Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué

The recorded working language is German. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are Romanticism. Places of work recorded in the authority are Halle (Saale) and Berlin. Residence is recorded at Schloss Sacrow and Lentzke. Works named in the authority record are Undine. Work by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué is recorded in the collections of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Distinctions recorded are Iron Cross.

• Name — Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué • Born — 12 February 1777 • Birthplace — Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, Holy Roman Empire • Place of death — Berlin, Prussia, German Confederation • Occupation — Writer, novelist • Genre — Fantasy • Movement — German romanticism • Notable Works — Undine

section He was born at Brandenburg an der Havel, of a family of French Huguenot origin, as evidenced in his family name. His grandfather, Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué, had been one of Frederick the Great's generals and his father was a Prussian army officer. Although not originally intended for a military career, Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué ultimately gave up his university studies at Halle to join the army, and he took part in the Rhine campaign of 1794. The rest of his life was devoted mainly to literary pursuits. He was introduced to August Wilhelm Schlegel, who deeply influenced him as a poet ("mich gelehret Maß und Regel | Meister August Wilhelm Schlegel") and who published Fouqué's first book, Dramatische Spiele von Pellegrin, in 1804.

Fouqué's first marriage was unhappy and soon ended in divorce. His second wife, Caroline Philippine von Briest (1773–1831), enjoyed some reputation as a novelist in her day. After her death Fouqué married a third time. Some consolation for the ebbing tide of popular favour was afforded him by the munificence of Frederick William IV of Prussia, who granted him a pension which allowed him to spend his later years in comfort. He died in Berlin in 1843. For Fouqué's life see Lebensgeschichte des Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué (only to the year 1813), Aufgezeichnet durch ihn selbst (Halle, 1840), and also the introduction to Koch's selections in the Deutsche Nationalliteratur.

• Illustration — Memorial plaque to Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué in Meissen

After Dramatische Spiele von Pellegrin, his second work, Romanzen vom Tal Ronceval (1805), showed more plainly his allegiance to the romantic leaders, and in the Historie vom edlen Ritter Galmy (1806) he versified a 16th-century romance of medieval chivalry. Sigurd der Schlangentödter, ein Heldenspiel in sechs Abentheuren (1808), was the first modern German dramatization of the Nibelung legend combining Icelandic sources such as the Volsunga Saga and the Middle High German Nibelungenlied. The play and its two sequels Sigurds Rache (1809) and Aslaugas Ritter (1810) were published together under the title Der Held des Nordens in 1810 The Hero of the North. The trilogy brought Fouqué to the attention of the public, and had a considerable influence on subsequent versions of the story, such as Friedrich Hebbel's Nibelungen and Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. These early writings indicate the lines which Fouqué's subsequent literary activity followed; his interests were divided between medieval chivalry on the one hand and northern mythology on the other. In 1813, the year of the rising against Napoleon, he again fought with the Prussian army, and the new patriotism awakened in the German people left its mark upon his writings.

Were I asked, what is a fairytale? I should reply, Read Undine: that is a fairytale... of all fairytales I know, I think Undine the most beautiful. (George MacDonald, The Fantastic Imagination) Between 1810 and 1815, Fouqué's popularity was at its height; the many romances and novels, plays and epics which he produced with extraordinary rapidity, appealed greatly to the mood of the hour. Undine appeared around 1811, the only work by which Fouqué's memory still lives today. A more comprehensive idea of his talent may, however, be obtained from the two romances Der Zauberring (1812) and Die Fahrten Thiodolfs des Isländers (1815).

From 1820 onwards the quality of Fouqué's work deteriorated, partly owing to the fatal formal ease with which he wrote, and he failed to keep pace with the changes in German taste by clinging to the paraphernalia of romanticism. His rivals applied a sobriquet of "Don Quixote of Romanticism" to him.

Most of Fouqué's works have been translated. Menella Bute Smedley, for instance, translated his ballad, "The Shepherd of the Giant Mountains". The English versions of Aslauga's Knight (by Thomas Carlyle), Sintram and his Companions and Undine have been frequently republished. A number of his short stories were translated in Popular Tales and Romances of the Northern Nations (1823).

Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué was recorded at birth as Friedrich Heinrich Karl de la Motte Fouqué. He also worked under the names Pellegrin and A.L.T. The authorities additionally record the headings Friedrich de la Motte Fouque and Friedrich, Baron de La Motte-Fouqué. His recorded language was German. He was the child of Heinrich August Carl de la Motte Fouqué. He married Caroline von Briest and Albertine Fouqué. 2 children are recorded: Marie de la Motte Fouqué and Friedrich de la Motte-Fouqué. Other recorded relations include Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué.

Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué is recorded as writer, librettist and poet.