Luise Hensel
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Luise Hensel (30 March 1798 – 18 December 1876) was a German teacher and religious poet, who influenced the romantic style of her friend and fellow poet,
Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz a ...
.


Life

Luise Hensel was the sister of
Wilhelm Hensel Wilhelm Hensel (6 July 1794 – 26 November 1861) was a German painter, brother of Luise Hensel, husband to Fanny Mendelssohn, and brother-in-law to Felix Mendelssohn. Life and career Wilhelm Hensel was born on 6 July 1794 in the German tow ...
and the sister-in-law of the composer
Fanny Mendelssohn Fanny Mendelssohn (14 November 1805 – 14 May 1847) was a German composer and pianist of the early Romantic era who was known as Fanny Hensel after her marriage. Her compositions include a string quartet, a piano trio, a piano quartet, an or ...
. She was born on March 30, 1798. Her father, Johann, was a Lutheran minister at
Linum ''Linum'' (flax) is a genus of approximately 200 species''Linum''.
The Jepson Manual.
...
, a small town in the
Margravate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...
,
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
. After the death of her father, in 1809, Luise's mother with her son and three daughters returned to her hometown,
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 ...
. Luise attended the high school (
Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
), now the Elisabethschule, where she showed extraordinary talent.Scheid, Nikolaus. "Luise Hensel." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 20 May 2019
Around 1816, she met the poet
Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz a ...
, who called her "the angel in the wilderness". Hensel influenced the romantic style of Brentano quite significantly; Brentano wrote the following to his brother in 1817: "These songs (referring to twenty songs sent to him by Hensel) at first broke my heart, causing me to burst into tears, their truth and simplicity striking me as the holiest that man could produce." Like Brentano, the composer Ludwig Berger held an unrequited love for Hensel. Another author,
Wilhelm Müller Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller (7 October 1794 – 30 September 1827) was a German lyric poet, best known as the author of ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1821) and ''Winterreise'' (1823). These would later be the source of inspiration for two song cy ...
, was also unlucky in love with Hensel. The story of this unfulfilled love is recorded in two works composed by
Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
, the
song cycle A song cycle () is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combinat ...
Die schöne Müllerin ' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding ''Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of ''Lied'' r ...
(English: ''The pretty mill-girl'') and
Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert (Schubert Thematic Catalogue, D. 911, published as Opus number, Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 Poetry, poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the ...
(English: ''Winter Journey''). The love of another man, casual friend Ludwig von Gerlach, who would later become a teacher of
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...
, led to Hensel enjoying a high place within the Centre Party, a powerful political party in Germany at the time. This conflicted with her religious feelings, and on 8 December 1818, in the Hedwigskirche,
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 ...
she joined the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. These circumstances weighed heavily on Hensel, and in 1819, she left Berlin. She entered into the service of Princess Mimi Salm-Reifferscheidt-Krautheim, traveling first to
Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
, and eventually to
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. In Münster, under the influence of religious teacher Bernhard Overberg, her convictions deepened. Later, on March 6, 1820, she took a vow of
virginity Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...
. For a number of years, she was companion to the Princess Salm of Munster. In 1821, she took a job as a teacher for the widow of the poet Count Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg in the town of Sondermühlen, where she stayed until 1823. While there she came to the end of her religious development, and decided to take her foster son and move. They moved to the small Westphalian town of Wiedenbrück, where she enrolled him in the local boys' school. They lived a quiet life in the town until the year 1827. She began teaching at Saint Leonard's Academy in
Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...
, where she taught for six years, teaching, among others, the eventual founder of the "Sisters of the Poor Children of
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
," Clara Fey. In 1826, Pauline Mallinckrodt, foundress of the Sisters of Christian Charity, became one of Luise's students. In 1833 Luise returned to Berlin to care for her aged mother. Her religious convictions were once again tested by love, this time in the form of a marriage proposal from a doctor, Clemens August Alertz, who would later become the personal physician to
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
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. She continued to teach, and writing religious poems, moving several times. She spent her last years in
Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...
with her former pupil Pauline Mallinckrodt, at the convent of the Sisters of Christian Charity, where she died on December 18, 1876, at the age of 78.


Works

Her "Gedichte" (English: ''Poems''), which include some work by her sister, Wilhelmine, were published in 1858, and show a wistful piety on the part of Hensel, a prime example of German religious poetry. Two more books, compilations of her songs and poems, were published: "Lieder" (English: ''Songs'') in 1869, and her last work, "Briefe der Dichterin Luise H." (English: ''Letters of the poet Luise H.''), posthumously in 1878. Catherine Winkworth translated ''Immer muss ich wieder lesem'' as ''Ever Would I fain be Reading''.Ever Would I fain be Reading
hymnary.org
One of her most well-known poems, "Müde bin ich" (English: ''I am tired''), appears below in its original German, and an English translation. A looser English translation of this by
Frances Ridley Havergal Frances Ridley Havergal (14 December 1836 – 3 June 1879) was an English religious poet and hymnwriter. ''Take My Life and Let it Be'' and ''Thy Life for Me'' (also known as ''I Gave My Life for Thee'') are two of her best known hymns. She also ...
is entitled ''Now the Light Has Gone Away.''


Müde bin ich

Original German: :''Müde bin ich'' :''Müde bin ich, geh' zur Ruh','' :''Schließe beide Äuglein zu;'' :''Vater, laß die Augen dein'' :''Über meinem Bette sein!'' :''Hab' ich Unrecht heut' gethan,'' :''Sieh' es, lieber Gott, nicht an!'' :''Deine Gnad' und Jesu Blut'' :''Machen allen Schaden gut.'' :''Alle, die mir sind verwandt,'' :''Gott, laß ruh'n in deiner Hand!'' :''Alle Menschen, groß und klein,'' :''Sollen dir befohlen sein.'' :''Kranken Herzen sende Ruh','' :''Nasse Augen schließe zu;'' :''Laß den Mond am Himmel steh'n'' :''Und die stille Welt beseh'n!'' English Translation: :''I am tired'' :''I am tired, go to bed,'' :''Close both little eyes;'' :''Father, let your eyes'' :''Be over my bed!'' :''If I have done wrong today,'' :''Don't look at it, beloved God!'' :''Your mercy and Jesus’ blood'' :''Turn all damage into good.'' :''All those who are close to me,'' :''God, let them rest in your hand!'' :''Let all people, small and large,'' :''Be under your protection.'' :''Send rest to sick hearts,'' :''Let teary eyes be closed;'' :''Let the moon stand in the sky'' :''And look upon the quiet world!''


References


External links


Online-Biography of Luise Hensel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hensel, Luise 1798 births 1876 deaths 19th-century German women writers Converts to Roman Catholicism 19th-century German writers German Roman Catholic hymnwriters