Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) 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 ...

. His novel '' Ekkehard'' (1855) became one of the most popular German novels in the 19th century.

Biography

He was born at

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

. His father, a retired major in the

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

army, was a civil engineer and member of the commission for regulating the course of the Rhine; his mother, ''née'' Josephine Krederer, the daughter of a prosperous tradesman at Oberndorf am Neckar, was a woman of great intellectual powers and of a romantic disposition. Young Scheffel was educated at the lyceum at Karlsruhe and afterwards (1843–1847) at the universities of

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 ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. After passing the state examination for admission to the judicial service, he graduated ''Doctor juris'' and for four years (1848–1852) held an official position at the town of Säckingen. Here he wrote his epic poem ' (''The Trumpeter of Säckingen'') (1853), a romantic and humorous tale which immediately gained extraordinary popularity. It reached more than 250 editions and was made into an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

by Viktor Nessler in 1884. Scheffel next undertook a journey to Italy. Joseph Viktor von Scheffel

Returning home in 1853 he found his parents more than ever anxious that he should continue his legal career. But in 1854, defective eyesight incapacitated him; he quit the government service and took up his residence at

, with the intention of preparing himself for a post on the teaching staff of the university. His studies were, however, interrupted by eye disease, and in search of health he travelled to Switzerland and took up residence at

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

, and elaborated the plan of his famous historical romance '' Ekkehard'' (1855); (Eng. translation by Sofie Delffs, Leipzig, 1872). Part of this work was later used by

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic Music, Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin ...

as the libretto for his cantata '' The Lay of the Norsemen''. The first ideas for this work he got from the ''

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The (Latin for "Historical Monuments of Germany"), frequently abbreviated MGH, is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of parts of Northwestern, Central and Souther ...

''. ''Ekkehard'' was almost as popular than the ''Trompeter von Säkkingen''. In 1901 it reached the 179th edition. Scheffel next returned to Heidelberg, and published ''Gaudeamus, Lieder aus dem Engeren und Weiteren'' (1868), a collection of joyous and humorous songs, the subject matter of which is taken partly from German legends and partly from historical subjects. In these songs the author shows himself the light-hearted student, a friend of wine and song; and their success is unexampled in German literature and encouraged numerous imitators. One example is " Im schwarzen Walfisch zu Askalon" where the lyrics reflect an endorsement of the

bacchanalia The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in R ...

n mayhem of student life. The song describes an ' old assyrian' drinking binge with some references to the

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and the large invoice presented in

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

on six brick stones. However the carouser has to admit that he left his money already in an inn in

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

and gets kicked out. In typical manner of Scheffel, it contains an anachronistic mixture of various times and eras and parodistic notions on current science. Scheffel's life was marked by disappointments: the unsuccessful German revolution of 1848 and his unsuccessful courting of Emma Heim in 1851. He also used natural science to mock the political environment, as he mocked Hegel with his

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

poem or referred to the course of time in his Ichthyosaurus poem. Indirectly, Scheffel coined the expression ' Biedermeier' for the pre-1848 age, as two of Scheffel poems ''Biedermanns Abendgemütlichkeit'' and ''Bummelmaiers Klage'', based on the poetry of teacher and poet , published 1848, were used in later satires about the reactionary . Robert Engels 1902

For two years (1857–1859) Scheffel was custodian of the library of Prince Egon von Fürstenberg at Donaueschingen, but giving up his appointment in 1850, visited Joseph von Laßberg, at Meersburg at Lake Constance, stayed for a while with Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, at the Wartburg in Thuringia, then, settling at Karlsruhe, he married in 1864 Caroline von Malzen, and, in 1872, retired to his Villa Seehalde near Radolfzell at the lower Lake Constance. On the occasion of his jubilee (1876), which was celebrated all over Germany, he was granted a patent of hereditary nobility by the grand duke of Baden. He died at Karlsruhe on 9 April 1886.

Legacy

Kiselak Illustration in von Scheffel book circa 1860

1891 (1844–1893) founded the in

Schwetzingen Schwetzingen (; ) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim. Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized centre between ...

(now Karlsruhe), the largest

literary society A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newslet ...

in Germany with about 7000 members. The Scheffelprize is dedicated to excellent pupils. There are various Scheffel memorials, street and place names. The Scheffel Archive is partially at the Scheffelbund and partially at the Baden State Library.

Works

His works, other than those already mentioned, are: *''Frau Aventiure. Lieder aus Heinrich von Ofterdingens Zeit'' (1863) *''Juniperus. Geschichte eines Kreuzfahrers'' (1866) *''Bergpsalmen'' (1870) *''Waldeinsamkeit'' (1880) *''Der Heini von Steier'' (1883) *''Hugideo, eine alte Geschichte'' (1884) Volumes of ''Reisebilder'' (1887); ''Epistein'' (1892); and ''Briefe'' (1898) were published posthumously. Scheffel's ''Gesammelte Werke'' have been published in six volumes (1907).

Editions in English

* ''Ekkehard. A tale of the tenth century''. Translated from the German by Sofie Delffs. In: ''German Authors. Collection of German Authors''. (Tauchnitz edition.) vols. 21–22. 1867. * ''Ekkehard''. Translated by Helena Easson, Everyman's Library, 1940. *

Charles Godfrey Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensivel ...

, ''Gaudeamus! Humorous Poems by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel''
Ebook-Nr. 35848 on gutenberg.org

References

Attribution: * This article in turn cites: ** A. Ruhemann: ''Joseph Victor von Scheffel'' (1887) ** G. Zernin: ''Erinnerungen an Joseph Victor von Scheffel'' (1887) ** J. Proelß: ''Scheffels Leben und Dichten'' (1887) ** L. von Kobell: ''Scheffel und seine Frau'' (1901) ** E. Boerschel: ''J. V. von Scheffel und Emma Heim'' (1906)

External links