Friedrich von Bodenstedt
Friedrich von Bodenstedt was a German poet and scholar born in 1819 in Peine, Germany. Initially pursuing a commercial education due to the perception that writing was not a viable career, he nonetheless developed a passion for poetry while mastering French and English. His journey led him to Russia in 1840, where he became a tutor to Prince Gallitzyn, allowing him to mingle with prominent literary figures, including the poet Mikhail Lermontov. In 1843, he moved to Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia), where he published his first significant work, "Die poetische Ukraine," which showcased Ukrainian poetry.
Bodenstedt's career spanned various cities, including Munich, Rome, and Berlin, where he edited a political newspaper and later became a professor of Slavic studies at the University of Munich. After the death of King Maximilian II of Bavaria, he served the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Despite facing chronic health issues in his later years, he continued to travel extensively, even visiting the United States for a meeting at the White House. He passed away in 1892 in Wiesbaden, where a monument honoring him was established, though it was destroyed during World War II and later restored. His literary legacy includes "Die Lieder des Mirza-Schaffy" and a celebrated German translation of the "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam."
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Friedrich von Bodenstedt
Author
- Born: April 22, 1819
- Birthplace: Peine, Hanover, Germany
- Died: April 18, 1892
- Place of death: Wiesbaden, Germany
Biography
Friedrich von Bodenstedt was born in 1819 in Peine, Germany. Although he showed an early aptitude in poetry, he attended a commercial school, since writing was not considered a sustaining career at the time. However, while at school he continued writing and became quite adept at French and English. Upon his graduation, he apprenticed himself to a firm in Brunswick, where he also studied extensively at the University of Göttingen. Eager to explore the world, he traveled with a friend to Russia in 1840.
Studies at the University of Moscow reaped immediate benefits as he was chosen as a tutor for Prince Gallitzyn, allowing him to socialize with a Russian literary circle that included the famed poet Mikhail Lermontov. In 1843, he decided to teach in Tiflis, Ukraine, where he learned about Sufism and the language of Tatar. It was in Ukraine that Bodenstedt published his first major work, Die poetische Ukraine (1845), a collection of translated Ukrainian poems. Further travels took him to Munich, Rome, Vienna, and Berlin, where he edited Deutsche Reform, a political newspaper. At the request of King Maximilian II of Bavaria, Bodenstedt became professor of Slavic studies at the University of Munich.
After Maximillian’s death in 1864, Bodenstedt went to work for the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. In the twilight of Bodenstedt’s life he was plagued by chronic health problems but still traveled frequently, even venturing to the United States for an audience in the White House. Bodenstedt died in Weisbaden in 1892, at the age of eighty-two. A monument was erected in his honor at Wiesbaden but was melted down during World War II and later restored. Bodenstedt is best remembered for his poem, Die Lieder des Mirza-Schaffy, and his translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam into German, Die Lieder und Sprüche des Omar Chajjâm, verdeutscht (1881).