongst German poets his favourites were
Brockes and
Klopstock.
During the summer of 1750, he fell in love with a cousin,
Sophie Gutermann, and this love affair inspired him to plan his first ambitious work, ''Die Natur der Dinge'' (The Nature of Things, 1752), a
didactic
Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasises instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is a conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to explain.
...
poem in six books. In 1750 he went to the
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...
as a student of
law, but his time was mainly taken up with literary studies. The poems he wrote at the university—''Hermann'', an epic (published by F. Muncker, 1886), ''Zwölf moralische Briefe in Versen'' (Twelve Moral Letters in Verse, 1752), ''Anti-Ovid'' (1752)—are
pietistic in tone and dominated by the influence of Klopstock.
Wieland's poetry attracted the attention of the Swiss literary reformer,
J. J. Bodmer, who invited Wieland to visit him 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 ...
in the summer of 1752. After a few months however, he felt little sympathy with Wieland as, two years earlier, he had felt himself with Klopstock, and the friends parted; but Wieland remained in Switzerland until 1760, spending the last year, at
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
where he obtained a position as private tutor. Here he became intimate with
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
's friend
Julie de Bondeli.

Wieland's tastes had changed; the writings of his early Swiss years—''Der geprüfte Abraham'' (The Trial of Abraham's Faith, 1753), ''Sympathien'' (1756), ''Empfindungen eines Christen'' (1757)—were still in the manner of his earlier writings, but with the tragedies, ''Lady Johanna Gray'' (1758), and ''Clementina von Porretta'' (1760)—the latter based on
Samuel Richardson's ''Sir Charles Grandison''—the epic fragment ''Cyrus'' (first five cantos, 1759), and the "moral story in dialogues", ''Araspes und Panthea'' (1760), Wieland, as
Gotthold Lessing said, "forsook the ethereal spheres to wander again among the sons of men."
In ''Cyrus'', he had been inspired by the deeds of
Frederick the Great to write a poem exhibiting the ideal of a hero. ''Araspes und Panthea'' is based on an episode from the ''Cyropaedia'' of
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...
.

Wieland's conversion was completed at Biberach, having returned in 1760 as director of the chancery. The monotony of his life here was relieved by the friendship of a
Count Stadion, whose library in the castle of Warthausen, not far from Biberach, was well stocked with French and English literature. Wieland met again his early love Sophie Gutermann, who had become the wife of Hofrat La Roche, then manager of Count Stadion's estates.
In ''Don Sylvio von Rosalva'' (1764), a romance in imitation of ''
Don Quixote
, the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
'', he held his earlier faith up to ridicule and in the ''Comische Erzählungen'' (1765) he gave his extravagant imagination only too free a rein.

More important is the novel ''Geschichte des Agathon'' (1766–1767), in which, under the guise of a Greek fiction, Wieland described his own spiritual and intellectual growth. This work, which Lessing recommended as "a novel of classic taste", marks an epoch in the development of the modern
psychological novel. Of equal importance was Wieland's translation of twenty-two of
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...
's plays into prose (8 vols., 1762–1766); it was the first attempt to present the English poet to the German people in something approaching entirety. With the poems ''Musarion oder die Philosophie der Grazien'' (1768), ''Idris'' (1768), ''Combabus'' (1770), ''Der neue Amadis'' (1771), Wieland opened the series of light and graceful romances in verse which appealed so irresistibly to his contemporaries and acted as an antidote to the sentimental excesses of the subsequent
Sturm und Drang movement.
''Musarion'' advocates a rational unity of the sensual and spiritual; ''Amadis'' celebrates the triumph of intellectual over physical beauty.
Wieland married Anna Dorothea von Hillenbrand (July 8, 1746 – November 9, 1801) on October 21, 1765. They had 14 children. Wieland's daughter Sophia Catharina Susanna Wieland (October 19, 1768 – September 1, 1837) married philosopher
Karl Leonhard Reinhold (1757–1823) on May 18, 1785.
Between 1769 and 1772, Wieland was a professor of philosophy at the
University of Erfurt.
In his ''Verklagter Amor'' ("Cupid Accused") he defended amatory poetry; and in the ''Dialogen des Diogenes von Sinope'' (1770) he gave a general vindication of his philosophical views.
In 1772 he published ''Der goldene Spiegel oder die Könige van Scheschian'', a pedagogic work in the form of oriental stories; this attracted the attention of
Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and resulted in his appointment as tutor to her two sons, the
Duke Karl August and his brother
Prince Constantin, at
Weimar. With the exception of some years spent at Ossmannstedt, where in later life he bought an estate, Weimar remained Wieland's home until his death.
Turning his attention to dramatic poetry, he wrote opera
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
s such as ''Wahl des Hercules'' ("Choice of Hercules") and ''
Alceste'' by
Anton Schweitzer.
In 1773, he founded ''
Der teutsche Merkur'', which under his editorship (1773–1789) became the most influential literary review in Germany.
His views, as exhibited therein, however, showed so much of the narrow conventional spirit of French criticism, that he was attacked by
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
in the satire ''Götter, Helden und Wieland'' ("Gods, Heroes and Wieland"). This Wieland answered with great good nature, recommending it to all who were fond of wit and sarcasm. Goethe and
Johann Gottfried Herder were soon drawn to Weimar, where the Duchess Anna Amalia formed a circle of talent and genius, later also joined by
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright.
He was born i ...
.
Politically, Wieland was a moderate
liberal who advocated a constitutional monarchy, a free press, and a middle path between extremes of left and right. At least three of his works, ''Geschichte des Agathon'', ''Der goldene Spiegel oder die Könige van Scheschian'', and ''Beiträge zur geheimen Geschichte des menschlichen Verstandes und Herzens'', found themselves on the official
Bavarian Illuminati reading list.
Wieland also explored the role of secret societies in Enlightenment thought in ''Das Geheimnis des Kosmopoliten-Ordens'' (1788). This work examines the political and philosophical implications of clandestine organizations, particularly their potential to form a "state within a state". A modern English edition,
''The Secret of the Order of Cosmopolitans'', was published in 2025, making the text accessible to a wider audience.
He was also a librettist for the
Seyler theatrical company of
Abel Seyler. Of his later writings the most important are the admirable satire on German provinciality — the most attractive of all his prose writings — ''
Die Abderiten, eine sehr wahrscheinliche Geschichte'' (A very probable history of the Abderites, 1774), (translated into French by
Antoine Gilbert Griffet de Labaume) and the charming poetic romances, ''Das Wintermärchen'' (1776), ''Das Sommermärchen'' (1777), ''Geron der Adelige'' (1777), ''Pervonte oder die Wünsche'' (1778), a series culminating with Wieland's poetic masterpiece, the romantic epic of ''
Oberon'' (1780).
In 1780 he created the singspiel
''Rosamunde'' with the composer
Anton Schweitzer.
In Wieland's later novels, such as the ''Geheime Geschichte des Philosophen Peregrinus Proteus'' (1791) and ''
Aristipp und einige seiner Zeitgenossen'' (1800–1802), a didactic and philosophic tendency obscures the small literary interest they possess. He also translated
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...
's ''Satires'' (1786),
Lucian
Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridi ...
's ''Works'' (1788–1789),
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
's ''Letters'' (1808 ff.), and from 1796 to 1803 he edited the ''Attisches Museum'' which did valuable service in popularizing Greek studies.
Wieland was also strongly influenced by the French fairy-tale vogue of the 18th century, he published a collection of tales entitled ''Dschinnistan'' (1786–1789), which included three original tales, 'Der Stein der Weisen' ('The Philosopher's Stone'), 'Timander und Melissa', and 'Der Druide oder die Salamanderin und die Bildsäule' ('The Druid or the Salamander and the Painted Pillar'). Wieland had a strong influence on the German literature of his time.
[''Critique of Judgment'', 5:309.]
He died in Weimar.
Works
Wieland was a prolific writer, publishing novels, poetry, plays, and philosophical treatises. His works contributed significantly to the literary and intellectual movements of the Enlightenment and Weimar Classicism.
Major Works
* ''Der geprüfte Abraham'' (1753)
* ''Geschichte des Agathon'' (1766–1767)
* ''Don Sylvio von Rosalva'' (1764)
* ''Musarion oder die Philosophie der Grazien'' (1768)
* ''Der neue Amadis'' (1771)
* ''Die Abderiten, eine sehr wahrscheinliche Geschichte'' (1774)
* ''Oberon'' (1780)
* ''Dschinnistan'' (1786–1789)
* ''Das Geheimnis des Kosmopoliten-Ordens'' (1788) → ''
The Secret of the Order of Cosmopolitans''
* ''Aristipp und einige seiner Zeitgenossen'' (1800–1802)
Collected Editions
Wieland’s complete works were widely republished in collected editions, some of which included critical annotations and commentary.
Sämtliche Werke
* ''Sämtliche Werke'' (1794–1802, 45 vols.) – Edited by Ludwig Wieland (1815) and H. Gessner (1815–1816)
* Later editions:
** 1818–1828, 53 vols.
** 1839–1840, 36 vols.
** 1853–1858, 36 vols.
** 1879–1882, 40 vols. (edited by H. Düntzer)
* Selected works published in Kürschner's ''Deutsche Nationalliteratur'' (vols. 51–56, 1883–1887), edited by Heinrich Pröhle
* Further selections by F. Muncker (6 vols., 1889) and W. Bolsche (4 vols., 1902)
Gesammelte Schriften
* Edited by Deutsche Kommission der Königlich Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (1909–1975)
* Two sections:
** ''Abt. I: Werke''
** ''Abt. II: Übersetzungen''
* Later edited by Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin (1945), Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR (1969), Hans Werner Seiffert, and others.
* Includes volumes with and without commentary.
* Some volumes remain missing from the edition.
Correspondence and Critical Editions
* ''Wielands Briefwechsel'' (20 volumes, 1963–2007) – Edited by Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, later by Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften
* ''Wielands Werke. Historisch-kritische Ausgabe'' (since 2008) – Edited by Klaus Manger and Jan Philipp Reemtsma, published in Berlin/New York.
Notes
Further reading
*
J. G. Gruber, ''C.M. Wielands Leben'' (4 vols., 1827–1828)
*
Heinrich Doring, ''C.M. Wieland'' (1853);
Christoph Martin Wieland, ein biographisches Denkmal' (1840)
* J. W. Loebell, ''C.M. Wieland'' (1858)
*
Heinrich Pröhle, ''Lessing, Wieland, Heinse'' (1877)
* L. F. Ofterdinger, ''Wielands Leben und Wirken in Schwaben und in der Schweiz'' (1877)
* R. Keil, ''Wieland und Reinhold'' (1885)
* F. Thalmeyr, ''Über Wielands Klassizität, Sprache und SM'' (1894)
* M. Doll, ''Wieland und die Antike'' (1896)
* K. Buchner,
Wieland und die Weidmannsche Buchhandlung. Zur Geschichte deutscher Literatur und deutschen Buchhandels' (1871)
* See also M. Koch's article in the ''Allgemeine deutsche Biographie'' (1897)
* C. A. Behmer, ''Sterne und Wieland'' (1899)
*
J. M. R. Lenz,
Vertheidigung des Herrn Wieland gegen die Wolken' (1902)
* W. Lenz, ''Wielands Verhältnis zu Spenser, Pope und Swift'' (1903)
* L. Hirzel, ''Wielands Beziehungen zu den deutschen Romantikern'' (1904)
* E. Haman,
Wielands Bildungsideal' (1907)
* C. Elson,
Wieland and Shaftesbury' (1913)
* H. Behme,
Heinrich von Kleist und C.M. Wieland' (1914)
* V. Michel,
C.M. Wieland, la formation et l'évolution de son esprit jusqu'en 1772' (1938)
* M. G. Bach
Wieland's attitude toward woman and her cultural and social relations' (1966)
*
Jan Philipp Reemtsma, ''Das Buch vom Ich: Christoph Martin Wielands »
Aristipp und einige seiner Zeitgenossen«'' (1993)
* Jan Philipp Reemtsma, ''Der Liebe Maskentanz: Aufsätze zum Werk Christoph Martin Wielands'' (1999)
References
* Elizabeth Barnes: "Loving with a Vengeance: Wieland, Familicide and the Crisis of Masculinity in the Early Nation". In: Milette Shamir und Jennifer Travis: ''Boys Don’t Cry? Rethinking Narratives of Masculinity and Emotion in the U.S.'' Columbia University Press: New York, 2002, S. 44–63.
*
*
* Giorgia Sogos: Christoph Martin Wieland alla corte della duchessa Anna Amalia. In: Ders. Stefan Zweig, der Kosmopolit. Studiensammlung über seine Werke und andere Beiträge. Eine kritische Analyse. Free Pen Verlag Bonn 2017, ISBN 978-3-945177-43-3.
External links
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''Der Teutsche Merkur'', vols. 1773-89 are digitized (April 2003)*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wieland, Christoph Martin
1733 births
1813 deaths
People from Biberach an der Riss
18th-century German male writers
18th-century German poets
18th-century German translators
People from Biberach (district)
Achstetten
German translators
English–German translators
Latin–German translators
German satirists
German satirical novelists
Translators of William Shakespeare
University of Tübingen alumni
Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences
Corresponding members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Academic staff of the University of Erfurt
German male non-fiction writers
Enlightenment philosophers