Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Detlev von Liliencron born Friedrich Adolf Axel von Liliencron (3 June 1844 in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

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

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

from

Biography

Liliencron was the son of Louis (Ludwig) Freiherr von Liliencron and Adeline von Harten. He entered the Prussian army and took part in the campaigns of 1866 and 1870–71 (

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 ...

), in both of which he was wounded. In 1875, he retired with the rank of captain and spent some time in America (1875 to 1877), afterwards settling at Kellinghusen in Holstein, where he remained until 1887. After some time at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, he settled in Altona and later at Alt-Rahlstedt, now a part of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Assessment

Liliencron was one of the most eminent of German lyric poets of his time; his ''Adjutantenritte'', with its fresh original style, broke with the well-worn literary conventions then prevalent which had been handed down from the middle of the century.

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

, among others, was heavily influenced by Liliencron's poems. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, Liliencron's work is somewhat uneven, since he lacked the sustained power which makes a prose writer successful.

Music

His poems were set to music, such as "Auf dem Kirchhofe" by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

as No. 4 of his ''Fünf Lieder'', Op. 105. German composers Luise Schulze-Berghof (1889-1970) and Pauline Volkstein (1849-1925) also set Liliencron’s text to music.

Works

He first attracted attention by the volume of poems, ''Adjutantenritte und andere Gedichte'' (1883), which was followed by several unsuccessful dramas, a volume of short stories, ''Eine Sommerschlacht'' (1886), and a novel ''Breide Hummelsbüttel'' (1887). Other collections of short stories appeared under the titles ''Unter flatternden Fahnen'' (1888). ''Der Mäcen'' (1889), ''Krieg und Frieden'' (1891); of lyric poetry in 1889, 1890 (''Der Heidegänger und andere Gedichte''), 1893, and 1903 (''Bunte Beute''). Interesting, too, is the humorous epic ''Poggfred'' (1896; 2nd ed. 1904). Liliencron's complete works were published in 14 volumes (1904–1905); his ''Gedichte'' having been previously collected in four volumes under the titles ''Kampf und Spiele'', ''Kämpfe und Ziele'', ''Nebel und Sonne'' and ''Bunte Beute'' (1897–1903).

Selected poems in translation

* H. Fiedler (trans.): ''Book of German Verse. Luther to Liliencron''. Oxford 1916.

References

Sources

* H. Stolte: ''Detlev von Liliencron''. Husum 1980. * E. Maletzke: ''Detlev von Liliencron. Poet und Schuldenbaron''. Neumünster 2011.

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liliencron, Detlev von 1844 births 1909 deaths German barons German nobility Writers from Kiel People from the Duchy of Holstein German male poets 19th-century German poets 19th-century German novelists 19th-century German male writers