Baader, (Benedikt) Franz Xaver (1765–1841): Philosopher. Studied medicine (received degree in 1786), worked as a physician, then from 1788 studied mining in Freiberg and England, entering Bavarian service as a mining engineer in 1797. Became an honorary professor of philosophy in Munich in 1826. Influenced by Jakob Böhme and seeking a union of theology and philosophy, he developed a theosophical mysticism that influenced Schelling and the Romantics. Also advocated a greater religious influence on politics, one of his writings even influencing the development of the Holy Alliance in 1815.
Babo, Joseph Marius von (1756–1822): Playwright, director of the Nationaltheater in Munich and professor of aesthetics and state censor.
Baden, Friederike Karoline (Caroline) Wilhelmine von (1776–1841): Daughter of Karl Ludwig von Baden und Princess Amalie Friederike von Hessen-Darmstadt (he the Crown Prince of Baden who never came to the throne, having died before his father, Karl Friedrich von Baden). From 9 March 1797 second wife of the later king Maximilian I of Bavaria. It was the daughter (Augusta [1788–1851]) of her predecessor (Maximilian’s first wife), Princess Auguste Wilhelmine Marie von Hessen-Darmstadt (1765–96), who married Eugène de Beauharnais in 1806. (Portrait: unknown artist.)
Baden, Karl Friedrich von (1728–1811): From 1738 local margrave, from 1771 till 1803 Margrave of Baden, then from 1803 till 1806 Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation as ruler of the newly formed and territorially considerably enhanced Electorate of Baden; thereafter first Grand Duke of Baden. Father of Karl Ludwig von Baden, the crown prince who never came to the throne, Friedrich Karl having outlived him. Friedrich Karl’s granddaughter (Karl Ludwig’s daughter), however, Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine, was from 9 March 1797 second wife of the latter king Maximilian I of Bavaria.
Baden, Karl Ludwig Friedrich von (1786–1818): Son of Karl Ludwig von Baden and Amalie von Hessen-Darmstadt; originally engaged to Princess Augusta of Bavaria, whom Napoleon chose as the wife for Josephine’s son Eugène de Beauharnais in exchange for making prince elector Maximilian Joseph a king. Karl instead married Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s adopted daughter and a distant relative of Josephine, in April 1806. (Portrait: from Friedrich M. Kircheisen, Napoleon I. und das Zeitalter der Befreiungskriege in Bildern [Munich, Leipzig 1914], 153.)
Baggesen, Jens Immanuel (1764–1820): Danish writer, though German was his first language. Made a name for himself in Denmark with a volume of narrative pieces (1785); first German publication in 1789. Became an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution, then moved to Weimar and Jena and made the acquaintance of Christoph Martin Wieland, Karl Leonhard Reinhold, and Schiller. Took the extra name “Immanuel” in honor of Kant in 1791. Author of sentimental and satirical poems. Instrumental in securing a stipend for Schiller from Danish nobles in 1791. (Portrait: Troels-Lund, Bakkehus og Solbjerg, vol. 1 [Copenhagen 1920], 101.)
Bahrdt (Barth), Karl Friedrich (1741–92): Theologian with a checkered and controversial career of conflict with the established church because of his Enlightenment views. In 1789 he composed a comedy satirizing the anti-Enlightenment religious edict in Prussia (9 July 1788) of Johann Christoph von Wöllner, according to which, among other things, criticism of the three main confessions was a punishable offense. After eight months in investigative custody, he was sentenced to a year imprisonment in the Magdeburg citadel (called the Sternschanze because of its star-shaped form), where according to one version of his life he died in 1792. (Portrait: Gustav Könnecke, Bilderatlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationallitteratur, 2nd ed. [Marburg 1895], 239.)
Balde, Jakob (1604–68): Jesuit-educated Neo-Latin poet educated in Strasbourg who moved to Germany during the Thirty Years War, later becoming a professor in Innsbruck, court preacher and court historiographer in Munich, and finally moving to Neuburg. His Latin poems were extremely well received and even prompted comparisons with Horace.
Baldinger, Ernst Gottfried (1738–1804): Professor of medicine. He initially held private lectures in Jena, after which he participated in the Seven Years War and then, from 1763, worked as a general practitioner in Langensalza. In 1768 he received an appointment as full professor in Jena, then from 1773 worked in Göttingen as a professor of medicine and director of the clinic (where Caroline’s husband had worked). In 1783 the Landgrave of Hesse appointed him chief medical administrator of Hesse and court physician in Kassel, then from 1785 professor of medicine in Marburg (hence he seems to have received his appointment in Marburg shortly before Christian Friedrich Michaelis, who arrived in 1786 after also working as a court physician in Kassel). Concerning Baldinger as a university lecturer, see Fritz Michaelis’s letter to Caroline in 1788, note 2. Baldinger married the writer Dorothea Friederike Gutbier in 1764 (born 1739); he seems, however, to have had an affair with Lisette Charlotte Drebing (Caroline spells it Trebbin) (1753–1809) during part of his years in Göttingen while his first wife was still alive. After his first wife’s death in 1786, he invited Lisette Drebing into his house as a housekeeper, then married her on 8 June 1791 in Marburg (not 1787 as in NDB). (Portrait: 1787, National Library of Medicine.)
Ballhorn, Ludwig Wilhelm (1729[30?]—77) and Christine Marie Magdalene (née Wolkenhaar) (1744—1812): From 1759 he was the director of the Gymnasium in Hannover, and from 1774 superintendent und senior pastor in Neustadt am Rübenberge (between Bremen and Hannover).
Bandemer, Susanne von, née von Franklin (1751–1828): A niece of Benjamin Franklin, first married to a Prussian officer (a Major Bandemer) in Berlin, to whom she returned after a failed second marriage. A literary acquaintance of K. W. Ramler, A. L. Karsch (“die Karschin”), C. M. Wieland, and J. G. Herder. Published in the Berliner Musenalmanach and Neuer Teutscher Merkur. Generally viewed as a “learned” writer, especially of lyric poetry, plays, and shorter narrative pieces in which she also used mythological or other material from antiquity. Her sentimental novel Klara von Bourg, eine wahre Geschichte (Frankfurt/Main 1798) is in part autobiographical. Goedeke 2nd ed., ed. Edmund Goetze, vol. 5 (Dresden 1893), 415–16, also lists the following works: (1) Poetische und prosaische Versuche (Berlin 1787); (2) Knapp’ Edmund, oder die Wiedervergeltung. Schauspiel in 4 Aufzügen (Frankfurt 1800); (3) Sydney und Eduard, oder was vermag die Liebe? Schauspiel in drey Aufzügen (Hannover 1792); (4) Gedichte, 2nd ed. (Neustrelitz 1801); (5) Neue vermischte Gedichte (Berlin 1802); (6) Zerstreute Blätter aus dem letzten Zehntheil des abgeschiednen Jahrhunderts (Coblenz 1821). (Portrait: Frontispiece to Susanne von Bandemer, Neue vermischte Gedichte [Berlin 1802].)
Baranius, Henriette, née Husen (1768–1853): Actress, from 1784 till 1797 at the Berlin opera.
Bardili, Christoph Gottlieb (1761–1808): Philosopher of “rational realism” influenced by Kant, Gymnasium professor in Tübingen, one of Hegel’s first teachers at the seminary there.
Bartels, August Christian (1749–1826): Renowned pulpit orator and theologian in Braunschweig, studied 1769–73 in Halberstadt and Göttingen, from 1773 pastor in Eimbeck and from 1778 at the Martini Church in Braunschweig. Involved in a dispute with a colleague who insisted on the personal existence of the devil. From 1789 successor of Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Jerusalem as court preacher and abbot of Riddagshausen near Braunschweig.
Barthélemy, l’Abbé Jean-Jacques (1716–95): Scholar of antiquities, spent two years in Italy with the French ambassador, after which he spent thirty years composing the fictional account Voyage du jeune Anacharsis en Grèce (1788). Barthélemy was admitted to the Académie françise in 1789.
Baudissin, Wolf Heinrich, Count von (1789–1878): German diplomat, writer, and translator. Worked for a time in Danish service in Stockholm, Vienna, and Paris, later traveling extensively in Italy, France, and Greece. From 1827 in Dresden, where he worked together with Dorothea Tieck in assisting in the Shakespeare-translation of Wilhelm Schlegel and Ludwig Tieck.
Bause, Christian Wilhelm (1730–89): 1775–89 senior court preacher in Gotha.
(Bavaria) Charlotte Auguste Karoline of Bavaria (1792–1873): Daughter of Maximilian Joseph (from 1806 King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria); from 8 April 1808 married to Crown Prince Wilhelm of Württemberg (1781–1864; from 1860–64 King Wilhelm I of Württemberg), for the latter of whom the marriage served merely as a means of avoiding a political marriage of Napoleon’s choosing, which had been the fate of Charlotte’s sister, Princess Augusta of Bavaria, who had had to marry Eugène de Beauharnais. He did not travel back to Stuttgart with her in the same carriage, situated her in quarters as far from his own as possible, and spoke to her essentially only at meals; the marriage was never consummated and ended in 1814 after Napoleon’s fall; she remarried in 1816, this time to Franz I of Austria, the final emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1806 emperor of Austria.
Bayard (du Terrail-Bayard), Count Joseph du Terrail (1765–24 July 1815): Educated in Paris and Landshut. From 1803 director of the First Deputation of the Territorial Directorate Würzburg, highest Bavarian official in the former Frankish territory after Friedrich Karl von Thürheim. From 1803 appointed by Prince Elector Max IV Joseph to the status of privy councilor. From early October 1805 Bavarian administrator and liaison for French troops in the Main Franconian territory. Married to a Bamberg native née Lämmert. Patron of the painter Johann Martin von Wagner, whom both Schelling and Caroline highly regarded. Later director of the chancellery in Bamberg. (For more see Mark Häberlein and Michaela Schmölz-Häberlein, “Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegels Bamberger Netzwerk,” the Zeitschrift für bayerische Landesgeschichte 81 [2018] no. 3, 627–55.)
Bayard (du Terrail-Bayard) (first name unknown) (dates unknown): Wife of Count Joseph du Terrail-Bayard, whom she met during his service in Ansbach, whence presumably also their acquaintance with Meta Liebeskind. Daughter of a functionary of the corporation of imperial knights Odenwald in Kochendorf named Lämmert. Her brother was Heinrich Lämmert, a hospital administrator from Scheßlitz, a town in the Bishopric of Bamberg. After the death of her first husband, a court composer to the House of Oettingen-Wallerstein, Bayard’s future wife lived in Regensburg with several children from this first marriage. (Cited, with additions, from Mark Häberlein and Michaela Schmölz-Häberlein, “Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegels Bamberger Netzwerk,” the Zeitschrift für bayerische Landesgeschichte 81 [2018] no. 3, 627–55; translated by Andrew Godfrey and Ellen Yutzy Glebe, Bavarian Studies in History and Culture.)
Bayle, Pierre (1647–1706): French lexicographer, philosopher, critic; advocated the separation of religion and morality, tolerance of opinion, and condemnation of superstition.
(Beauharnais) Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (1781–1824): French prince, viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy under Napoleon (his stepfather), Prince of Venice, hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince of Eichstätt. First child and only son of Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie. Commanded the Army of Italy. Married Princess Augusta of Bavaria on 14 January 1806 in Munich, a wedding whose preliminary events Caroline mentions rather indignantly in her correspondence. (Portrait: frontispiece to Violette M. Montagu, Napoleon and His Adopted Son: Eug̀ene de Beauharnais and His Relations with the Emperor [New York 1914].)
Beauharnais, Stéphanie Louise Adrienne de (28 August 1789–1860): Daughter of Claude de Beauharnais († 1819), chamberlain of the French empress Marie Louise and brother of (empress) Josephine de Beauharnais’s first husband. From 8 April 1806 married to Grand Duke Karl Ludwig Friedrich von Baden, former betrothed of Augusta of Bavaria, who had had to marry Eugène de Beauharnais. Stéphanie was adopted by Napoleon, thus becoming royalty, though early in life she was raised by an aunt in Montauban, remaining otherwise rather obscure until an uncle took her to Paris to present her to Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, her cousin once removed, who sent her to finishing school. Napoleon’s feelings for Stéphanie were thought by some to be not entirely paternal. (Portrait: from Friedrich M. Kircheisen, Napoleon I. und das Zeitalter der Befreiungskriege in Bildern [Munich, Leipzig 1914], 153.)
Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de (1732–99): French playwright who did, however, have a plethora of other identities including musician, politician, supplier for the insurgent American colonies, adventurer, spy, and publisher of Voltaire’s works. His most famous plays were the drame bourgeois Eugénie (1767) and especially Le Barbier de Séville (1775) and Le Mariage de Figaro or La Folle Journée (1784), the basis for the opera. Credited with having revived the comedy of intrigue.
Beaumont, Marc Antoine de (23 September 1763–5 February 1830): From 1795 French brigade general, from 1802 division general, from 1803 cavalry inspector, from 1807 senator, from 1808 “count of the empire” (which accounts for his being referenced as Count Beaumont in Bavarian newspapers). Participated in the Italian campaign of 1796 and the Wars of the Third and Fourth Coalition (including at Jena in 1806). Caroline mentions him in connection with the War of 1809 as a commander of a reserve division. (Portrait: By Forget, published by Meyer [between 1818 and 1815].)
Beaumont, Madame Marie Leprince de (1711–80): French writer. Prolific writer of moral and instructive children’s books. Spent seventeen years in London as a governess, then from 1784 in Switzerland. Best know works were Le Nouveau Magasin français ou Bibliotèque instructive (1750–55) and the Magasin des enfants (1757), the latter containing the story “Beauty and the Beast.”
Beck, Heinrich (1760–1803): Actor, theater director, minor playwright. Acquainted with Schiller from the Mannheim period and especially with August Wilhelm Iffland.
Beck, Jakob Sigismund (1761–1840): Philosopher; studied under Kant in Königsberg, then in Halle, attaining his doctorate in 1791 and becoming a professor at the Gymnasium there. Published a well-received piece explicating Kant’s philosophy, Erläuternder Auszug aus den Schriften des Herrn Prof. Kant (Riga 1793–96). Although he did move to a position rejecting the Ding an sich, he nonetheless rejected Fichte’s speculative metaphysics. From 1799 at the university in Rostock.
Becker, Heinrich (1770–1822): Actor, theater director. Engaged at the theater in Weimar at an early age under Goethe, who also helped Becker take on directing responsibilities. For many years the leading man on the Weimar stage, though at his best in comedic roles. Roles in Schiller’s plays included Burleigh in Mary Stuart and Karl Moor in Die Räuber. Married the fifteen-year-old actress Christiane Neumann in 1794, who died in 1797 of tuberculosis. Married his colleague Amalie Malcomi in 1803, who was nineteen at the time, but she filed for divorce soon thereafter (December 1804). Becker left Weimar in 1809 and worked for companies in Hamburg and Bresalu as well as with itinerant companies. Returned to Weimar in 1820 and died in 1822 after suffering mental diminution.
Becker, Rudolf Zacharias (1752–1822): Prolific journalist. Becker’s publications include the weekly Dessauische Zeitung für die Jugend und ihre Freunde (1782–86) and the Deutsche Zeitung für die Jugend und ihre Freunde (1784–87). The announcement of his Noth- und Hülfs-Büchlein für Bauersleute (2 vols., 1788/89) for farmers prompted 28,000 subscriptions. For the educated reader he published the Deutsche Zeitung from 1784 (from 1796 as the Nationalzeitung der Teutschen). Also published the Kaiserlich privileg. allgemeiner Reichsanzeiger mentioned by Caroline in letter 172. Arrested and incarcerated for seventeen months in 1811 under suspicion of sedition against France; continued his journalistic activities afterward as well. (Portrait: 1799 by Johann Friedrich August Tischbein.)
Becker, Wilhelm Gottlieb (1753–1813): Writer, art historian. Studied law and philosophy in Leizpig, accepted a teaching position in Dessau in 1777 and soon set out on various journeys throughout Germany, France, northern Italy, and Switzerland. From 1792 professor of moral philosophy and history at the Ritterakademie (secondary school for sons of the nobility) in Dresden, and in 1795 inspector of the Royal Saxon (Dresden) Gallery of Antiquities and Coin Cabinet. Wrote lyric poetry, translated, and published several journals, perhaps the best known being the Taschenbuch zum geselligen Vergnügen, which he took over from Ernst Müller in 1794 (Leipzig 1791–1814). Promoted the concept of English garden landscaping in Germany. Collections of literary works include Erholungen (Leipzig 1796–1810), a quarterly continuation of his earlier Leipziger Monatsschrift für Damen (1794–95). His most significant work on art history was his periodical Augusteum. Dresden’s antike Denkmäler enthaltend (vol. 1 Leipzig; vols. 2–3 Dresden and Leipzig; 1804–11). (Portrait: by Anton Graff; Sammlung Oskar Planer [Pl 632 3].)
Beckmann, Johann (1739–1811): Professor of philosophy (1766) and economics (here in the sense of the agricultural sciences, 1770) in Göttingen. One of the most important advocates of the cameralistic school of the agricultural sciences. His textbook Grundsätze der deutschen Landwirtschaft (1769) was one of the most widely read at the time. Introduced the term “technology” to refer to the science of processing natural produce and to the manufacturing sciences, conceiving it as practical physics in the sense of technological theory and its practical application; the science of technology was to examine systematically the activities of labor according to technological principles to determine the most appropriate procedures and tools to enhance production. In his lectures on economics, Beckmann would trace the path of products or goods from raw materials through manufacture to their sale and ultimate implementation or engagement. (Portrait 1779 by Friedrich August Speck and Johann Elias Haid.)
Becmann, Gustav Bernhard (1720–4 April 1783): Brother of Otto David Heinrich Becmann, with whom he attained his law doctorate in 1747 in Halle, after which he lectured in both law and philosophy; from 1749 (again, together with his brother), in Göttingen, albeit not yet as a professor, receiving that appointment in 1753 (extraordinarius) and 1759 (full professor of philosophy) and 1761 (full professor of law).
Becmann, Otto David Heinrich (1722–19 March 1784): Brother of Gustav Bernhard Becmann, with whom he attained his law doctorate in 1747 in Halle, after which he lectured in both law and philosophy; from 1749 (again, together with his brother), in Göttingen, albeit not yet as a professor, receiving that appointment in 1753 (extraordinarius) and 1759 (full professor of philosophy).
Beddoes, Thomas (1760–1808): English physician. Studied medicine in Edinburgh and London, earning his doctorate in 1786, thereafter teaching at Oxford, though resigned because of the problems caused by his sympathy with the French Revolution. 1793–99 had his own tuberculosis clinic in London. From 1799 associated with a tuberculosis clinic in Bristol. Prolific medical writer, also editing John Brown’s translation of The Elements of Medicine. (Portrait: Frontispiece to John Edmonds Stock, Memoirs of the Life of Thomas Beddoes, M.D. [London 1811].)
Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770–1827): Composer, held positions in Bonn (1783–92) and Vienna (1787, 1792) studying with Mozart, Haydn, and Salieri. Lived in Vienna from 1792, whence perhaps the conjecture that he was considered to do the music for Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter’s play Die Geisterinsel.
Behr, Michael Wilhelm Joseph (1775–1851): Political scientist, politician. Studied philosophy and law in Würzburg and Göttingen before becoming professor of constitutional law in Würzburg (1799–1821) and prorector (1819–21). Prohibited from teaching after the enactment of the Karlsbad Decrees. Mayor of Würzburg 1821–32. As a parliamentary representative openly advocated the principles of constitutionalism, prompting the government of Bavaria to open an investigation ultimately resulting in his dismissal as mayor.
Beil, Johann David (1754–94): Actor and playwright; studied in law Leipzig but joined an itinerant theater group in 1775 in Naumburg. From 1777 with the theater in Gotha, from 1779 (when the latter was disbanded) in Mannheim.
Benda, Caroline, née Stepheni (dates unknown): Singer, harpsichordist, from 13 August 1761 second wife of Franz Benda, whose first wife was Carolina’s sister Eleonora Stepheni (1718–58).
Benda, Franz (1709–86): Violinist, composer, and orchestra director. Son of a poor weaver, fled bondage in 1730 and went to Warsaw, where he advanced as a court musician, eventually coming to the royal chapel in Dresden and eventually to Potsdam in royal service. From 1739 married to Eleonora Stepheni (1718–58), then from 13 August 1761 to her sister Caroline Stepheni.
Benda, Georg Anton(in) (1722–95): Member of a family of musicians from Bohemia. Began as a violinist in the royal orchestra in Berlin, trained as a pianist and oboist as well, and 1750–78 directed the royal orchestra in Gotha. Unlike his brother, Franz, Georg was more inclined toward vocal music for the theater than instrumental music, ultimately composing for various melodramas (Ariadne on Naxos [1775], premiere in Paris 1781; Medea [1775]) and singspiels (Der Dorfjahrmarkt [1775]), whose tonal painting and special effects considerably influenced the development of contemporary German opera, influencing even Mozart.
Bendavid, Lazarus (1762 Berlin–1832 Berlin): Philosopher, mathematician. After a traditional Jewish education, Bendavid studied mathematics in Göttingen and Halle, then, as a follower of Kant, lectured privately on philosophy in Vienna (1792–97). After returning to Berlin he edited various journals and in 1806–26 was honorary director of the Jewish Free School founded by D. Friedländer and I. D. Itzig. Alongside works on mathematics he also published pieces in an attempt to popularize Kant’s philosophy. His autobiography (1806) reflects a break with Jewish tradition.
Beresford, Benjamin (1750–1819): English translator, pastor, spent the latter part of his life as a tutor to Queen Luise of Prussia and as a professor of English in Berlin; served as a pioneer literary mediator between Germany and England. (See Philip Allison Shelley, “Benjamin Beresford, Literary Ambassador,” PMLA 51 [1936] 476–501.)
Berg, Franz (1763–1821): Church administrator, canon, and professor of theology in Würzburg. Author of the Encomium for the Most Recent Philosophy (1802), which essentially accused Schelling of contributing through amateurish medical treatment to Auguste’s death in 1800. Although Jesuit trained, he was early negatively influenced toward positive Christianity by the English deists, French materialists, and German rationalists. That notwithstanding, he was ordained a priest in 1777 and acquired a position in the Würzburg cathedral and in 1785 was appointed professor at the university by Prince Bishop Franz Ludwig von Erthal, who was keen on reestablishing the reputation of the university with new faculty members. As a professor of church history he had an inclination to exclude supernatural considerations and focus on the usefulness of dogma and its psychological conditions, though much of his work was not published until later because of his position in the church. Became involved in threats of censorship following his eulogy for Franz Ludwig von Erthal. Involved in an ongoing feud with Schelling through his satire on the latter’s philosophy of nature (prompted by the prince bishop himself).
Berg, Jakob Georg von (dates unknown): Originally from Reval (Tallinn), Estonia; matriculated as a law student in Göttingen in September 1779.
Berg, Karoline (Caroline) Friederike von, née von Häseler (Haeseleer) (1760—1826): Grew up in Weimar as an acquaintance of Goethe and Johann Gottfried Herder. Became a lady-in-waiting at the court in Berlin and confidante of Queen Luise of Prussia, whose biography she later wrote. Wife of Carl Ludwig von Berg, later von Berg-Schönfeld (1754–1847). Pursued literary interests as a salonnière in Berlin, contributed to the Goethe-cult in Berlin as a salonière. Wilhelm Schlegel continued to correspond with her after making her acquaintance in 1798. Also maintained close connections with Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, and Jean Paul. Karl Gustav von Brinckmann probably introduced her to Wilhelm Schlegel. Eventually entered the service of the sister of Queen Luise, Friederike, Duchess of Cumberland, when the latter was widowed.
Berkeley, George (12 March 1684–23 January 1753): English theologian and philosopher who argued that no external world exists apart from perception and thought, that is, that the existence of things consists solely in being perceived; hence nothing exists in reality apart from the substance of the mind or spirit, the soul, and the ego or self. Such divinely derived and determined perceptions are what constitute reality to the extent they are not fantasies, dreams, etc.
Berlepsch, Emilie von, née Dorothea Friderika Aemilia von Oppel, second marriage Harms (1755[57?] Gotha–1830 Lauenburg/Elbe): Writer. First married to Friedrich Ludwig von Berlepsch (1749–1818), a Hannoverian civil servant, living sometimes on the Berlepsch estate, sometimes in Göttingen, sometimes in Weimar; divorced him and on 5 June 1801 married August Heinrich Ludwig Harms, living first in Redivin in Mecklenburg (near Schwerin), then from 1804 generally near Bern, later on Lake Zürich, then again in Hannover. Wrote primarily poems and shorter prose pieces. The travelogue Caledonia, 4 vols. (Hamburg 1802–4), reflected her trip to Scotland in 1799/1800. Variously dealt with women’s issues. According to Erich Schmidt (1913), 1:697, a tiresome aesthete who was long entangled in amorous turmoil with Jean Paul (to whom she was briefly engaged in 1798) and others; his description of her as “tiresome” possibly derives also from Caroline Rehberg’s remarks in a letter to Wilhelm Schlegel from Hannover on 4 September 1791 (Körner [1930] 1:17): “Madam von Berlepsch was also there [in Pyrmont] the entire time. Alas, in a small circle of people, her bitterness and demands often spoil more than her cultivated intellect edifies, notwithstanding the considerable contribution the latter would seem to make.” (Portrait: Valentin Sonnenschein.)
Berlepsch, Friedrich Ludwig von (1749–1818): Hannoverian administrator, from 1771 married to Emilie, née von Oppel (who divorced him and later married August Harms), then to Anna Dorothea Helene Siever (1767–1811). Berlepsch studied law in Göttingen and entered Hannoverian service in 1769, from 1788 was a highly placed judge and financial administrator. From 1794 involved in an ongoing dispute within the duchy concerning relations with the French.
Berlichingen, Gottfried von (1480–1562): Franconian knight who lost his right hand in 1504 and thenceforth used an iron prosthetic, whence his nickname “with the iron hand.” Spent his life in various feuds and wars, reluctantly joining the peasants in 1525, thereafter being various outlawed and imprisoned. His biography was the source for Goethe’s play Götz von Berlichingen (1773). (Portrait: Zweihundert deutsche Männer in Bildnissen und Lebensbeschreibungen, ed. Ludwig Bechstein [Leipzig 1854], unpaginated [alphabetical] entry on Götz von Berlichingen.)
Bernadotte, Jean Baptiste Jules, from 1818 Charles XIV John of Sweden (1763–1844): Born in France, served in the French Army, appointed as a Marshal of France by Napoleon I; in 1810 elected the heir to the Swedish throne because the previous Swedish royal family was dying out with King Charles XIII.
Bernhardi, Johann Christian (1738–1815): Senior justice commissioner in Berlin, father of August Ferdinand Berhardi, father-in-law of Sophie Bernhardi.
Bernhardi, Ludwig (1st week of July 1801–28 February 1802): Second son of August Ferdinand and Sophie Bernhardi. Died of complications from teething (Wilhelm Schlegel on 1 March 1802: “The little boy died during teething, the malady got out of hand quite suddenly, all the teeth were trying to break through at the same time. He was a handsome, lively, strong child with magnificent eyes, we were all quite fond of him and are now full of grief over his death”).
Bernhardi, Anna Sophia (Sophie), née Tieck, in second marriage: von Knorring (1775 Berlin–1833 Tallinn/Reval, Estonia): Writer, poetess. Younger sister of Ludwig and Friedrich Tieck. Largely self-taught, not having access to the formal education her brothers enjoyed. Married her brother Ludwig’s friend August Ferdinand Bernhardi on ca. 10 September 1799, separated in 1803 (1804?), divorced in 1807. Engaged in a bitter custody battle over their children, fleeing through various parts of Europe to avoid the authorities in the suit and also living in Weimar with her brothers. Married Karl Gregor von Knorring (1769–1837) in 1812 and moved with him to Rome, Vienna, Munich, and later to Estonia, from 1819 in Heidelberg, then in 1820 (1822?) back to Estonia, where she spent the rest of her life. Published satirical pieces in Friedrich Nicolai’s Straussenfeder (1796, 1797), wrote comedies, also published lyric poetry in the Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1802, the journal edited by her brother and Wilhelm Schlegel, with the latter of whom she had an affair while he was in Berlin beginning in 1801. Other works include Wunderbilder und Träume (1802), Dramatische Phantasien (1804), Flore und Blanchefleur (1805–22, an adaptation of the medieval piece). Converted to Catholicism. Adalbert Elschenbroich, in his article on her in Neue deutsche Biographie, vol. 2 (Berlin 1955) 123–25, here 124, remarks: “As a child, [Sophie] Bernhardi was quite close to her elder brother, and this relationship remained determinative for her intellectual life despite their later alienation. After a short, unhappy marriage [to Bernhardi], she left her spouse and tried to ascribe all the blame to him. The publication of her letters to A. W. Schlegel found in Chateau Coppet [all of which from the period ca. 1801 are included in translation in this edition] has cast a not inconsiderable cloud over her character. Her human relationships were perpetually permeated by love, jealousy, and deception, and her behavior was a major contributor to the dissolution of the circle out of which the Berlin Romantics had emerged.” (Portrait by an unknown artist.)
Bernhardi, August Ferdinand (1769 Berlin–1820 Berlin): Linguist, writer. Studied philosophy in Halle and in 1791 began teaching at the Friedrichwerder (also “Friedrich Werdersches”) Gymnasium in Berlin, becoming its director in 1808. Married Sophie Tieck on ca. 10 September 1799, divorced in 1805. This marriage brought him into the circle of the Romantics, to whose periodical Athenaeum he contributed and prompting him to begin writing satirical pieces. His Bambocciaden (1797–1800) included Tieck’s play Die verkehrte Welt. His linguistic studies also influenced later scholars. Published a Latin grammar (1795–97) and Greek grammar (1797), and an influential piece on linguistics, his Sprachlehre (1801–03). (Portrait: pencil drawing by Ferdinand Busch 1839, after a sketch form 1819; Krisenjahre der Frühromantik, vol. 1, following p. 224.)
Bernhardi, Felix Theodor (von) (6 November 1802—12 February 1887): Historian, diplomat. Son of August Ferdinand and Sophie Bernhardi. Spent his childhood in Rome, Vienna, and Munich with his mother and at times with his later stepfather Karl Gregor von Knorring, the latter of whom moved the family to his estate in Estonia when Napoleon entered Russia in 1812. In Heidelberg (1820–23) he studied history, political science, mathematics, and modern languages. Studied in Paris in 1824, then Spanish and Italian literature and art history. Returned to Berlin in 1834, then moved to St. Petersburg when his mother died in 1833 in Reval. Began a career in political and diplomatic circles bringing him into contact with the military (Moltke), scholars, and the nobility, including the later emperor Friedrich III and Wilhelm II, then also with Bismarck, including during the Franco-Prussian War. Published widely as a scholar, including in military history. — Sophie Bernhardi seems to have convinced Wilhelm Schlegel that Felix Theodor Bernhardi was in fact his, Wilhelm’s, son, though he was possibly the son of Karl Gregor von Knorring. (Portrait: Frontispiece to Felix Theodor Bernhardi, Aus dem Leben Theodor von Bernhardis, vol. 2, 2nd ed. [Leipzig 1899].)
Bernhardi, Wilhelm (15 June [July?] 1800–24 August 1878): Son of Sophie and August Ferdinand Bernhardi and thus Ludwig and Friedrich Tieck’s nephew. After the divorce between his parents, he remained with his father in Berlin, but moved to Munich in 1809. From 1815 studied history in Berlin, becoming a versatile, writer, literary historian, and journalist; from 1842 editor of the Sächsischer Hausfreund.
Bernays, Michael (1834–1897): Independent scholar in Bonn, from 1873 professor of German literature in Munich, from 1890 again a private scholar in Karlsruhe. Studied in Bonn and Heidelberg, converted from Judaism to Christianity in 1856. Edited various of Goethe’s writings, also taught the art historian Heinrich Wölfflin (who succeeded Jakob Burckhardt in Basel). Reviewed Georg Waitz’s initial publication of Caroline’s letters, examined Wilhelm Schlegel’s translation of Shakespeare, including Caroline’s role in it (Zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Schlegelschen Shakespeare (Leipzig 1872), and published a revised edition of that translation (Berlin 1871–72). Was a close personal friend of Erich Schmidt. (Portrait: Frontispiece to Michael Bernays, Schriften zur Kritik und Litteraturgeschichte, vol. 2, Zur Neueren Litteraturgeschichte [Leipzig 1898].)
Bernoulli, Johann (1744–1807): Swiss astronomer from the Bernoulli family of mathematicians, five of whom (including him) were selected to the Berlin Academy of Science. As royal astronomer he then also directed the observatory.
Bernstein, Johann Heinrich Tobias: A native of Gera, one of young Luise Michaelis’s private tutors in religion. Around the same time, Bernstein published Ostindianische Erdbeschreibung zum Gebrauch der Jugend (Gera 1783) with the dedication dated “Göttingen, 3 September 1782.”
Bernstorff, Charitas Emilie, née von Buchenwald (1733–1820): From 1751 wife of Danish statesman Johann Hartwig Ernst Graf von Bernstorff (1712–72) (allegedly because of her not inconsiderable dowry). After her husband’s death, she was from early 1778 a resident of Weimar, her niece, Sophie von Schardt, having married Charlotte von Stein’s brother. She came accompanied by Johann Joachim Christoph Bode, who handled her business affairs (he remained there until his death in 1793). Countess von Bernstorff became what W. H. Bruford has called “one of the great ladies of Weimar.”
Berthier, Jean-Baptiste (1721–1804): Officer in the French corps of engineers under Louis XV and Louis XVI.
Berthier, Louis-Alexandre (1753–1815): Napoleon’s trusted chief-of-staff who assisted in the coup d’état of 18th Brumaire (1799), which established the Consulate; from 2 April 1800 Minister of War, then one of eighteen Marshals of the Empire when Napoleon became emperor in 1804. From 9 March 1808 married to Duchess Maria Elisabeth in Bavaria (1784–1849), a niece of the king of Bavaria.
Bertinotti, Teresa (1776–1854): Soprano, studied in Naples, debuted at the age of twelve, performing then in throughout Italy including Naples, Florence, Venice, Bologna, and Turin, where she married the violin virtuoso and composer Felice Radicati (1778–1823). A much-traveled and celebrated soprano: from 1803 guest performances in Russia, 1805 in Vienna, 1807 in Monaco and Munich, where Caroline saw her. King Louis Bonaparte engaged her in Den Haag. From 1810 till 1811 in London before returning to Italy. Moved to Lisbon in late 1812, where she became the prima donna and remained till 1814. From mid-1815 she was back in Bologna, then in Venice and Paris. Abandoned her career after the death of her husband in an accident, preferring to teach in Bologna instead. (Portrait: London, 1812, by Williamn Foster, engraved by James Hopwood; New York Public Library, Joseph Muller collection of music and other portraits.)
Bertram, Johannes Baptist (1776–1841): Art collector and historian, close friend of Sulpiz and Melchior Boisserée, who had been instrumental in convincing Friedrich Schlegel to move from Paris to Cologne.
Bertuch, Charlotte (1779–1839): Daughter of Friedrich Justin and Friederike Bertuch in Weimar; from 29 April 1801 married to Ludwig Friedrich von Froriep, lecturer in medicine in Jena.
Bertuch, Friederike Elisabeth, née Slevoigt († 1810): From the village of Waldeck outside Jena; from 1776 wife of Friedrich Justin Bertuch in Weimar.
Bertuch, Friedrich Justin (1747 Weimar–1822 Weimar): Publisher, writer. Studied theology and law in Jena and worked as a private tutor 1769–73. Returned to Weimar in 1775, where he entered the service of the duke, later becoming a legation officer (till 1796). 1782–86 he was coeditor of Christoph Martin Wieland’s Der Teutscher Merkur, then founded the Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung (later: Neue Jenaische Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung), and from 1786 also published the Journal des Luxus und der Moden, the first German fashion journal. Active especially as a translator of literature from the Spanish (Magazin der spanischen und portugiesischen Literatur, 1780–83), including Don Quixote (1775). Also published children’s literature and operated a factory manufacturing artificial flowers, where Goethe’s wife, Christiane Vulpius, worked. Generally considered a far-sighted entrepreneur. (Portrait: Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, 1796, Gleimhaus Halberstadt.)
Bertuch, Wilhelmine (Minchen) (7 March 1760–15 January 1817): Caroline’s friend in Gotha, daughter of Geheimrath Bertuch in Gotha, and apparently a love interest of Johann Kaspar Friedrich Manso. See Reichard, Selbstbiographie 92–93: “This extremely dainty piece of art [an engraved commemorative cup] was done for a lady who after [Friedrich Wilhelm] Gotter’s death [in 1797], and as his friend, had begun taking care of various smaller details associated with our society [the Thursday Tea Society in Gotha], namely, Wilhelmine Bertuch, who passed away in January 1817. In her deformed, almost misshapen body there nonetheless dwelled a bright sense of understanding coupled with an incomparably good-natured disposition; her selfless readiness to serve, her unostentatious beneficence, and her unshakeable sense of loyalty toward her friends was put to the test in the most unusual fashion. To mention but one example of her goodwill amid restricted financial means: From all her lady friends she would collect remnants of calico and other fabric, fashion them with her own skilled hands into children’s clothes, and then strictly instruct all the midwives that, should any upright expectant mother be wanting in this regard, they were to turn to her to acquire the necessary clothes.”
Beschort, Friedrich Jonas (1767–1846): singer and actor; worked with the Daber theater company in Worms from 1786 and then with Friedrich Ludwig Schröder in Hamburg. He debuted in Berlin in 1796, becoming a representative of the “simple but noble” style of the Hamburg school. Handsome, charming and skilled, with a genteel presence onstage, he excelled in romantic and hero roles in both the theater and opera (Don Juan, Orestes, Hamlet), in later years as chevalier and subtle comic roles.
Best, Cornelius (unknown): Physician in the French army, son of the Friedrich Schlegel’s physician in Cologne, Paul Best.
Best, Georg August (1755–1823): Son of Wilhelm Best; born in London, studied 1772–76 in Göttingen, joined his father in London in September 1778 as a financial secretary and assistant. Also the brother-in-law of Johann Georg Heinrich Feder in Göttingen.
Best, Wilhelm Philipp (1712–85): Privy secretary in the German chancery in London, married to the sister of Henriette Philippine Elisabeth Böhmer (Georg Ludwig Böhmer’s wife). From 1746 till ca. 1800, Best operated a kind of branch of the Göttingen university library in London; with his son Georg August Best and in connection with the German chancery in St. James’s Palace, they acquired books for the library, which is why until 1800 the Göttingen university library had the best collection of English-language books outside England itself. Georg Christoph Dahme married Best’s daughter, Friederike Sophie Luise Best.
Bethmann, Heinrich Eduard (1774–1857): Actor and theater director, from 1792 with the Bossann company in Bad Kreuznach, 1794–1815 at the royal theater in Berlin, especially in romantic leads. From 1803 second husband of Friederike Unzelmann, née Flittner, after whose unexpected death in 1815 he withdrew from public life, though he performed again in various German towns, also functioning as director, finally joining an itinerant company once again in his later years. (Portrait: Philipp Stein, ed., Deutsche Schauspieler, vol. 1 [1907].)
Bethmann, Johann Philipp Bethmann (30 February [?] 1750–28 November 1793): Member of the extended Frankfurt banking family Bethmann. From 1762 married to Margaretha Elisabeth, née Schaaf. Grandfather of Auguste Brentano.
Bethmann, Katharina Margaretha Elisabeth, née Schaaf (1741–1822): From 1872 wife of the Frankfurt banker Johann Philipp Bethmann (1715–93); mother of Moritz Bethmann and Maria Elisabeth Bethmann (married names [1] Bussmann, [2] Flavigny), the latter the mother of Auguste Brentano.
Bethmann, Simon Moritz (1768–1826): Son of Johann Philipp Bethmann, brother of Maria Elisabeth Bethmann (married names [1] Bussmann, [2] Flavigny), the latter the mother of Auguste Brentano. After Auguste’s father died, Moritz Bethmann became her male guardian. Skilled banker in Frankfurt who exploited the military situation to enhance his bank’s fortunes. From 1802 Russian consul, from 1808 elevated to the Austrian nobility.
Bethmann-Metzler, Anna Sophie Elisabeth von (20 August 1774–14 May 1806): Daughter of the banker Peter Heinrich von Bethmann-Metzler in Frankfurt and Katharina Elisabeth, née Bethmann. Between March 1793 and the end of 1794, Sophie was the mistress of the king of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, and the recipient — after his departure from Frankfurt — of his love letters and occasional visits. In 1796, she married Joachim von Schwarzkopf. It was through Bethmann that Philipp Michaelis was able to get a billet to Friedrich Wilhelm in his successful attempt to get Caroline freed from prison in 1793. After dining with Sophie Bethmann in December 1797, Rahel Varnhagen described her as “not really beautiful, but pretty, with beautiful blue eyes, and a coquette.”
Bethmann-Metzler, Elisabeth Katharina (or Katharina Elisabeth; Elise) von Bethmann-Metzler (née von Bethmann) (1753–1813): Childhood friend of Goethe’s sister, Cornelia Goethe, and often mentioned in the letters of Goethe’s mother. Friend of Sophie von La Roche; later wife of the wealthy Frankfurt banker Peter Heinrich von Bethmann-Metzler (1744–1800, ennobled 1776 by Joseph II). Mother of:
Sophie Bethmann (who played a pivotal role in Caroline’s release from prison in the summer of 1793), Johanne Caroline Luise (1777–1801), and Eduard (dates unknown).
She paid a visit to Göttingen in May 1784 with her children; both Caroline and Luise Wiedemann, née Michaelis, mention the visit.
Bethmann-Metzler, Peter Heinrich von (1744–1800): Frankfurt banker, ennobled by Emperor Joseph II in 1776. Husband of Elisabeth Katharina Bethmann-Metzler, née von Bethmann, father of Sophie Bethmann, who was key to providing Philipp Michaelis access to the king of Prussia in securing Caroline’s release from prison in 1793.
Beyme, Carl Friedrich von (1765–1838): Prussian cabinet councilor and senior state administrator. Declined the offer of a university career in Halle and a military career for a career in the Prussian administration. Gained the trust of King Friedrich Wilhelm II and from early 1798 took a governmental position as a cabinet member for the ministry of justice. From 1806 de facto head of the cabinet, from 1808 Prussian grand chancellor (“chef de justice”), though he was dismissed in 1810 by Karl August von Hardenberg.
Biester, Johann Erich (1749–1816): Journalist, librarian. Studied literature, law, and history in Göttingen 1767–71, then worked from 1773 as a teacher in Bützow. Friedrich Nicolai, familiar with Biester from his contributions to Nicolai’s own Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek, facilitated his move to Berlin in 1777. From 1784 librarian of the royal library in Berlin, from 1798 member of the Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Published and cofounded (1783) the Berlinische Monatsschrift and was secretary of a society of “friends of the Enlightenment,” also known as the “Wednesday Society.” One of the leaders of the later Enlightenment in Berlin.
Bing (Byng), Abraham Herz (ca. 1769–1835): Berlin physician whose identity is not entirely clear or certain. In any event, he treated Rahel Levin (who was fond of him) and her mother, also Sophie Bernhardi, Fichte, and Wilhelm von Humboldt; Ludwig Tieck was also acquainted with him, and Dorothea Veit seems to have been treated by him before leaving Berlin in 1799.
Birch-Pfeiffer, Charlotte Johanna (1800–68): Actress, playwright, theater director, originally from Stuttgart (her father studied at the Karlsschule with Schiller, rescuing the manuscript of Schiller’s Die Räuber from confiscation by allegedly hiding it in the straw of his bed). Debuted as an actress in Munich at thirteen, then performed on various European stages, including Berlin and Vienna. Roles included Mary Stuart, Queen Elizabeth, Sappho. 1837–42 director of the Municipal Theater in Zürich, from 1844 actress in Berlin. Best known as an extremely popular playwright (seventy-four plays), including adaptations.
Birkenfeld, Wilhelm (10 November 1752–8 January 1837): Courtier’s education in Mannheim, from 1778 in Munich, studied in Heidelberg, then began his career as an officer. Married to Maria Anna, Princess of Pfalz-Zweibrücken, sister of Maximilian Joseph, prince elector and then king of Bavaria, whose Bavarian political career he assisted. Represented Bavaria’s interest leading up to the Rastatt Congress in 1797, then commander of Bavarian auxiliary corps 1797–99, from 1799 as a Bavarian duke. On 30 November 1803, Maximilian appointed him governor of the Duchy of Berg. When Maximilian ceded this duchy to a Napoleon on 15 March 1806 in exchange for Ansbach, Napoleon immediately gave it to the French prince Joachim Murat, who took possession on 19 March 1806. Birkenfeld then moved to Bamberg, and it is this move that Caroline mentions in April 1806.
Biron, Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duc de (born 1747): Initially referred to himself as “Duc de Lauzun”; commander in various French military campaigns, confidant of Philippe Égalité, executed in 1793.
Bischoffswerder, Johann Rudolf von (1741–1803): Prussian general and diplomat in Berlin. Participated in the Seven Years War and in the war against Austria. Inclined toward mysticism, was a member of the Freemasons, later of the Rosicrucians, later prompting the Prince of Prussia (later Friedrich Wilhelm II) to become a member. One of the most influential counselors in Berlin once the latter became king, Bischoffswerder himself, along with J. C. von Wöllner, then embodying the spirit of the anti-Enlightenment ecclesiastical reaction at the time, which came to expression most forcefully in the repressive religious edict of 1788. Dismissed in 1798 after the ascent of Friedrich Wilhelm III.
Blanchard, Jean-Pierre (1753–1809): French hot-air balloon inventor and pilot; first to cross the English Channel in a hot-air balloon (1785).
Blank, Joseph Anton Bruno (1740–1827): Native of Würzburg, member of the order of the Friar Minors (black-clad Franciscans), in which capacity he had the name Bonavita and was usually called Bonavita Blank. Interested in philosophy and theology, though also esp. in natural history, eventually building an impressive collection. Artistically inclined, he also created mosaics from various animal, plant, and mineral materials. From 1789 head of the Minors Monastery in Würzburg. After 1803 Blank permanently loaned his collection to the university for a yearly pension but remained director of the natural history collections in Würzburg and as a professor of natural history. Blank also collected other artifacts such as weapons, paintings, copper engravings, glass paintings, porcelain, and coins. His collections, over 28,000 pieces, became so impressive and well known that a guide was published in 1810.
Blankenhagen (Blanckenhagen), Peter Heinrich (from 1795: von) (21 January 1765–16 January 1802): Born in Riga, Latvia (in Livonia), probably a son — not the uncle, as in Schmidt (1913), 687 — of Peter Heinrich Blankenhagen (1723–94). According to Therese Huber in mid-April 1802 (Therese Huber Briefe 1:345), the elder Blankenhagen’s son, also named Peter Heinrich von Blankenhagen, who had been a student in Göttingen from 1785, had also been “passionately in love with Lotte Michaelis, whom you have heard me mention often, even having promised to marry her, but then apparently forgot about her during his travels in France.” Luise Wiedemann mentions the relationship and its disastrous effect on Lotte Michaelis in her Erinnerungen (in her biography of Lotte, p. 89). Apparently died of dissipation in Heilbronn after an affair with a woman in Stuttgart and was buried in the Old Cemetery in Heilbronn, where for many years his grave marker was still extant.
Blankenhagen (Blanckenhagen), Peter Heinrich (from 1794: von) (1723–7 January 1794): Historian, politician, and numismatist from Reval (Tallinn, Estonia), apprenticed in business in Amsterdam with the famous family van der Hooft, developed an interest in history and numismatics, returning then to Riga to establish himself as an extremely succesful businessman and participant in the municipal government. Married to Eva Maria, née Grote and owner of the estates Pudasch and Allasch in Livonia. The couple had three sons: Wilhelm Jacob, Johann Christoph, and Peter Heinrich Blankenhagen.
Blau, Felix Anton (1754–98): Catholic priest, theologian, Jacobin politician and one of the leaders of the Mainz Republic, and representative of the radical Catholic Enlightenment. From 1782 professor of philosophy in Mainz, also receiving his doctorate in theology there in 1784, becoming professor for systematic theology (Dogmatik) in the spirit of the Kantian Enlightenment contra orthodoxy, advocating more pronounced democratic ideals and as such an early representative of the ideas of the French Revolution. Member of the order of Illuminati in Mainz, also joining the Mainz Jacobin Club on 7 November 1792. During the French occupation of Mainz, Blau also had an administrative position and was a deputy in the Rhinish National Assembly. 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), 3: “Blau. This hypocrite was formerly the Subregens of the seminary in Mainz as well as professor of dogmatics, in which capacity he polluted young clerics with his Socinian principles; afterwards his bosom buddy [Anton Joseph] Dorsch enabled him to become a French administrative councilor; he was lately captured by the Prussians while trying to flee Mainz.” Blau was captured by German troops while on a trip to Lindau during the siege of Mainz, beaten, and incarcerated for almost two years in Königstein, where Caroline was also imprisoned. Denounced in Germany as a traitor. Freed in a prisoner exchange in 1795 after the Peace of Basel, living thereafter in France. One of the characters in the 1793 play Die Mainzer Klubbisten zu Königstein.
Blücher, Gebhard Lebrecht (1742–1819): Prussian field marshal. Began as a member of the Swedish army and was taken prisoner by the same Prussian regiment he would later command. Joined the army of Friedrich the Great, participated in the campaigns of 1793–94 against the French. Commanded the Prussian vanguard at Auerstedt on 14 October 1806, successful in retreating to Lübeck, whither he was pursued by the French. From 1813 in the chief of command of the the allied Russian and Prussian army, participated prominently in the battle of Leipzig, advancing then to Paris in 1814, where he stormed the heights of Montmartre and entered Paris. In 1815 again commanded the Prussian army, playing a decisive role in the battle of Waterloo, moving on the Paris yet again. (Portrait Zweihundert deutsche Männer in Bildnissen und Lebensbeschreibungen, ed. Ludwig Bechstein [Leipzig 1854], unpaginated [alphabetical] entry on Gebhardt von Blücher.)
Blumenbach, Georg Heinrich Wilhelm (21 September 1780–30 May 1855): Son of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in Göttingen. From 1798 law student at the university in Göttingen. He eventually became an auditor and provincial chancellery Rath in Hannover and canon of the St. Cosmae and Damiani foundation in Wunstorf. Also active as a journalist, writing on history and archaeology. Traveling companion of Samuel Taylor Coleridge through the Harz Mountains during the summer of 1799. Married to the Göttingen native Helene, née Cleve (1797–1875).
Blumenbach, Johann Friedrich (1752–1840): Comparative anatomist, anthropologist, a native of Gotha (of some significance in these letters), where his father was a professor and prorector at the Gymnasium. From 1769 studied medicine at Jena and Göttingen, 1775 earned his doctorate with a work immediately establishing his renown, De generis humani varietate nativa. From 1776 curator of the anthropological-ethnological collections in Göttingen and an associate professor, from 1778 full professor, also a member of the Göttingen Society of Science. From 1779 married to Louise Amalie, née Brandes. Widely viewed as the founder of physical anthropology based on anatomical and physiological features while also considering ethnological-cultural contexts. First German university professor to lecture on comparative anatomy. His Handbuch der vergleichenden Anatomie (Göttingen 1805) was translated into virtually every major European language. Used the terms Bildungstrieb and nisus formativus to refer to the life force. (Portrait: 1804 by J. W. Kobolt; United States National Library of Medicine, Images from the History of Medicine.)
Blumenbach, Louise Amalie, née Brandes (1752–1837): From 1779 wife of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach; sister of Georgine Heyne, née Brandes, the latter Therese Huber’s stepmother.
Boccaccio, Giovanni (1313–75): Italian writer, friend of Petrarch, extraordinary stylist, humanist scholar. Known esp. for his collection of novellas, Decameron (1353).
Böck (Bok), August Friedrich (1739–1815): Philosophy professor and prelate in Tübingen, from 1807 till 1810 final Protestant abbot in the monastery school in Bebenhausen, after which the school was combined with that in Maulbronn. From 1770 married to Luise Friederike née Famsler.
Böcking, Eduard (1802–70): Legal scholar, professor in Berlin and Bonn; organized the literary estate and edited the Sämmtliche Werke of Wilhelm Schlegel.
Bode (Bodé), Caroline, née Henke (dates unknown): Wife of Wilhelm Julius Ludwig Bode in Braunschweig.
Bode, Johann Joachim Christoph (1720–93) (Caroline occasionally writes “Bode” when she means “Bothe”): Translator, publisher. Led a publishing firm (for a time with Gotthold Ephraim Lessing; published Lessing’s Hamburgische Dramaturgie) but eventually went bankrupt, living then in Weimar from 1778. Translations include Laurence Sterne’s Sentimental Journey (1768) and Tristram Shandy (1774), Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield (1776), and Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones (1786–88). These translations contributed to the emergence of the literary movement of “sentimentality” in Germany. (Portrait: by J. E. Heinsius; United States National Library of Medicine, Images from the History of Medicine.)
Bode, Theodor Heinrich (1778–1804): Native of Berlin, ca. 1800 joined the circle of young scholars around Goethe in Weimar. Wrote several tragedies and burlesques and edited the periodical Polychorda (1803–04). In 1804 he attained his doctorate in Jena. Thought to be the author of the satire Gigantomachia.
Bode (Bodé), Wilhelm Julius Ludwig von (1779–1854): Studied in Helmstedt and Göttingen, eventually became a finance administrator and Rath in Braunschweig, then city director because of his considerable acquaintance with the city’s history, especially with regard to its struggle against ducal rule and its attempts to regain independent status. Author of several well-received works on the history of the city and region.
Boeck, Johann Michael (also Bök, Boek) (1743–93): Actor. While a member of the Ackermann company in Hannover in 1764, he married the actress Sophie Schulz; Luise Michaelis knew their daughter in Gotha, Doris Boeck. From 1769 Boeck performed at the ducal theater in Gotha, where he played the first love interest and, after Conrad Ekhof’s death in 1778, also co-directed the company. His excessive demands to the duke, however, contributed to the disbanding of the court theater in September 1779, whence he moved to the Mannheim theater, where he played Karl Moor at the premiere performance of Schiller’s Die Räuber in January 1782.
Böheim, Anna Maria, née Wulfen (born 1759): Engaged as an actress in Berlin 1789–1816. Her husband (Joseph Michael Böheim [ca. 1750–1811; from 1779 in Berlin]) and possibly her daughter were also actors. In 1801, Wilhelm Schlegel described her in a letter to Schiller as someone “not wanting in diligence, but who is is old and ugly.”
Böhme, Jakob (1575–1624): Theosophical author, mystic from Silesia. Claimed his writings reflected solely what he learned from divine illumination. His first work, Morgenröte im Aufgang (1612) and later works prompted several rounds of opposition from the Lutheran pastor Gregorius Richter, who brought an end to Böhme’s writing for a time. Most of his writings were published posthumously. A rather obscure writer, Böhme used abstruse terminology borrowed from Paracelsus, the mystics, alchemy, and astrology with pantheistic, mystical leanings. His work fell into obscurity but was revived by the early German Romantics. (Portrait: Christoph Gottlob Glymann; Kamenz, Museum der Westlausitz.)
Böhmer, Dorothea Elisabeth, née Busse (1860–1803): Wife of Caroline’s brother-in-law Johann Friedrich Eberhard Böhmer in Göttingen; mother of Rosalia Louisa Amalia Böhmer (1801–86).
Böhmer, Louise Auguste Elisabeth (16 September 1768–13 June 1823) (it is often unclear whether she or Luise Nieper or Luise Michaelis is meant): Daughter of Georg Ludwig Böhmer. From 17 October 1786 wife of Georg Jacob Friedrich Meister, professor of law in Göttingen. (Portrait: Erika Wagner and Ulrich Joose, Göttinger Profile zwischen Aufklärung und Romantik [Neustadt 2011].)
Böhmer, Georg Lud(e)wig (1715–17 August 1797): Legal scholar in Göttingen. Caroline’s father-in-law, from 1752 married to Henriette Philippine Elisabeth, née Meyer. Received his law doctorate on the same day his brother received his medical doctorate. Appointed law professor in Göttingen in 1740, becoming a full professor in 1742. Published extensively on civil law and ecclesiastical legal principles based on the contemporary doctrine of reason. His Principia juris ecclesiastici (1762) provided the legal basis for the understanding of the state church in Prussian law. See also notes to letter no. 39 and esp. supplementary appendix 39.1 for a further characterization. (Portrait: by Carl Arnold Friedrich Lafontaine; Voit Collection.)
Böhmer, Henriette Philippine Elisabeth, née Meyer (Majer, Mejer) (1732–96): Daughter of the privy secretary at the German chancery in London, Johann Friedrich Mejer (1705–69), from 1752 second wife of Georg Ludwig Böhmer. Caroline’s mother-in-law, Auguste’s grandmother, Therese Heyne’s Godmother.
Böhmer, Hofrath (dates unknown): From Werstadt (Werstatt), otherwise unidentified, was able to secure better accommodations for Caroline and Meta Forkel during their incarceration in the Königstein fortress. Georg Forster writes to Ludwig Ferdinand Huber from Mainz on 3 November 1792 (Briefwechsel [1829], 2:298): “Hofrath Böhmer from Werstadt spent the entire day here yesterday and did a quite proper job of setting my legs in motion, despite the fact that it was so muddy.”
Böhmer, Johann Franz (Frantz) Wilhelm (Göttingen 2 April 1754–Clausthal 4/5 February 1788 “after sundown”): Son of Georg Ludwig Böhmer in Göttingen and from 15 June 1784 Caroline’s first husband. From 1770 student in Göttingen, “received his doctorate in 1777; spent time in England for further study; in 1780 became a private lecturer in Göttingen and a physician in the new hospital; also in 1782 supervisor of the university clinic, and in 1784 mining and general physician in Clausthal” (Gelehrten-Geschichte 2:106). He wrote two treatises, both in Latin, one on brain nerves and one on dropsy: Diss. de nono pare nervorum cerebri (Göttingen 1777) and Securs hydropem curandi ratio (Göttingen 1780). Although both Erich Schmidt (1913), 1:687, and Georg Waitz (1871), 1:44n1, give 4 February 1788 as the date of his death, both eulogies give the date as 5 February (supplementary appendix 85.1).
Böhmer, Johann Franz Wilhelm, Jr. (20 July 1788–September or October 1788): Caroline’s first son, son of Johann Franz Wilhelm Böhmer; born in Göttingen. Caroline was pregnant with him when her husband, Johann Franz Wilhelm Böhmer, died in February 1788.
Böhmer, Johann Friedrich Eberhard (1753–1828): Caroline’s brother-in-law. Studied law under his father, Georg Ludwig Böhmer, in Göttingen from 1770, attaining his doctorate in 1779. From 1780 associate faculty member in law, from 1784 full professor. Husband of Dorothea Elisabeth, née Busse (1760–1803); father of Rosalia Louisa Amalia (1801–86).
Böhmer, Johann Georg Wilhelm (1761–1839): Caroline’s brother-in-law for whose wife she was mistaken after the incidents in Mainz. Jurist, politician, librarian. From 1779 student in Göttingen, from 1785 lectured there privately on ecclesiastical law and history, moving to the secondary school in Worms as professor in 1788 and eventually becoming corector. He resigned this position and from 1792 served as secretary to the leader of the French army of occupation in Mainz, Adam Philippe de Custine, acquiring thereafter several administrative positions in Mainz. Cofounder of the Mainz Club after taking over editorial duties for the Mainzer Zeitung and a member of the Rhinish German National Assembly. See his description in the list of clubbists published in 1793 in Frankfurt, Getreues Namenverzeichnis der in Mainz sich befindenden 454 Klubbisten, mit Bemerkung derselben Charakter (Frankfurt 1793), 3: “Böhmer; from Göttingen; Lutheran schoolmaster, spy during the siege of Mainz. Custine’s secretary.” He was imprisoned by the Prussians as a hostage in 1793 in the fortress at Ehrenbreitstein and on the Petersberg near Erfurt after the fall of Mainz. After his release in 1795 he worked in Westphalia till 1813, including in French service under the administration of Jerome, before returning to Göttingen. Appointed to a librarian position in Göttingen law library in 1816 and afterward lectured privately in law. For more documentation esp. concerning his role in Mainz, see note 15 to Caroline’s letter to Friedrich Ludwig Wilhelm Meyer on 27 October 1792 (letter 118). (Portrait: in Hugo Erich von Boehmer, Geschichte der Familie von Boehmer [1892].)
Böhmer, Justus Lud(o)wig Becht(h)old (1755–1821): Brother of Franz Böhmer, hence one of Caroline’s brothers-in-law. Studied and became a private lecturer in Göttingen, from 1783 Hofrath and Kanzleirath in Hannover, from 1798 in a legal administrative position at the appeals court in Celle. Luise Wiedemann apparently wished Lotte had married him.
Böhmer, Philippine Auguste (Augusta, Auta, Gustl, Gusteline, Isabelle, Isabella [nickname used by the Gotters], Utteline) (28 April 1785 in Clausthal–12 July 1800 in Bocklet): Caroline’s first daughter, about whom Caroline writes in 1794: “Auguste is a dear, happy girl — one who pleases others greatly with her resolute and direct answers and with the lightness of her actions and being.” — Concerning her correspondence with Friedrich Schlegel and her place among the Jena Romantics, see Otto Braun’s introduction to that correspondence. — The commemorative plaque in the Bad Bocklet cemetery today incorrectly lists Auguste’s date of birth as 22 April 1785. Concerning her personality and the troubled story behind her monument and bust, see Paul von Boianowski’s essay on Auguste and the cemetery in Bocklet. (Portrait: J. F. A. Tischbein, 1798; reproduction: Otto Cramer Family Archives, courtesy of Martin Reulecke.) — Auguste writes of herself (Erich Schmidt, Caroline. Briefe aus der Frühromantik [1913], 1:755):
Utteline's Posy
Would I were beautiful, But such I am not. And though I be pious, That helps me naught. Though money helps some, I myself have none. Hence alas quite for me No sweetheart has come.
Böhmer, Friederike Sophie Amalie (Emmi), married name Meyer (16 July 1766–31 January 1840): From June 1784 Caroline’s sister-in-law, from 1785 wife of Friedrich Johann Lorenz Meyer, who had studied in Göttingen and from 1784 was canon in Hamburg; they had nine children and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1835. Luise Michaelis would visit them in Hamburg.
Böhmer, Sophie Dorothea Philippine (25 July 1770–18 March 1801): Caroline’s sister-in-law. Two days before Georg Ludewig Bohmer’s death in 1797, Philippine disclosed her relationship with Karl Wilhelm Hoppenstedt and secured her father’s permission to marry him. They married at Easter 1798, though Philippine died in 1801 giving birth to her third child (her previous two children died just after birth). The Neuer Nekrolog der Deutschen, vol. 4, 1826 (Ilmenau 1828), 440–45, here 442, describes her as having been “more ugly than pretty, but she herself realized this and thus tried to cultivate her intellect, prompting a French emigré in Göttingen who frequented the Böhmer house to refer to her as la belle laide.” Caroline recounts her death in her letter Wilhelm Schlegel on 26 March 1801 (letter 303).
Böhmer, Rosalia Louisa Amalia (1801–86): Daughter of Caroline’s brother-in-law Johann Friedrich Eberhard Böhmer and his wife Dorothea Elisabeth in Göttingen. Later married to the Herzberg superintendent Johann Friedrich Starke.
Böhmer, Sophie Therese (Röschen, Rose, Rosa) (23 April 1787 in Clausthal–17 December 1789 in Marburg): Caroline’s second daughter.
Böhmer (last name in church registry: Krantz), Wilhelm Julius (3 November 1793–20 April 1795): Born in Lucka, Caroline’s second son, son of Jean-Baptiste Dubois de Crancé. Though baptized Krantz, legally his last name should have been Böhmer. Caroline left him in foster care in Lucka when she and Auguste left in February 1794 and never saw him again despite plans to retrieve him.
Bohn, Johann Friedrich (1764–1803): Publisher in Lübeck, from 1794 husband of Johanna Sophie, née Wesselhöft; publisher of Dorothea Veit’s novel Florentin in 1801.
Bohn, Johanna Sophie (Sophia), née Wesselhöft (1769–1834): Sister of Johanne Frommann, sister-in-law of Friedrich Frommann, from 1794 wife of publisher Johann Friedrich Bohn in Lübeck; sister of Betty Wesselhöft, with whom she later ran a school in Jena (attended by, among others, Hegel’s illegitimate son). Widowed in 1803, moved to Jena in 1808, later to Stuttgart.
Boianowski (Bojanowski), Paul von (1834–1915): Journalist, librarian, writer. Studied law in Halle, Heidelberg, and Berlin, 1859–63 journalist in Prague, from 1863 in Weimar, where he edited the Oppositions-Blatt oder Weimarische Zeitung for thirty years. 1893 senior librarian at the Herzogin Anna Amalia Library in Weimar.
Boiardo, Matteomaria (ca. 1441–94): Italian poet of classic chivalry (King Arthur, Charlemagne); best-known piece was his unfinished Orlando innamorato (1487), the thread of which was picked up by Ariosto in the latter’s Orlando furioso.
Boie, Heinrich Christian (1744–1806): Minor poet who as a private tutor in Göttingen promoted the Göttinger Hainbund group of poets. Published the first (Göttinger) Musenalmanach in 1770 together with Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter. Also published the periodical Das deutsche Museum beginning in 1776. Married from 1785 to Luise Justine Mejer (†1786), then to the sister of Johann Heinrich Voss. His correspondence with Luise Mejer was published in 1961. Caroline also spells his name Boyé. (Portrait: 1773 by Leopold Matthieu; Dithmarscher Landesmuseum.)
Boisserée, Sulpiz (1783–1854): art collector and connoisseur who with his brother, Melchior (1786–1851) studied and contributed to a revival of interest in medieval art and Gothic architecture while also assembling an impressive collection of German and Flemish paintings that King Ludwig I of Bavaria acquired in 1827 (Alte Pinakothek). Influenced Goethe and was an acquaintance of Friedrich and Dorothea Schlegel in Paris.
Bollmann, Justus Erich (1769–1821 Jamaica): Physician. Studied medicine in Göttingen, attained his doctorate in 1791, practiced thereafter in Karlsruhe. Participated in the French Revolution in Paris, when he went with other French immigrants to London. Arrested trying to free the Marquis de Lafayette from the prison in Olmütz, Austria in November 1794, then expelled from the country. Emigrated to America in 1796, returned as an American representative to the Vienna Congress in 1814/15. Additional materials in notes to letter 154. (Portrait: frontispiece from Friedrich Kapp, Justus Erich Bollmann: Ein Lebensbild aus zwei Welttheilen [Berlin 1880].)
Bolte, Johannes (1858–1937): German literary scholar, secondary-school teacher in Berlin, member of the Prussian Academy of Science and the Humanities, editor of sixteenth-century literary works, and author of annotations to the fairy tales of the Grimm brothers (5 vols., 1913–32).
Bonaparte, Jerome (1784–1860): Brother of Napoleon, joined the navy at fifteen. A favorite of Napoleon, but his indiscretions and impetuous nature disappointed the latter’s hopes for him. Married an American woman in 1803 after leaving his ship in the West Indies, a breach of both Navy discipline and French law. Sailed on other ill-fated expeditions to the West Indies but distinguished himself against British commerce vessels when he returned to France in 1806 and was made a rear-admiral. Participated in the campaigns of 1806, finally agreed to a divorce, but the pope refused, so Napoleon annulled the marriage by imperial decree, whereupon in 1807 Jerome married Catherine of Württemburg as part of Napoleon’s dynastic designs and was made king of the new Kingdom of Westphalia, which included Hannover. He did a miserable job as sovereign, however, and his universal unpopularity prompted mutiny to break out in 1809, and in 1812 the kingdom faced bankruptcy. Jerome then failed miserably as a military leader in the campaign of 1812. Forced to abandon Kassel when the French left Germany the following year. Returned to service and participated in the battle at Waterloo, but after Napoleon’s second abdication went to Württemberg, where he was threatened with arrest unless he gave up rights to his wife and child. Eventually retired to Augsburg, then Triest, returning to France in 1847.
Bonaparte, Louis (1778–1846): Younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, husband of Hortense Beauharnais, daughter of the empress Josephine. Napoleon made him king of Holland in 1806, but he abdicated in 1810. Father of Napoleon III. (Portrait: 1809 by Charles Howard Hodges; Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.)
Bonstetten, Karl Viktor von (1745–1832): Swiss political and economic writer. Originally from Bern, studied in Geneva, Leiden (Holland), Cambridge, and Paris. From 1773 friends with the Swiss historian Johann Müller, remaining the latter’s friend and patron his entire life and whom he assisted in the latter’s work on a history of Switzerland. Later an enlightened municipal administrator in Bern, then in Rougemont, Nyon/Waadt. From 1803 in Geneva, where he frequented Madame de Staël’s salon. (Portrait: Alfred Hartmann, Gallerie berühmter Schweizer der Neuzeit, vol. 1 [Baden/Aargau 1868], no. 33.)
Borchers, Georg August (1751–1820): One of Luise Michaelis’s private tutors as a child. 1783–94 pastor in Diemarden and Rheinhausen, 1794–1800 superintendent in Münder, 1800–1820 in Ebstorf. In 1786 he published an encomium to his own teacher, Superintendent Ludwig Wilhelm Ballhorn Einige Züge aus dem Leben des verdienstvollen, zu Neustadt am Rübenberge verstorbenen Superintendenten, Herrn Ludowig Wilhelm Ballhorn (Göttingen 1786).
Bothe (Bode), Friedrich Heinrich (1771–1855): Classical philologist, writer, translator. Schoolmate of Ludwig Tieck in Berlin. Studied classical philology in Halle, then subsequently worked as an independent scholar in Berlin, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Konstanz, and Leipzig. Translated and published classical authors from Greek and Latin (Pindar 1804, Euripides twice, 1800ff. and 1823ff.) as well as collections of folk songs, including some from the English (1795). Because he translated many of these works merely for much-needed money, and because his critical methods were often rather arbitrary, his reputation as a critic was not always the best. Concerning the influence of Bothe on Ludwig Tieck during their schooldays in Berlin, see Rudolf Köpfke’s discussion of the relationship between F. H. Bothe and Ludwig Tieck.
Bothmer, Karl Heinrich Ernst Friedrich von (29 December 1770–7 January 1845 in Weimar): Electoral Württemberg chamberlain and administrator, husband of Antoinette née von Hanstein, with whom he had eight children. After Antoinette’s death in 1826, Bothmer married Therese Kobe, née von Koppenfels (born 16 November 1791) on 23 June 1828.
Böttiger, Karl August (1760–1835): Journalist, archaeologist. (Caroline sometimes spells his name Bötticher, presumably phonetically, i.e., reflecting her pronunciation.) Secondary education at the famous Schulpforta. After studying theology and philosophy in Leipzig, he spent several years as a private tutor before becoming director of the Gymnasium in Guben in 1784, then in Bautzen in 1790, and in Weimar in 1791, where he also became a senior consistory official in charge of school affairs. Successful and respected school administrator. Initially quite an admirer of Caroline after she and Wilhelm Schlegel moved to Jena in 1796. In 1795–1803 he edited the Journal des Luxus und der Moden, 1797–1803 the journal Teutscher Merkur, becoming a close friend of Friedrich Justin Bertuch and Christoph Martin Wieland in the meantime. Although he had contact with Goethe and Schiller, contributing to Die Horen and Propyläen, they came to avoid him, mocking him as Magister ubique (“Master Everywhere,” “Herr Everywhere”). After falling out with Johann Gottfried Herder as well, he moved to Dresden in 1806, where he had similar problems with the writer Kleist. 1814–21 he was also director of the antiquities museum in Dresden, where he continued his archaeological studies, lectured, and published (Ideen zur Archäologie der Malerei [1811]). During a certain period, Böttiger was, if not the most significant art scholar, at least the best known in Germany. (Portrait: frontispiece to K. W. Böttiger, Karl August Böttiger: Eine biographische Skizze [Leipzig 1837].)
Böttiger, Karoline Eleonore, née Adler (1766–18 February 1832): Youngest daughter of a financial administrator in Dresden, from 8 June 1786 wife of Karl August Böttiger.
Bouterwek (Bouterweck, Boutterwek), Friedrich Ludewig (1766–1828): Philosopher, literary historian, writer, and one of Luise Michaelis’s most serious suitors ca. 1791, the same year in which he received the title of ducal Weimar Rath. Broke off his study of law in Göttingen after initially attending lectures on philosophy and philology (the latter also under Heyne), deciding in 1784 to become a writer. Published poetry in the Göttinger Musenalmanach and an epistolary novel, Graf Donamar, 3 vols. (Göttingen 1791–93). From 1789 lectured privately in Göttingen in history and philosophy (the first in Göttingen on Kant), becoming a (extraordinarius) professor in 1797 as Johann Georg Heinrich Feder’s successor in rhetoric (1802 full professor, 1806 Hofrath; he had become a ducal Weimar Rath in 1791 at the behest of Emilie von Berlepsch, who queried the Duke of Weimar on his behalf after he in his own turn requested such of her, he not wanting to court Luise Michaelis without a title). From 1806 married to Sophie Julie, née Westfeld. Acquired some renown for his winter-semester lectures on aesthetics, which virtually every Göttingen student attended at one time or the other. Major work was the Geschichte der Poesie und Beredsamkeit seit dem Ende des 13. Jahrhunderts (12 vols., 1801–19), the last (so ADB) universally comprehensive literary-critical work of its type, covering virtually all the European languages, and a testament also to his subtle literary understanding and enormous talent in languages. (Portrait: by Giovanni Domenico Fiorillo; Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Bildarchiv und Grafiksammlung, Porträtsammlung; also: Romanen-Kalender für das Jahr 1798; Inhaltsverzeichnis deutscher Almanache, Theodor Springmann Stiftung.)
Bouterwek, Sophie Julie, née Westfeld (1772–1826): Daughter of the bailif Christian Friedrich Gotthard Westfeld in Weende, just north of Göttingen; from 1806 wife of Friedrich Bouterwek (they were married in Weende, where Bouterwek originally met Luise Michaelis, whom he afterward seriously courted).
Brabeck, Anna Franziska, née Baroness von Weichs zu Wenne (20 April 1770–21 June 1805): From 19 February 1788 married to Friedrich Moritz von Brabeck on the Söder Estate near Hildesheim.
Brabeck, Friedrich Moritz, Baron (later Count) von (28 January 1742 [4 August 1738?]–8 January 1814) (died at 76 years old according to the Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung [1814] 51 [March] 407): Connoisseur and art collector. Intended for the priesthood, studied at the Academy of Maria Theresia in Vienna and later became canon in Hildesheim and Paderborn. After acquiring a papal dispensation in 1785, he left the priesthood, married Anna Franziska Baroness von Weichs zur Wenne in 1788 (whom Caroline would also have met during her stay at Söder), and withdrew to his estate, Söder, where he dedicated himself exclusively to his extensive art collection, one that drew visitors from all over Europe. In the mid-nineteenth century, however, the collection was auctioned off by Count Andreas von Stolberg-Söder, to whom the entire Brabeck property had passed by way of marriage after the Brabeck family itself died out in 1818. Although Friedrich Moritz von Brabeck was quite cultured and possessed unquestionable taste, he could be imprudent in practical matters. Founded the Chalcographic Society in Dessau in 1795, which he intended to promote artistic taste in Germany and beyond (contacts were even made with America) through the copying and dissemination of high-quality art works. Luise Michaelis, her husband, and Madam Michaelis seem to have visited the gallery around Whitsun (early June) 1797, and Caroline and Wilhelm visited it in October 1800, shortly after Auguste’s death. (Portrait: 1797, engraving by Johann Gerhard Huck, after Anton Graff; in S. S. Roland, Tafelband Die Kupfer zu Söder [Leipzig 1799].)
Brachmann, Louise (Luise) (1777–1822): Born in Rochlitz, lived from 1787 in Weißenfels. Poet, inspired by Friedrich von Hardenberg in Wiessenfels, with whose sister, Sidonie, she enjoyed an extremely warm friendship. Hardenberg introduced her to Schiller, who published several of her pieces in Die Horen and his Musen-Almanach (1798, 1799). Attempted suicide at twenty-three (7 September 1800; see letter 268a), and after Hardenberg, Sidonie, her sister, and her mother died in quick succession, her father took her on a trip to Weimar and Jena in 1803, where she became acquainted especially with Schiller, Johann Bernhard Vermehrens, and Christian Gottfried Schütz (the latter of whom later edited her poetry). After her father’s death she tried to make a living by writing, albeit not the poetry at which she was most talented. After subsequent disappointments, she committed suicide in Halle in the Saale River. (Portrait by the Viennese Leopold Kupelwieser.)
Bradshaw, George (1801–53): English printer of railway tables that he developed into a series of guides.
Brand, Thomas, 20th Baron Dacre (1774–1851): Son of a rich Englishman who returned with Georg Forster to Mainz after the latter’s trip to England in 1790; Brand was to learn German and familiarize himself with Kant in the original. From 1807 in Parliament (though only till May), later in the House of Lords.
Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Princess Elisabeth Friederike Sophie von (1732–80): Daughter of Friedrich II’s (the Great) favorite sister. Considered one of the most beautiful princesses of her time, indeed being extolled by Casanova as the most beautiful in Germany. Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg visited Bayreuth in 1744 and fell in love with her, marrying her on 26 September 1748. Eugen’s affairs led to estrangement and finally separation. Elisabeth visited her mother in Bayreuth in 1756 but never returned to the court on Württemberg, though the couple never divorced.
Brandenburg-Schwedt, Philippine Auguste Amalie von (1745–1800): from 1773 second wife of Friedrich II of Hesse-Kassel. Although she and Friedrich II had no children of their own, in 1782 she (as stepmother) arranged a reconciliation between him and his three sons from his first marriage.
Brandes, Ernst (1758–1810): Son of Georg Friedrich Brandes. Studied in Göttingen 1775–78, From 1791 Geheimer Kabinettsrat for university affairs in Hannover, being especially active on behalf of the development of the university in Göttingen. Generally viewed as an influential voice in the development of conservative thinking in Germany during the period of the French Revolution. (Portrait: unknown artist; repr. in Carl Haase, Ernst Brandes 1758–1810, Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Niedersachsen und Bremen 32. Niedersächsische Biographien 4 [Hildesheim 1973].
Brandes, Georg Friedrich (1719–91): Husband of Marie Friederike Brandes. From 1746 in civil service of Hannover, 1770 took over as chief administrator for the university of Göttingen from Gerlach Adolph von Münchhausen after the latter’s death. Father-in-law of Christian Gottlob Heyne and Johann Friedrich Blumenbach.
Brandes, Johann Christian (1735–99): Actor from 1755, including 1769–79 with Abel Seyler’s company. Also an acquaintance of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. From 1760 wrote numerous plays, often with roles for his wife, Esther Charlotte. Wrote the libretto for the first melodrama in Germany, Ariadne auf Naxos (1774; music by Georg Anton Benda), a quite successful theater piece in its day.
Brandes, Marie Friederike (1730–1807): Wife of Georg Friedrich Brandes in Hannover, mother of Geheimer Kabinettsrat Ernst Brandes there and mother-in-law to Christian Gottlob Heyne and Johann Friedrich Blumenbach.
Brandis, Christian August (Christel) (1790–1867): Son of Joachim Dietrich Brandis in Kiel. From 1806 student at the university in Kiel, 1812 Habilitation in Copenhagen, then post-doctoral studies in Göttingen, then second Habilitation in Berlin (Kiel having been part of Denmark at the time, whence the need for new credentials). From 1816 secretary of the Prussian embassy in Rome, but quickly detoured into a scholarly edition of Aristotles undertaken by the Berlin Academy. From 1823 professor in Bonn, from 1837 accompanied King Otto to Greece for two-and-a-half years, returning then to Bonn
Brandis, Joachim Dietrich (1762–1846): Physician at the spa Bad Driburg, from 1803 professor of medicine in Kiel, from 1828 Konferenzrath there.
Braun, Otto (1885–1922): Professor in Münster and one of the leading Schelling scholars of the time. Initially studied mathematics and the natural science in Königsberg, Breslau, and Jena. Received his doctorate in 1911 in Münster, thereafter becoming a private lecturer and professor of philosophy there till 1920, after which he accepted an appointment in for philosophy and education in Basel.
Braunschweig and Lüneburg, Karl II von (30 October 1804 in Braunschweig–1873): Son of Marie Elisabeth Wilhelmine and Friedrich Wilhelm of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Oels; Christian Rudolf Wilhelm Wiedemann attended his mother at his birth in Braunschweig. 1815–30 Duke of Braunschweig. His wasteful, luxurious, and grievously inefficient administration of the duchy (he was known as the “Diamond Duke”) led to a revolt on 7 September 1830 and his flight into exile the same day; he failed in attempts to be reinstated and spent the rest of his life with the reputation of an eccentric in, among other places, Spain, England, France, and Switzerland.
Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von (1735–1806): From 1773 Prince of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and Duke of (zu) Braunschweig and Lüneburg; field marshal in Prussian service. Son of Duke Karl I of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and a sister of King Friedrich II of Prussia. From 1764 married to a princess of Hannover (but later lived with his mistress). Fought in the Seven Years War, mortally wounded at the battle of Jena and Auerstedt in 1806. Commanded the Prussian and Austrian troops during the First War of Coalition, issuing the provocative manifesto threatening to bomb Paris should the royal family be violated, which merely incited the storming of the Tuilieries and eventually the end of the French monarchy itself. Generally viewed as an extremely enlightened ruler on Braunschweig’s behalf, drawing on the talents not least of Joachim Heinrich Campe and Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Jerusalem.
Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Oels, Marie Elisabeth Wilhelmine von (1782–1808): Daughter of Crown Prince Karl von Baden, from 1 November 1802 married to Duke Friedrich Wilhelm von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Oels (1771–1815 at the battle of Quatre-Bras in Belgium). Mother of Karl II of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, at whose birth Christian Rudolf Wilhelm Wiedemann was the attending physician in 1804.
Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Oels, Duke Friedrich Wilhelm von (the “Black Duke”) (1771–16 June 1815): Youngest son of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Braunschweig, who was mortally wounded in the Battle of Auerstedt. Joined the Prussian army in 1789, participated in the campaign against France in 1792, from 1801 a general major. From 1 November 1802 married to Princess Marie Elisabeth Wilhelmine von Baden (1782–1808). Participated in the battles of Jena and Auerstedt in 1806. Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand considered him the most worthy son to succeed him, while General Blücher blamed him for the debacle at Lübeck in early November 1806, where both were taken prisoner. Because Napoleon dissolved the Duchy of Braunschweig, Friedrich Wilhelm retired to his newly inherited estate in Oels in Silesia in 1805. Participated in plans against Napoleon and created a corps under Austrian auspices at his own cost that during 1809, and without Austrian support, enjoyed surprising success in north Germany before shipping over to England. In December 1813 he returned triumphantly to Braunschweig as its duke. Killed in action at the Battle of Quatre-Bras after Napoleon’s return from Elba. Father of Karl II of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, at whose birth Christian Rudolf Wilhelm Wiedemann was the attending physician in 1804. (Portrait: frontispiece to Louis Ferdinand Spehr, Friedrich Wilhelm Herzog von Braunschweig-Lüneburg-Oels, 2nd ed. ed. Wilhelm Görges [Braunschweig 1861].)
Brawe, Sophie Ernestine (Amalie?) von, née Pierer (dates unknown): Sophie Mereau’s stepsister; from 1785 married to Johann Friedrich August von Brawe, a privy councilor and senior magistrate in Camburg (KFSA 25:610–11n1).
Bremer, Benedix (1717–16 June 1779) (i.e., shortly after Caroline’s presumed mention of him in letter 7): Son of Benedict Georg Bremer auf Cadenberge und Bentwisch, and Clara Sophie, née von Grote. Married to Karoline Augustine (Auguste), née von Haus (1733–1795). Studied law in Göttingen, receiving his doctorate in 1741, after which he worked in judicial administrative positions in Celle and Hannover. Uncertain reference in letter 7. Bremer was an electoral Lüneburg-Braunschweig Geheimer Rath, Lord of Cadenberge, Dobrock, Basbeck und Seeburg. His son, Friedrich Franz Dietrich von Bremer (1759–1836) (hence twenty years old at the time of Caroline’s letter), was the later Hannover cabinet minister of foreign affairs who as Hannover’s representative in 1803 negotiated the Sulinger Convention, which prompted the capitulation of Hannover’s army and inaugurated the ten-year French occupation of Hannover.
Brentano, Magdalena Margaretha Auguste (Fränz), née Busmann (Bußmann, Bussmann) (1791–1832): Daughter of the banker Johann Jakob Bussmann (1756–91), a partner in the firm of the Bethmann brothers, and Maria Elisabeth Bethmann (1772–1847). After her father died, her mother’s brother, Moritz Bethmann, became her guardian, while her mother married Count Alexandre François de Flavigny (1770–1819). After eloping on 20 August 1807, from 21 August 1807 married to Clemens Brentano. They later divorced, and she remarried and lived for a time in Paris, expressing a desire to accompany Napoleon to St. Helena; committed suicide in Frankfurt by drowning.
Brentano, Clemens (1778–1842): Son of Maximiliane Brentano, née La Roche, and grandson of Sophie von La Roche. Brother of Bettina von Arnim. Educated in various boarding schools, he resisted entering the family business, studying instead in Jena 1798–1800, where he had contact with the Schlegels, Fichte, and Tieck, as well as Sophie Mereau, whom he married in 1803. From 21 August 1807 married, wretchedly, to Auguste, née Busmann; they later divorced. Published the eccentric novel Godwi in 1801. In the same year in Göttingen, met Achim von Arnim, who eventually married Brentano’s sister Bettina and who remained a lifelong friend. In Heidelberg was one of the members constituting the Heidelberg Romantics, publishing a collection of folk songs with Arnim, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1805–8) and himself publishing the play Ponce de Leon (1804). His wife Sophie died in 1806. (Portrait: 1837, by Ludwig Emil Grimm; in Gustav Könnecke, Bilderatlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationallitteratur, 2nd ed. [Marburg 1895], 354.)
Brentano, Franz Dominicus Josef Maria (1765–1844): From Frankfurt, son of Pietro Antonio Brentano (1735–97) and the latter’s first wife, Paula Maria Josefa Walpurga Brentano-Gnosso (1744–70), hence half-brother of Clemens and Bettina Brentano (whose mother, Maximiliane, née La Roche, Pietro Brentano married in 1774); from October 1789 student in Marburg; eventually took over his father’s business.
Brentano, Kunigunde (Gunda, Gundula) Ludovika Catharina (8 July 1780–17 May 1863): Daughter of Maximiliane La Roche and Peter Anton Brentano, sister of Clemens and Bettina Brentano. From 17 April 1804 married to Friedrich Karl von Savigny. (Portrait 1808 by Ludwig Emil Grimm in Landshut; Coburg, Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg, Inv.-Nr. VI,415,31.)
Brentano, Marie Sophie Therese (1776–19 September 1800): Eldest daughter of Maximiliane von La Roche, hence granddaughter of Sophie von La Roche and sister of Clemens and Bettina Brentano. Contracted nervous fever on 3 September 1800 on Christoph Martin Wieland’s estate north of Weimar, where she died and is also buried alongside Wieland and his wife.
Bretzner, Christoph Friedrich (1748–1807): A mercantile bookkeeper by profession, Bretzner was a prolific if minor writer of plays and novels. Various plays published between 1769 and 1796 criticized the imitation of the nobility on the part of social climbers (e.g., Die Erbschaft aus Ostindien [1781]). Der Geisterbeschwörer (1790) portrayed supersensual phenomena used in deception and defended virtuous love in the face of class distinctions. Many of his plays were quite popular in their use of the vernacular and their satirical look at current events and fashion. Mozart used his singspiel Belmonte und Constanze (1781) for the libretto to Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782), some of Bretzner’s poems appearing unaltered. Bretzner in his own turn translated the Italian text of Cosi fan tutte in 1794 in the piece Weibertreu, oder die Mädchen sind von Flandern.
Breyer, Friederike, née Breyer (dates unknown): Native of Stuttgart, daughter of an administrative secretary in Stuttgart who was the uncle of Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Breyer, Schelling’s maternal cousin. She married Breyer in 1809. The couple had a son and a daughter. She was praised in Breyer’s eulogy in 1818 as having a graceful personality and cheerfulness while also possessing every domestic virtue. In 1818, when her husband was exhausted from work on a coming publication, their son fell gravely ill, prompting the father to remain awake at the child’s sickbed while still trying to work. The result was that he himself fell ill, then his wife as well along with a friend who was visiting. Breyer died twelve days after his friend, on 28 April 1818, only 46 years old.
Breyer, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (1771–28 April 1818): Historian, Schelling’s cousin from his mother’s side and classmate at the Tübingen Stift. The son of a pastor, Breyer attended the Tübingen Stift from 1789, completing his studies in 1794 before beginning work as a private tutor in Stuttgart. From 1797, and influenced by the French Revolution, he studied history and philosophy in Jena, where he became acquainted with Fichte. Passed his Habilitation in 1800 and from 1803 was an associate professor of history. Appointed full professor in history and statistics in Landshut in 1804. In 1807 Maximilian Joseph Monteglas appointed him a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Humanities and an instructor of history at the Munich Lyzeum. From 1809 married to his cousin, Friederike Breyer, a native of Stuttgart. Published works on Bavarian history and universal history as well as a history of the Thirty Years War (1811).
Brinckmann (Brinkmann), Karl Gustav von (1764–1847): Swedish diplomat and writer, contributor to Athenaeum, Schleiermacher’s friend from the Moravian schools in Niesky and Barby. Studied in Halle, where he switched from theology to law. Lived 1792–97 in Berlin first as a legation secretary, then as Swedish envoy, later in Paris and London. A popular guest in the Berlin literary salons (Rahel Levin, Henriette Herz). Also an acquaintance of Goethe, Schiller, and Wilhelm von Humboldt. Returned to Berlin 1801–7, moving to Stockholm in 1811, where, having fallen from official favor, he worked as a general legal advisor for Sweden. Schleiermacher dedicated later editions of his Über die Religion: Reden an die Gebildeten unter ihren Verächtern (Berlin 1799) to his friendship with Brinckmann. (Portrait: 1835 by Maria Röhl; Royal Library in Stockholm.)
Erich Schmidt (1913) 1:722, refers to Brinckmann as a “philosophical and poetic dilettante” who associated with Friedrich Schlegel in Berlin, was rather dismissive of the “Schlegelian school,” but was delighted with Schelling’s Bruno (Berlin 1802). Friedrich probably made Brinckmann’s acquaintance either through Schleiermacher, Henriette Herz, or Johann Friedrich Reichardt in August 1797. — Schmidt otherwise references Albert Leitzmann, “Aus Briefen der Brüder Schlegel an Brinckmann,” Euphorion 3 (1896), 422–25, here 422, where, however, Leitzmann publishes only excerpts from Friedrich’s nineteen shorter letters and undated billets to Brinckmann. The complete texts of these missives along with several previously unpublished are found in KFSA 24.
Brissot, Jacques Pierre (15 January 1754–31 October 1793): Leading member of the Girondist movement (whose members were also called Brissotins) during the French Revolution. He increasingly aligned himself with the more right-leaning Girondins, who were often viewed as the “war party,” and subsequently helped rally the Legislative Assembly to declare war on Austria on 20 April 1792. After falling from favor, he was guillotined on 31 October 1793.
Brizzi, Antonio (1774–1851): Tenor, native of Bologna, where he also studied. Debuted in 1793 in Italy, including Milan, from 1800 enjoyed a strong career in Italian theaters, from 1809 at the Italian opera in Vienna (1811 till 1812 as guest performer), from 1810 till 1817 first tenor in Munich till his retirement. Also celebrated after performances in Weimar. Signature role was the title roll in Ferdinando Paër’s opera Achille, with the libretto by Giovanni De Gamerra (1801). Allegedly had a range of three octaves. Taught after 1817.
Brown, John (1735–88): Scottish physician. Studied theology in Edinburgh but seems to have switched to medicine in 1759. From about 1778 his public lectures contained vigorous attacks on all preceding systems of medicine. In 1780 he expounded his own, or as it was then called the Brownian or Brunonian, theory of medicine, which views and treats diseases as caused by defective or excessive excitation, publishing these findings in his treatise Elementa medicinae. In 1786 he set out for London in the hope of bettering his fortunes, but died there of apoplexy in 1788. (Portrait by Donaldson; U.S. National Library of Medicine, Images from the History of Medicine.)
Brugnatelli, Luigi (1761–24 October 1818): Italian chemist and philosopher of nature. A native of Pavia, from 1787 he was assistant to chemistry professor Scopoli at the university there, whom he succeeded in 1796.
Brun, Sophie Christiane Friederike, née Münter (1765–1835): Writer. Daughter of the superintendent at St. Peter’s in Copenhagen, Balthasar Münter, who was also a religious poet. Growing up among a circle of people whose admiration for Klopstock bordered on being a cult, she began to write poems in the Klopstockian style even as a child. As a young girl, she visited her family’s ancestral home of Gotha and was an acquaintance of the family of Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter, and in 1782 privately published a diary she had kept of a journey taken with her father to Hamburg, Göttingen, and Weimar. In 1783 she married the businessman and Danish consul in St. Petersburg Konstantin Brun. In 1791 she traveled to Switzerland and Rome for a time, publishing her travel memoirs in several different installments. Her friend Friedrich Matthisson, whose poetry influenced her own, published a volume of her poems in 1795. She did not return permanently to Copenhagen until 1810, dying there in 1835. Several of her poems extol the cause of Greek independence. Her autobiography, Wahrheit aus Morgenträumen und Ida’s ästhetische Entwicklung, was published in 1824. Her diaries and travelogues also document numerous encounters she had with significant contemporaries. (Portrait: Kongelige Biblioteks portrætsamling, Copenhagen.)
Bruno, Giordano (1548–1600): Italian Benedictine who developed a pantheistic philosophy for which he was condemned and burned at the stake in Rome in February 1600.
Buch, Sophia Friederike (dates unknown): A native of Frankfurt am Main; from 1808 wife of Eduard d’Alton. Friederike seems to have married her cousin, also with the last name Buch, in late 1801, who thereby extricated her from a difficult situation. The three moved to St. Goar on the left bank of the Rhine River in early 1802, where Johann Samuel Eduard d’Alton, the later professor of anatomy in Halle, was born on 17 July 1803, but entered in the church birth registry under the name Buch. Sophie Friederike divorced her husband in 1808 and married the boy’s biological father, Eduard D’Alton. Ludwig Achim von Arnim: Briefwechsel 1802–1804, Weimarer Arnim-Ausgabe, Werke und Briefwechsel, ed. Heinz Härtl (Tübingen 2004), 587.
Buchan, William (1729–1805): Scottish physician, practicing 1766–78 in Edinburgh, then in London. Best known for his extremely popular book (ca. 22 editions) Domestic Medicine (1st ed. 1769), written for the ordinary citizen and eventually printed even in the United States and translated into several other languages. (Portrait: engraving by R. Page, 1819.)
Büchler (dates unknown): Physician (a surgeon rather than university trained) and midwife instructor in Bad Kissingen who was summoned when Auguste fell ill in Bocklet. He later supplied written testimony concerning her treatment and the events surrounding her death.
Bucholtz, Andreas Heinrich (1607–71): Theologian, writer. Studied theology and philosophy in Wittenberg and Rostock, occupied various educational positions, becoming professor of moral philosophy and the poetic arts in 1641 in Rinteln, in 1645 also of theology. From 1647 coadjutor in Braunschweig, from 1663 superintendent there. Published translations, religious poetry, edificatory writings, and two novels, including Des Christlichen Teutschen Gross-Fürsten Herkules […] Wunder-Geschichte (2 vols., 1659/60).
Buchwald, Juliane Franziska von, née von Neuenstein (1707–89): Member of court staff in Gotha. Became lady in waiting to Duchess Elisabeth Sophie von Saxony-Meiningen (1674–1748) in Coburg in 1724, becoming intimate friends with her stepdaughter, Princess Luise Dorothea (1710–67). When the latter married the Friedrich III von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg (1699–1772) in 1729, Buchwald followed her to Castle Friedenstein. She married the court administrative official Schack Hermann von Buchwald in 1739 but maintained her quarters in the castle. Gifted and well educated in part by her mother (chief lady-in-waiting to Princess Luise Friederike von Würtemmberg), she was viewed as having considerable influence at the court (including during the Seven Years War, when Gotha was occupied), where she was known as la Maman, and counted Voltaire, Wieland, Herder, and Goethe among her acquaintances. Mother of Luise, first Countess of Werthern. Concerning Juliane Franziska von Buchwald in general see Carl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, Madame de Buchwald (Erfurt 1786) and Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter, Zum Andenken der Frau von Buchwald (Gotha 1790).
Buchwald, Reinhard (1884–1983): Literary historian, worked with the Insel and Eugen Diederich publishers, later professor of German intellectual history in Heidelberg. Edited an edition of Luther’s letters, Caroline’s letters (with Ricarda Huch [1914]), and the works of Goethe, Schiller, Heinrich von Kleist, and Hermann Grimm.
Buff, Charlotte Sophie Henriette, married name Kestner (1753–1828): Model for the character “Lotte” in Goethe’s Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (1774). A native of Wetzlar, became engaged in 1768 to Johann Christian Kestner, whom she married in 1773. Goethe met her in 1772 — before her marriage — near Wetzlar, where he was also working, and became infatuated with her, ultimately leaving Wetzlar, however, because of his disappointment at her engagement. She later had twelve children with Kestner; after his death in 1800 and her children were placed in other families, she remained in touch with them. (Portrait by J. H. Schröder, in Hans Wahl, Anton Kippenberg, Goethe und seine Welt [Leipzig 1932].) (Portrait: 1782, by Johann Heinrich Schröder; F. A. Ackermann’s Kunstverlag, München, Serie 146: Goethes Freundinnen. 12 Portraits, Nr. 1756; also in Hans Wahl, Anton Kippenberg, Goethe und seine Welt [Leipzig 1932], 33.)
Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Count (1707–88): French naturalist, also studied law and medicine, from 1739 curator of the royal gardens. Composed a 44-volume Histoire naturelle (1759–1804) (some volumes appeared posthumously). (Portrait: frontispiece to volume 1 of Natural History, General and Particular, trans. William Smellie, 9 vols., 3rd ed. [London 1791].)
Bulla, Sophie Wilhelmine Marie, married name Koberwein (5 March 1783–20 January 1842): Actress. Born into a theatrical family in Karlsruhe and trained in the theatrical arts by both parents, she began performing children’s roles at an early age, appearing first in Frankfurt, where she successfully performed the roles of the young female love lead in both comedies and tragedies. From 1803 to 1841, she was an extremely successful member of the ensemble at the Viennese Burg Theater, initially covering primarily the roles of the female love lead and heroine, later the comical elder woman. Successful in the role of Luise in Schiller’s Kabale und Liebe and as Cleopatra and Marie in Goethe’s Clavigo. Married the actor Joseph Koberwein in 1803 (1783–1842). (Portrait: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Porträtsammlung Inventarnummer PORT_00148703_01.)
Bullinger (dates unknown): Principal tenor singer in the Dessau theater of whom Auguste and Betty Tischbein seem to have been fond (during Auguste’s stay with the Tischbein’s in the autumn of 1799). The Berlinische musikalische Zeitung (1806) no. 5, p. 20, recounts the following concerning Bullinger’s guest performances in Hamburg:
Herr Bullinger could have become a good singer had he undergone more methodical training. But now it is probably too late. His unbalanced tonal quality, which has now become a habit, his incorrect sense of taste, and his lack of understanding of musical concepts are shortcomings that can no longer be so easily laid aside. Herr Bullinger seemed quite to disdain the public here, since he did not even consider it worth his while to memorize his roles that well. He made significant mistakes in almost every piece he sang, often even singing incorrect notes or remaining silent altogether; this insecurity generates a strong element of affectation that invariably accompanies all his singing. He tried to improve on the composer through inartistic trills, incorrect and tasteless embellishments, and on the librettist in a wholly inacceptable fashion by adding, “Yes!” “No!” “Ah!” Alas,” and “Woe!” — for all of which, of course, he received very little approval indeed.
Bülow, Ludwig Friedrich Victor Hans von (1774–1825): Born on his family estate near Braunschweig, receiving his initial education in at the secondary school for nobility in Lüneburg, then at the university in Göttingen 1790–94, after which he almost immediately entered Prussian service. From 1808 Westphalian (not Hannoverian, Luise Wiedemann states) minister of finance.
Bürger, Agathon (1 August 1791–26 November 1813): Son of Gottfried August and Elise Bürger.
Bürger, Dorothea (Dorette) (1756–84) and Auguste (Molly) (1758–86), both née Leonhart: First and second wives of Gottfried August Bürger, Dorette from the autumn of 1774, and Auguste (the “Molly” of Bürger’s poems) from June 1785, though Bürger had been in love with Auguste even during his marriage to Dorette, despairingly so at times. Auguste’s death during childbirth on 9 January 1786 plunged Bürger into despair anew. (Portrait of Auguste “Molly”: in Gustav Könnecke, Bilderatlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationallitteratur, 2nd ed. [Marburg 1895], 260.)
Bürger, Marie Christine Elisabeth (Elise), née Hahn (Stuttgart 1769–Frankfurt, 24 November 1833): Actress, writer, from October 1790 third wife of Gottfried August Bürger. In 1789 she published a love poem in the weekly Beobachter containing what amounted to a marriage proposal to Bürger, who after initially taking it as a joke then issued a poetic response, initiating a correspondence between the two. He then did indeed marry her in 1790 in Stuttgart (a native of Stuttgart, she later became known in Göttingen as the “Swabian maid/girl”), divorcing her then on 31 March 1792 because of her scandalous lifestyle in Göttingen and her inclination to take lovers (including Philipp Michaelis, allegedly her first in Göttingen), though she in her own turn felt reduced, essentially, to the status of a cleaning lady. Prohibited from remarrying by a prohibition that was part of her divorce settlement with Bürger (which also required her to issue a written confession and a renunciation of any financial settlement), she lived first as a companion in Leipzig, then as an actress in Hamburg, Altona, Hannover, and 1802–7 Dresden, also writing her own plays. Although she gained custody of her and Bürger’s son, Agathon, she eventually put him in an educational institution in Dresden, where he died, apparently of a cold or similar illness, in 1813. She traveled around Germany, Austria, and France as a celebrated recitator and mime of the works of, among others, Goethe, Schiller, and even Bürger, finally settling in Frankfurt/Main in 1820. Eventually lost her sight but still gave acting instructions and published poetry, prose, and plays. (Portrait: Philipp Stein, Deutsche Schauspieler, vol. 2, Das XIX. Jahrhundert bis Anfang der vierziger Jahre, Gesellschaft für Theatergeschichte [Berlin 1908], S. 3f.)
Bürger, Gottfried August (1747–8 June 1794): Writer. Studied theology in Halle, then law in Göttingen, where he met members of the poetic association Göttinger Hainbund. From 1772 in various administrative capacities near Göttingen and increasingly in financial trouble, which hindered his literary work. Decidedly unfortunate in love, having married Dorette Leonhart in 1774 before realizing he loved her sister, Auguste (the “Molly” of his poems, whom he married after Dorette’s death but who died shortly thereafter in childbirth herself), at times living virtually in a ménage à trois with them. From 1784 a lecturer, from 1789 professor at the university in Göttingen. Married Elise Hahn in October 1790, whose scandalous lifestyle in Göttingen caused considerable sensation; they were divorced in 1792. Published an extremely popular ballad in 1733, Lenore, which, however, Schiller reviewed with severe criticism in a famous essay (“Über Bürgers Gedichte,” 1791). Published considerable poetry in the Göttinger Musenalmanach, which he edited from 1778–94, but after Schiller’s review in the Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung and the scandalous end to his third marriage he became increasingly isolated from literary life. (Portrait: in Gustav Könnecke, Bilderatlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationallitteratur, 2nd ed. [Marburg 1895], 260.)
Burgsdorff (Burgsdorf), Wilhelm von (1772–1822): From 1791 a student at the university in Halle and Göttingen, where he was a friend of Ludwig Tieck. As an administrative official in Berlin 1795–96 he became acquainted with Karoline von Humboldt and Rahel Varnhagen, then during a stay in Dresden with Theodor Körner and in Weimar with Goethe and Schiller. Owner of the estate in Ziebingen, near Frankfurt an der Oder, where Ludwig Tieck found a more or less stable refuge for many years, having also found a patron through Burgsdorff in Count von Finckenstein, whose daughter became Tieck’s lover and who stayed with him till the end of his life. Burgsdorff was probably the father of Amalie Tieck’s second child, Agnes, born in 1806.
Burke, Edmund (1729–97): British statesman and author, writing prolifically on both literary topics (On the Sublime and Beautiful [1757]) and politics, including conservative-inclined criticism of the French Revolution. Friedrich Ludwig Wilhelm Meyer seems to have visited him in London in October 1789.
Burns, Robert (1759–96): Scottish poet, early Romantic, who wrote in both eighteenth-century English and his native Scots (Auld Lang Syne). Often regarded as the national poet of Scotland.
Bury, Friedrich (also Büri, Burri) (1763–1823): Painter from Hanau. Bury’s father gave him early instruction in drawing, after which Anton Tischbein instructed him in painting. In 1780 he attended the art academy in Düsseldorf. During a stay in Italy in 1782–99, he became closely acquainted with the circle of German artists there and also made Goethe’s acquaintance, of whom he later did several portraits. In addition to his own works, he did copies of Italian works. From 1800 he lived in Dresden and Berlin as a celebrated painter of historical works and portraits. He returned to his hometown of Hanau in 1815. He also did a portrait of Wilhelm Schlegel and of the actress Friederike Vohs, the latter portrait having long been thought to be of Christiane Vulpius. (Portrait by Johann Heinrich Lips.)
Bursay, Aurore (real name: Anne Domergue) (1765–1812): Stepdaughter of the French actor and playwright Louis Bruyas (stage name Bursay) (1738–1807), singer in the l’Académie royale de musique (leaving in 1788) and the Parisian opera under the name “Mademoiselle Aurore,” performed Bursay’s pieces in Hamburg, St. Petersburg, and Moscow under the name “Madame Bursay.” Debuted in 1782, also composed poetry. The Bursay theater company was patronized by Prince Heinrich in Rheinsberg for a time, later by Jérôme Bonaparte in Cassel.
Büsch, Margarethe Augusta (Auguste), née Schwalb (1739–98): From 1759 wife of Professor Johann Georg Büsch (1728–1800) in Hamburg. She and her husband were members of Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock’s reading society.
Buseck, Christoph Franz von (1724–1805): From 1794 final Prince Bishop of Bamberg, though a weak ruler, fleeing to Prague in 1796 when the French invaded Bamberg, and to Saalfeld when they invaded Prague in 1799. After his return to Bamberg in 1800, he appointed his nephew, Georg Karl von Fechenbach, his coadjutor (successor-in-waiting), who was confirmed in May 1800 in Bamberg (Caroline and Auguste witnessed the celebration). When Bamberg passed to Bavaria during secularization, he was deposed in 1802 but continued as bishop (rather than prince bishop) until his death, after which his nephew succeeded him. (Portrait: unknown artist.)
Bussche, Clamor Friedrich Adolf von dem: From Harburg, from 1784 in Göttingen, from 1791 auditor in the judiciary chancery in Hannover, later judiciary counselor in Stade, then at the high court of appeals in Celle. Nephew of university trustee Ernst August Wilhelm von dem Bussche.
Bussche, Ernst August Wilhelm von dem (1727–89): 1747–49 student in Göttingen, from 1750 administration positions in Hannover, from 1752 mining administrator in Clausthal, from 1759 administrator in Stade, from 1772 in Hannover, from 1779 second trustee at the university in Göttingen, from 1783 senior trustee. Uncle of Clamor Friedrich Adolf von dem Bussche.
Bussche, Friedrich August von dem (1747–1806): From 1770 equerry, from 1780 head equerry at the court in Hannover.
Bussmann, Auguste (1791–1832): Related to the Frankfurt banking family Bethmann by way of her mother, and her stepsister was the mother of Cosima Wagner. In July 1807 she eloped with Clemens Brentano, marrying him on 21 August 1807 in Fritzlar. The marriage quickly fell apart amid violent arguments and quarrels, and repeated attempts at living together invariably failed. They secured a divorce only in 1814, she then marrying Johann August Ehrmann in 1817, with whom she had four children (albeit not all from him). She drowned herself in the Main River in April 1832.
Büttner, Christian Wilhelm (1716–1801): Natural historian, chemist, language scholar. From 1758 professor in Göttingen, where he taught, among others, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. Christian Gottlob Heyne acquired Büttner’s extensive natural history collections in 1773 for the university, thereby laying the groundwork for the university’s museum. In August 1781 Büttner sold his extensive personal library (ten thousand volumes) and other collections to Duke Karl August of Saxony for 8000 Thaler, a pension, and free accommodations in the Weimar castle (from 1783). Goethe reckoned this library among the four most important in Jena.
Büttner, David Sigismund Augustin (1724–November 1768): Raised in Berlin by his stepfather, a physician, who inspired him to pursue studies in the “herbal sciences”; studied at the collegium medicum in Berlin from 1740, also frequenting the Charité hospital there (where Schleiermacher later worked); after studying in Helmstedt and, from 1745, in Göttingen, made various journeys to study botany, thereafter also studying midwifery in Berlin. After experience in England and France, he succeeded his stepfather as a professor in Berlin, finally becoming professor of medicine and botany in Göttingen in 1760 and director of the Royal Botanical Gardens.