Christian Heinrich Spiess

Christian Heinrich spit ( born April 4, 1755 in Freiberg, † August 17 1799 in Besdiekau at Klattau, South Bohemia ) was an actor, playwright and author of fiction. He is considered the founder of the Gothic novel.

Life and work

Christian Heinrich spit was the son of a priest and a pastor's daughter. He attended secondary school in Freiberg and studied in Prague, where he heard the " Lectures on the German orthography " with Karl Heinrich Seibt. Then he became a member of the migrating company of actors from Karl true; his favorite role was that of the old Moor in Schiller's Robbers.

In 1783 he brought out a tragedy, " Mary Stuart ". His knight drama " Clare of Hoheneichen " was premiered in 1792 in Prague; It was performed for the pattern of the Knights of drama and of Goethe at Weimar court theater ten times.

At this time, the spit had an offer of Count Caspar Hermann adopted by Künigl and economic official was on his estate in Bohemia Besdiekau become, where his duty canon let him have time and leisure enough to be his time to one of the most prolific novelist. His " Petermännchen " was translated into English and French and to Matthew Lewis, who traveled before writing his Gothic novel " The Monk " Germany, have influenced. In the " Biographies of the insane " leaned spit on real biographies of, joined them and built on it with their own inventions, even obscure to prominent protagonists. The model for Friedrich, the lover of Ester L. "The history of Ester L. " could with the help of memoirs ( "Histoire de ma vie" ) by Giacomo Casanova ( 1725-1798 ) and Heinrich Bogislaw Detlef Friedrich von Schwerin (after be identified from 1738 to about 1800 ), players and wayward nephew of Kurt Christoph von Schwerin, the famous field Marshal Frederick II.

Spit was with his mistress, the actress Sophie grains, went to Besdiekau. When within a short time died the mother of spit and his beloved Countess Künigl, he fell in August 1799 in frenzy, but came back shortly before his death to himself. Sophie grains was geehelicht after his death the widowed Künigl counts.

Dramas

• The three daughters, 1782
• Mary Stuart, 1783
• Clare of Hoheneichen. A knight drama, 1792

Prose

• Biographies of suicide ( 1785 ), new edition in selection, ed. by Alexander Košenina. Göttingen: Wallenstein Verlag, 2005.
• The old everywhere and nowhere, Ghost Story (1792 )
• The Petermännchen (1791 ) became the most famous and widely read fantastic novel of Goethe's time. This is confirmed by at least two dramatic adaptations of Carl Friedrich Hensler (1794 ) and Joseph George Schmalz (1838 )
• The Knight of the Lion (1794 )
• The twelve sleeping virgins (1795 )
• Biographies of the insane (1796 ) Vol 1 Voss, Leipzig, 1796. ( Digitized and full text in German Text Archive )
• Vol 2 Voss, Leipzig, 1796. ( Digitized and full text in German Text Archive )
• Vol 3 Voss, Leipzig, 1796. ( Digitized and full text in German Text Archive )
• Vol 4 Voss, Leipzig, 1796. ( Digitized and full text in German Text Archive )

Arrangements of his works

• Karl Friedrich Hensler: The Peter males. A play with songs in four elevators. Part 1. Vienna 1794 ( publisher Johann Baptist Wallis Hauser)
• Karl Friedrich Hensler: The Peter males. A play with songs in four elevators. 2nd part. Vienna 1794 ( publisher Johann Baptist Wallis Hauser)
• Josef Georg Schmalz: Rudolf von Westerburg or The Petter males. A Ghost Story (1838 ). Manuscript in the archives of the Knights spectacles Kiefersfelden. ( New copy by Martin Hainzl Kiefersfelden 1989/ 2013 game version not published)

• The beautiful Jewish girl astray, teleplay by Dietrich field Hausen of Südwestfunk with Renan Demirkan in the lead role, music by Wolfgang Rihm, Directed by Götz Fischer, 1983