Achim von Arnim
(1781-1831)
Bewildering Stories biography
He was born Karl Joachim Friedrich Ludwig von Arnim in in Berlin on 26 January 1781. He studied natural science in Halle and Göttingen and qualified as a doctor in 1801, though he never practised medicine. He married Bettina Brentano, the sister of his friend Clemens Brentano, and it was with the latter, her brother, that he wrote the folk tales and legends collected in the three volumes of Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn). He is remembered for his short fiction and his very prominent, active place in the Romantic era in Germany.
During Germany’s long struggle against Napoleon from 1806 to 1813 he commanded a combat unit in the latter year and helped raise morale. After the war was over, he retired to his country estate at Wiepersdorf in Brandenburg but died of a stroke on 21 January 1831. His story “Die Päpstin Johanna” (“Pope Joan”) was published posthumously in 1846 at the behest of his wife, who survived him.
“Die Frau von Saverne” — Madame de Saverne — was published in 1817.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael Wooff
