Abercromby, Sir Ralph (1734–1801): British general, served under the Duke of York and commanded part of the army in retreat from the Netherlands during 1793–95, though was also a commander during the second expedition in the Netherlands in 1799. Defeated the French at Alexandria in 1801 but died of wounds there.
Abicht, Johann Heinrich (1762–1816): From 1796 full professor of philosophy in Erlangen (attained doctorate in 1790), who also published with the Felsecker publishing company. From 1804 professor of logic and metaphysics at the newly established university in Vilnius. Essentially an orthodox philosophical Kantian (ADB).
Abraham a Santa Clara (1644[42?]–1709): (“Pater Abraham” in letter 407.) Augustinian friar (Johann Ulrich Megerle), originally a Swabian (like Schiller), who applied a popular mode of preaching to moral writings characterized by wit, wordplay, satire and baroque exuberance. Schiller modeled the sermon of his cleric in Wallensteins Lager, scene 8, on some of Abraham’s more outrageous passages; indeed, parts of the sermon are simply lifted (in Latin) or translated directly (into German) from Abraham’s piece “Auf, auf ihr Christen!” Goethe had sent a volume of Abraham’s writings to Schiller on 5 October 1798. (Portrait: Christoph Weigel der Ältere [after 1674]; Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum; Museums./Signatur CWeigel Verlag AB 3.1.)
Abt, Felicitas, née Knecht (1741/46–83): Actress. A native of Biberach, she became acquainted with the actor Karl Friedrich Abt, who was performing in the theater company directed by Christoph Martin Wieland, eloped with him in 1765, and began a career in acting, performing in Germany and the Netherlands as principal actress and female lead. After retiring to Biberach in 1781/82, she resumed touring with her husband in Pyrmont and Göttingen, eventually dying in Göttingen of consumption. In 1779 in Gotha, she became the first actress to perform the role of Hamlet. Died of consumption in Göttingen in 1783. (Portrait: by Christian Gottlieb Geyser; Muller Collection/Katharina Felicitas Abt, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts/Music Division.)
Abt, Karl Friedrich (real name: Johann Daniel Dettenrieder) (1743–83): Actor, director. Little is known for certain about his life, though some details can be gleaned from the Gotha Theater Calendar, especially 1777 (a necrolog appeared in 1785). From 1766 an itinerant actor, initially in southern and southwestern Germany; eloped with Felicitas Knecht from Biberach (he seems to have been from Biberach himself), since her family disapproved of the alliance. Together they traveled with his company through Saxony and Thuringia, moving then to Holland in 1772, where they contributed considerably to introducing German theater. After a short stay in Düsseldorf they returned to Holland in 1773, now using a portable wooden theater. Illness among the entire company brought about its dissolution. From 1776 he took a new company to Münster, Göttingen, Hannover, and Bremen, where he later died (his interment in the monastery church there caused a scandal).
Achenwall, Gottfried (1719–72): From 1748 professor of statistics and law in Göttingen, one of the founders of the study of statistics as integrated especially into the broader discipline of political science. From 1752 married to Sofie Eleonore, née Walther, and from 1755 to Wilhelmine Louise Moser. Succeeded in Göttingen by his pupil A. L. von Schlözer.
Ackermann, Jacob Fidelis (1765/66–1815): Physician. Studied 1784–87 in Würzburg and then under Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring in Mainz, then in Pavlia;. From 1792 professor of botany in Mainz, from 1796 Sömmerring’s successor as professor of anatomy. From 1804 in Jena despite Schelling’s imprudent attempts to secure him an appointment in Würzburg, and from 1805 professor of anatomy and physiology in Heidelberg.
Addison, Joseph (1672–1719): Prolific English essayist, poet, and statesman, known esp. for his mastery of English prose.
Adelung, Johann Christoph (1732–1806): From 1764/65 lexicographer and private scholar in Leipzig, then senior librarian at the royal library in Dresden, whose holdings he was the first to open to the public. Published (and wrote) various newspapers and lexicographical works, including a dictionary still useful in documenting eighteenth-century usage. (Portrait: Anton Graff.)
Adolphus Frederick (1774–1850): Son of George III of England; Duke of Cambridge. Student in Göttingen from 10 July 1786 till January 1791.
Aeschylus (ca. 525/524 BCE–ca. 456 BCE): One of the three ancient Greek tragedians along with Sophocles and Euripides; won the first prize in Athenian competitions thirteen times. Among the seven extant plays traditionally attributed to him, since the 19th century some scholars have doubted his authorship of Prometheus Bound, based on the myth of Prometheus, a Titan whom Zeus punishes for giving fire to humankind.
Ahlefeld, Christoph Heinrich von: Documented in Göttingen from May 1784 till Easter 1786, during which time he lodged with Geheimrat Georg Ludwig Böhmer, Caroline’s father-in-law.
Albano (Albani), Francesco (1578–1660): Italian painter of frescoes and mythological subjects, though also of the Holy Family.
Alberti, Catharina Constantia Elisabeth, née Häckel, widowed Mumssen (1734–1788): From 1773 wife of Hannover upper court procurator Johann Carl Alberti, brother of the famous Hamburg pastor Julius Gustav Alberti (the latter Ludwig Tieck’s father-in-law).
Alberti, Dorothea (Dorothee) Charlotte, née Offeney (5 January 1733– 24 July 1809): From 27 August 1754 wife (from 1772 widow) of the Hamburg pastor Julius Gustav Alberti. Her daughter Amalie married Ludwig Tieck, and her daughter Johann Dorothea Wilhelmine married Johann Friedrich Reichardt (second marriage); the latters’ daughter Johanna married Henrik Steffens. In 1809 she seems to have (already?) gone to visit or live with her sons, who were merchants in Silesia, which seems also to have been where she died.
Alberti, Julius Gustav (26 August 1723–30 March 1772): Hamburg pastor, 1755 at St. Catherine’s in Hamburg. Married to Dorothea Charlotte, née Offeney (1733–1809). Enlightened theologian, friend of Klopstock, resolute adversary of his orthodox colleague Johann Melchior Goeze (in Hamburg since 1755). One of Alberti’s daughters, Amalie, married Ludwig Tieck. Another, Johanna Dorothea Wilhelmine, married Johann Friedrich Reichardt (her second marriage; her first husband was Peter Wilhelm Hensler [1742–79]); their daughter, Johanna, married Henrik Steffens. At his death, he left behind not only his widow, but also eleven children, including three daughters who became Catholic, one of whom (the painter Maria Agatha) died as a nun in Münster, and — besides Amalie (Tieck) and Johanna Dorothea (Reichardt) — two sons who became merchants in Silesia. (ADB.)
Alberti, Karl (1763–1829): Son of Julius Gustav Alberti of Hamburg, brother of Amalie Tieck, hence Ludwig Tieck’s brother-in-law. Prussian administrator, member of the privy councils for war and finance, director of the mining department in Berlin. From 1794 married to his niece Wilhelmine (Minna), née Hensler, daughter of his other sister Johanna Reichardt, née Alberti, from her first marriage with Peter Wilhelm Henler. In her second marriage, Johanna was the second wife of Johann Friedrich Reichardt in Berlin. Hence Karl Alberti was both Reichardt’s stepson by marriage and brother-in-law by marriage, whereas his wife, Wilhelmine (Minna), was Reichardt’s stepdaughter.
Alberti, Maria Agatha (14 November 1767–1810 [or 1812]): Native of Hamburg, eleventh child of Julius Gustav Alberti, sister of Amalie Tieck, hence Ludwig Tieck’s sister-in-law. Discovered her artistic talent rather late, came to Dresden ca. 1795, had private artistic training there 1801–3 under Anton Graff (women not being allowed to take instruction at the art academy), after which she painted portraits (e.g., Christian Gottlob Voigt in 1804) and copies of various masters, usually Madonnas. Converted to Catholicism; from 1809 a nun and first prioress of the Sisters of Clement. Died of typhoid in Münster.
Alberti, Wilhelmine (Minna) Johanna, née Hensler (1777–1851): Daughter of Johanna Reichardt by her first husband, Peter Wilhelm Hensler (hence she was Johann Friedrich Reichardt’s stepdaughter). From 1794 married her mother’s brother younger Karl Alberti. Later friends with Clemens Brentano.
Albini, Franz Josef Martin von (1748–1816): From 1790 minister and court chancellor in Mainz, conducted the final imperial election in 1792; governor of Regensburg and leading minister in the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt.
Alexander I (1777–1825): Eldest son of Paul I (also mentioned in these letters) and grandson of Catherine the Great. Emperor of Russia from 1801 till 1825, though came to the throne as the result of a conspiracy against Paul. (Portrait: from D. E. L. Posselt, StaatsGeschichte Europa’s vom Tractat von Amiens bis zum Wiederausbruch des Krieges zwischen Frankreich und England: Als Taschenbuch für 1805; Inhaltsverzeichnis deutscher Almanache, Theodor Springmann Stiftung.)
Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE): Son and successor of Philip II as king of Macedonia (336–323), tutored by Aristotle. Conquests included Egypt and extended beyond Babylon into eastern Persia, establishing the farthest boundaries of the Macedonian empire.
Alfred the Great (848–99): From 871 king of the West Saxons in Great Britain, associated with a resolve to revive learning and literature and with the inauguration of a tradition of prose translation, albeit largely in connection with the education of the clergy; there were also, however, translations done involving, e.g., historical accounts of Norwegian voyages in the White Sea and the Baltic.
Althof, Ludwig Christoph (born 1758): From 1778 medical student in Halle, from 1780 in Göttingen, receiving his doctorate in January 1784; from 1794 full professor of medicine in Göttingen, from 1789 physician at the imperial court in Wetzlar, from 1801 Saxon Hofrath and court physician in Dresden. Gottfried August Bürger’s personal physician and later biographer.
Alxinger, Johann Baptist von (1755–97): Viennese lawyer and author and from 1794 secretary of the Viennese Imperial Court Theater, succeeded by August von Kotzebue. Although he was a native of Vienna, he also studied law in Jena. From 1793 also editor of the short-lived Österreichische Monathsschrift. During a visit to Berlin in 1783 and 1784 Alxinger became good friends with Friedrich Nicolai and increasingly dissatisfied with censorship in Vienna. Contributed to the Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung as well as Schiller’s periodical Die Horen. Also a member of the Freesmasons and Illuminati. (Portrait: Gustav Könnecke, Bilderatlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationallitteratur, 2nd ed. [Marburg 1895], 331.)
Amoretti, Carlo (1741–1816): Official at the Ambrosian Library. Founded between 1603 and 1609, the library was intended not only to be merely a collection of books and masterpieces of art, but also to include a college of writers, a seminary of savants, and a school of fine arts; situated in what at that time was nearly the center of the city of Milan, near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Andrea del Sarto (1486–1530): Italian (Florentine) painter of the High Renaissance, associated especially with the convent of SS Annunziata, where he painted frescoes. Also known for numerous self-portraits and portraits of his wife.
Andréossy,Antoine François de (6 March 1761–1828): French diplomat, artillery commission in 1781, captain in 1788. Fought in the Rhine campaign in 1794, then in Italy till 1797 as an engineer, chief of Brigade in 1796 and general in 1798, when he served in Egypt. Assisted Napoleon in the latter’s coup d’etat (18 Brumaire), from 1800 general of division. During the peace with Britain served as ambassador in London, advising Napoleon to keep to the peace (Napoleon ignored the warning). After Napoleon became emperor, he made Andréossy inspector-general of artillery and made him a Count of the Empire. During the 1805 campaigns he was part of Napoleon’s staff at headquarters, then from 1808 was ambassador to Vienna, in which capacity he was acquainted with Minna van Nuys. After the French occupied the city, he functioned as military governor (commandant). From 1812 till 1814 ambassador to Turkey. Joined Napoleon upon the latter’s return from Elba.
Andres, Johann Bonaventura (29 May 1743–16 May 1822): From 1762 a Jesuit, from 1765 teacher at the Gymnasium in Bamberg. Moved to Würzburg in 1771, where he was consecrated as priest in 1774. From 1775 professor of rhetoric at the Gymnasium there, from 1783 professor of philosophy and aesthetics, later also of pedagogy. Became increasingly involved in school commissions, eventually (1809) directing the Gymnasien in both Bamberg and Würzburg. Publisher the Chronik des Churfürstenthums Würzburg
Anna Amalia of Saxe-Weimar, Duchess (1739–1807): A princess from Braunschweig who married Duke Ernst August Konstantin of Saxe-Weimar in 1756; the latter died in 1758, leaving her with two infant sons. For the elder, Karl August, she acted as regent until 1775, also engaging Christoph Martin Wieland as tutor in 1772. She maintained considerable intellectual, literary, and musical interests her entire life and was one of the major contributors toward setting Weimar’s extraordinary cultural development into motion during the latter half of the eighteenth century. (Portrait: 1795; Gleimhaus Halberstadt.)
Apel, Johann August (1771–1816): Council member and mayor in Leipzig. After studying law, initially worked as an attorney in Wittenberg and Leipzig, inheriting a not inconsiderable fortune after his father’s death in 1802. Interested in philosophy, chemistry, medicine, and music, though especially in literary and aesthetic theory. Wrote tragedies in the style of antiquity as well as lyric poetry, ghost stories, and fairy tales. His narrative “Der Freischütz” served as an inspiration for the opera by Weber (1817). Published influential studies in music theory and metrical and tonal theories with respect to Greek poetry.
Apelles: Fourth-century Ionian Greek painter. His most famous paintings were of Alexander the Great, though none have been preserved in the original. His Aphrodite Anadyomene (“rising from the sea”) was brought to Rome from Kos by Augustus; a mural in Pompeii is believed to have been modeled after it.
Apollonius of Tyana (born around the first century): Rigorously abstinent Pythagorean philosopher whose life is shrouded in legend. He set up in the temple of Aesculapius, where he allegedly performed miraculous cures, understood all languages without having learned them, could read the thoughts of other persons, and understood the oracles contained in the songs of birds. Attracted comparisons with Jesus Christ.
Arand, Melchior (dates unknown): Pastor in Nackenheim/Mainz, member of the Mainz Jacobin Club. See his description in the pro-Prussian list of Clubbists Getreues Namenverzeichnis der in Mainz sich befindenden 454 Klubbisten, mit Bemerkung derselben Charakter (Frankfurt 1793), 2: “Arndt, born in Eichsfeld, Dr. Theologiae and former pastor in Nackenheim, thereafter appointed regens of the Mainz seminary by the French administration; although he came upon the idea of becoming the constitutionally legitimate bishop of Mainz, he was recently captured by the Prussians and is now paying the price for his pride and foolishness in the Königstein fortress.” One of the characters in the play The Mainz Clubbists.
Araujo y Azevedo, Antonio de, Duke of Barca (consistently spelled as Aranjo in manuscripts of letters to and from Klopstock; see below) (1752 in Ponte de Lima, Portugal–1817): From 1789 Portuguese envoy in the Haag, from 1797 in Paris to negotiate the neutrality treaty. The king prevented his ratification through all sorts of intrigues, whereupon the Directorate imprisoned Araujo, but then quickly released him, after which he returned to the Haag. He then became an envoy in Berlin, a position he does not, however, ever seemed to have exercised. After a varied career in high offices, he died in 1817 as a minister. In his youth, he wrote two as yet still unpublished tragedies: Osmia and Inez de Castro. He also translated Horace’s odes, odes by Thomas Gray and John Dryden, all of which Suza-Botelho in Hamburg published. (Biographical information from Briefe von und an Klopstock. Ein Beitrag zur Literaturgeschichte seiner Zeit, ed. J. M. Lappenberg [Braunschweig 1867], 536 (Lappenberg’s annotation to Klopstock’s letter to Herder of 14 July 1799 [his letter no. 214].)
Arbuthnot, Mariot (1711–94): British admiral who commanded the Royal Navy’s North American station during the American War for Independence. From 1775 to 1778 he was naval commissioner resident at Halifax, Nova Scotia, as well as (from 1776) Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. Concerning the period mentioned in in Caroline’s letters (nos. 6, 8): On 19 March 1779 he was made Vice Admiral of the Blue and on 2 May 1779 took command of HMS Europa. Soon after arriving in New York, he was blockaded in New York City harbor by the French fleet under Charles Hector, comte d’Estaing. In December 1779, Arbuthnot conveyed the troops of Sir Henry Clinton to Charleston, South Carolina to lay siege to the city. The surrender document, signed by prominent citizens, was addressed to him and Clinton. He appears in contemporary stories (e.g., Morning Chronicle, 18 May 1781) as a coarse, blustering, foul-mouthed bully, and, in history, as a sample of the extremity to which the maladministration of Lord Sandwich had reduced the British Navy.
Archambault, Louis-François, called Dorvigny (1742–1812): French novelist, playwright, and comedic actor, inventor of janotisme, a dramatic style evoking comedic response through a burlesque inversion of ideas and words thereby creating equivocation (“the woman gave bread to the children she had just sliced”); the figure of Janot became quite fashionable, giving rise to hairstyles and even soups à la Janot.
Archenholz, Johann Wilhelm von (1743–1812): Historian, publicist. Received a military education in Berlin, served as an officer in the Seven Years War but was discharged in 1763 after being wounded. Traveled extensively in England, France, and Italy, publishing accounts of his journeys. England und Italien, 3 vols. (Leipzig 1785), a comparative study unflattering to Italy. From 1780 he worked as a publicist in Magdeburg, publishing the periodical Litteratur- und Völkerkunde (1782–91) and, in Hamburg, the scholarly journal Minerva (till 1812). Published a twenty-volume series on British history (1789–98) and a history of the Seven Years War (1787). A Freemason, he also corresponded with Christoph Martin Wieland and Georg Forster, sharing with them the ideal of free world citizenry, though he returned from a trip to Paris in 1791 disappointed by the terror. (Portrait: Friedrich Georg Weitsch 1789.)
Arco, Carl Philipp, Count (1775–1805): From 1804 general commissar and territorial president of Swabia in Ulm.
Arco, Maximilian Count von (16 January 1772–13 August 1809): Native of Munich; his sister married Maximilian von Montgelas. Arco began his military training very early, in 1781, though also studied geography along with French history and literature. He became an early member of the Maltese Order in Bavaria, also spending five years in Malta itself from 1790 and completing five obligatory “caravans” in southern France, Spain, Sicily, and northern Africa. Returned to Bavaria at the accession of Maximilian I, then moved to Petersburg as Maltese representative there, thereafter returned to Munich as the Maltese representative to the Bavarian court. Participated in the Napoleonic wars beginning in 1800. When the Tyroleans rebelled against Bavarian rule in early 1809, he volunteered his services to the king, offering to command a small regiment without compensation. Fought in several battles during this campaign, having his horse shot out from under him twice and falling thirty feet into a crevasse, where he was knocked unconscious. Killed in action, as Caroline recounts, on 13 August 1809 by a bullet that entered his skull from above. He was buried on 17 August 1809 in Munich’s Southern Cemetery.
Arensberger (Arnsberger, Arensperger), Martin (born 1754): Chaplain of Mainz/Kastel, member of Jacobin Club in Mainz. See his description in the pro-Prussian list of Clubbists Getreues Namenverzeichnis der in Mainz sich befindenden 454 Klubbisten, mit Bemerkung derselben Charakter (Frankfurt 1793), 2: “Arnsberger, former chaplain in Kassel [Kastel] near Mainz, a well-known rabble-rouser, he, too was captured by the Prussians and is now incarcerated in Königstein.” Character in the play The Mainz Clubbists.
Aretin, Johann Christoph Baron von (1773–1824): Publicist, historian, librarian, jurist. In 1792–1802 Aretin worked in various administrative capacities in Bavaria. After appointment to the state and court library in Munich in 1802, he worked toward its secularization, becoming senior librarian in 1806. A member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and a prolific writer, he was also known elsewhere in Germany through his journals Alemannia and Aurora. His pro-Napoleonic stance brought him into conflict with Protestant scholars in Bavaria, whom he viewed as being anti-Napoleonic. These sentiments came to a head in 1807 in his dispute with Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, president of the academy. Aretin eventually left Munich after being implicated in a plot to assassinate one of the opposing scholars (Friedrich Thiersch) in March 1811.
Aretin, Wilhelmine von, née von Hertwig (1777–1849): From 15 June 1802 married to Johann Christoph von Aretin (his second marriage).
Aretino, Pietro (1492–1556): Italian author, playwright, poet, also wrote satires and other works of a scandalous or licentious nature, as such often recognized as the initiator of literary pornography.
Ariosto, Ludovico (1474–1533): Italian poet and playwright whose Romantic epic Orlando furioso (1516, 1532), a continuation of the Orlando innamorato of Boiardo (1441–94), portrays the knight Orlando’s pursuit of the beautiful Angelica in the romanticized world of the waning age of chivalry. Ariosto initially studied law and then secured the rather stingy patronage of several noblemen during his life, also functioning as a diplomat on occasion.
Aristophanes (ca. 450–388 BCE): Greek playwright, esp. of conservatively satirical comedies pillorying various aspects of Athenian life.
Aristotle (384–322 BCE): Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on diverse subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry (including theater), biology and zoology, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, and ethics. Along with Socrates and Plato, Aristotle was one of the most influential of the ancient Greek philosophers.
Arnaud, François-Thomas de Baculard d’ (1718–1805): French playwright and author of pieces with variously horrific elements and settings, e.g., the play Le Comte de Comminges (1764), set in a monastery crypt, so “horrific” in fact that the theater management provided cordials for spectators overcome by the horrors.
Arndt, Anna Maria (Nanna), née Schleiermacher (1786–1869: Second wife of Ernst Moritz Arndt, stepsister of F. D. E. Schleiermacher.
Arndt, Ernst Moritz (1769–1860): German writer engaged chiefly against the French (Napoleonic) occupation of Germany. One of the most significant lyric poets of the period of wars of national liberation in Germany. 1800 teaching activitiy in Greifswald, marrying the daughter of a professor there, though she died in 1801 in childbirth. His publications against serfdom created problems for him (though serfdom was abolished in the territory in 1806). Fled to Sweden after the battles of Jena and Auerstedt because of his virulent anti-French reputation, returning illegally to Germany in 1809, fleeing again to St. Petersburg in 1812, returning yet again in 1813. Married Anna Maria Schleiermacher—F. D. E. Schleiermacher’s sister—in 1817, from 1818 history professor in Bonn.
Arnemann, Otto Justus (1763–25 July 1807): After attaining his degree in medicine in Göttingen in 1787 (1786?), Arnemann was appointed associate professor of medicine. He took a leave of absence for a two-year sabbatical to travel to Berlin, Vienna, Pavia, Paris, and London. He was appointed full professor of anatomy and surgery in Göttingen in 1792 but left the city in 1803 (1804?) because of excessive debt, moving to Hamburg, having also never gotten over the death of his wife in childbirth in 1800. After establishing a successful practice in Hamburg, he fell into financial difficulty anew and committed suicide in 1807. Specialized in surgery and published a two-volume text on the subject, System der Chirurgie (Göttingen 1798–1802); generally a follower of the stimulation theory. Purchased the Michaelis house at Prinzenstrasse 21 in 1792.
Arnim, Bettina (von) (Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalene, née Brentano) (1785–1859): Writer. Daughter of Maximiliane Brentano, née La Roche, granddaughter of Sophie von La Roche, sister of Clemens Brentano. Her parents died early (mother in 1793, father in 1797). Educated in a convent till 1798, then lived with her grandmother in Offenbach. From 1802 she lived with various siblings in Frankfurt, Kassel, Marburg, Munich, Landshut, and Berlin. Talented in many areas besides writing, including music and the formative arts. Married the poet Ludwig Achim von Arnim in 1810, moving in various political and literary circles in Berlin. Met Goethe in Frankfurt in 1807, though he broke with her in 1811. Literary output includes especially her free and even imaginative reworking of correspondence, including with Goethe (Goethes Briefwechsel mit einem Kinde 1835). Interested in social issues toward the end of her life. (Portrait: from Jena und Weimar von alter zu neuer Zeit [Jena 1908], following p. 104.)
Arnim, Ludwig Joachim von (“Achim von Arnim”) (1781–1831): Poet and novelist, close friend of Clemens Brentano from their university days in Göttingen, with whom he settled in Heidelberg after a grand tour (1801). The two devoted themselves to collecting and publishing German folk songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn [1805–8]), establishing themselves as leaders of the “Heidelberg Romantic school.” Married Brentano’s sister, Bettina, in 1811. (Portrait: 1803 or 1804 by Peter Eduard Ströhling, reproduced as the frontispiece to vol. 1 of Achim von Arnim und die ihm nahe standen, ed. Reinhold Steig and Herman Grimm. 3 vols. [Stuttgart 1894–1904].)
Arnstein, Fanny von, née Itzig (1758(57?)–1818): Wife of the banker and merchant Nathan Adam von Arnstein, Swedish consul in Vienna; she kept an upper middle-class, liberal salon there after the model of similar salons in Berlin. Viewed as the “first lady” of the so-called “second society” in Vienna. Even European nobility frequented her salon during the Congress of Vienna. Sister of Isaac Daniel Itzig.
Arnstein, Henriette Judith von (married name Pereira) (1780–1859): Daughter of Fanny von Arnstein. A celebrated pianist (pupil of Franz Clementis), she married a Viennese financier in 1802 and then carried on her mother’s tradition of the literary and musical salon in Vienna, her guests including Clemens Brentano, Adalbert Stifter, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. (Portrait: Friedrich von Amerling, 1833.)
Arnswaldt (Arenswald; Arndswald), Carl Friedrich Alexander von (1768–1845): Studied at the university in Göttingen 1785–88, thereafter became a chancery administrator in Hannover, from 1791 chancery Rath, from 1792 finance Rath, from 1803 privy finance Rath; after the curatory board (of trustees) had been reactivated in Göttingen in January 1814, he was appointed assistant to his father, Baron Christian Ludwig August von Arnswaldt (1733–1815), on the board, succeeding him as second trustee on the latter’s death on 14 October 1815; from 1816 senior trustee.
Asgill, Charles (1762–1832): Career soldier in the English military, son of a former Lord Mayor of London and Sarah Theresa, née Pratviel. Studied in Göttingen, among other places. Entered the military at fifteen years of age, advancing to the rank of captain in 1781, after which he was transferred to the command of Charles Cornwallis in the theater of the American Revolutionary War; after Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, Asgill became a prisoner of war, subsequently becoming the primary pawn in what became known all over Europe as the “Asgill Affair.” After his release, he coincidentally, in 1788, became equerry to Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, who, like Asgill himself, had studied in Göttingen. Indeed, considering he was but a year older than Caroline and entered the military in February 1778 (N.B. before any extant letters from Caroline), it is possible she was aware of his presence there, though she does not indicate such in her mention of the affair in letter 36. (Portrait: 1784 by Juste Chevillet after August [or Jean-Baptiste] de Lorraine; NY Public Library.)
Asgill, Sarah Theresa, née Pratviel (1729–6 June 1816): From a Huguenot background, from 1755 second wife of Sir Charles Asgill, 1st Baronet (1713–88; 1757–58 Lord Mayor of London), and mother of Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet, the latter the primary pawn in what became known as the “Asgill Affair.” Georg Waitz, Aus Jugendbriefen Carolines, Schluss,” Preussische Jahrbücher 33, no. 4 (1874) 386, read the name as “Mrs. Argill,” Erich Schmidt (1913) as “Argill” in letter 36 but then spelled it “Argyll” in his notes to that letter (1:679).
Ast, Georg Anton Friedrich (1778–1841): A native of Gotha, studied philosophy and philology in Jena from 1798 under Wilhelm Schlegel, Friedrich Schlegel, Fichte, and Schelling, receiving his doctorate in 1802, after which he lectured on aesthetics and the history of philosophy. Appointed professor of classical philosophy in Landshut in 1805. He published the Zeitschrift für Wissenschaft und Kunst 1808–10 and a history of philosophy in 1807. From 1825 member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and from 1826 professor in Munich. Enduring significance for his Latin translation of Plato and his Lexikon Platonicum (3 vols., 1834–39).
Asverus, Christiane Louise, née Schuderoff (1769–1828): From Altenburg; from 1790 married to Ludwig Christoph Ferdinand Asverus. Their son Gustav, who later also became a Jena attorney, was born on 23 November 1798.
Asverus, Ludwig Christian Ferdinand (1 August 1760–26 March 1830): From 1797 (or 1798) university attorney in Jena and official lay assessor (judge) in the town. From 1790 married to Christine Luise, née Schuderoff from Altenburg.
Augereau, Pierre-François-Charles (1757–1816): French general and Marshal of France, head of the French army that marched through Frankfurt toward Würzburg and Bamberg in the War of the Second Coalition. Quartered in Goethe’s house in Weimar when the French came through after taking Jena.
(Emil Leopold) August, Duke of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg (1772–1822): Son of Ernst II, became crown prince when his eldest brother died in 1779 and reigning duke in 1804 when his father died; penultimate territorial prince of the Thuringian duchy Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg.
August of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg (1747–28 September 1806): Brother of Ernst II of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg. Although initially destined for a military career, he gave that up in 1772. Patron of the Enlightenment and a correspondent of Goethe, Christoph Martin Wieland, and Johann Gottfried Herder.
Augusta Amalia Ludovika Georgia of Bavaria, Duchess of Leuchtenberg (1788–1851): Second child and first daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first wife, Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. Although she was already engaged to her stepmother’s youngest brother, the future Charles, Grand Duke of Baden, whom she apparently loved, Napoleon intervened and had her father break the engagement to marry Josephine’s son, Eugène de Beauharnais on 14 January 1806, in return for which Napoleon arranged for her father to become king of Bavaria. Despite Caroline’s misgivings, the marriage was a happy one. (Portrait: Andrea Appiani, 1806–7.)
Augusti, Johann Christian Wilhelm (1772–1841): Theologian, scholar of Near Eastern studies. Studied theology in Jena, passing his Habilitation in 1789 for Near Eastern languages. Appointed associate professor in 1800, full professor in 1803. From 1812–19 he taught in Breslau, then from 1819 at the newly established university in Bonn, where Wilhelm Schlegel also taught. (Portrait: Die Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, ihre Rektoren und berühmten Professoren, ed. Rektor und Senat zur 125. Wiederkehr des Gründungstages (18. Oktober 1818) [Bonn 1943], following p. 48.)
Augustus Frederick (1773–1843): Son of George III of England; created Duke of Sussex in 1801. Student in Göttingen from 10 July 1786 till January 1791.
Autenrieth (Authenrieth), Johann Heinrich Ferdinand (1772–1835): Anatomist, internist, surgeon. Received his doctorate in medicine in Stuttgart in 1792. After a stay in Padua, he spent time in America studying yellow fever. Appointed professor of anatomy and surgery in Tübingen in 1797, opening the first inpatient clinic at the university in 1805, then became university chancellor in 1819. His patients included the poet Friedrich Hölderlin. Counts as one of the most important university physicians of the first third of the nineteenth century. (Oil portrait autumn 1802, i.e., a year before Caroline met him; from Otto Fischer, Schwäbische Malerei des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts [Stuttgart, Berlin, Leipzig 1925].)
Autenrieth (Authenrieth), Johanna Friederike, née Böck (1774–1853): From 27 July 1798 married to the Tübingen physician Johann Heinrich Ferdinand Autenrieth. (Portrait: photographic plate possibly by Carl Geiger; from Wolfgang Hesse, Ansichten aus Schwaben. Kunst, Land und Leute in Aufnahmen der ersten Tübinger Lichtbildner und des Fotografen Paul Sinner (1838-1925) [Tübingen 1989].)
Ayrer, Dorothea: Wife of equerry Johann Heinrich Ayrer in Göttingen.