Friedrich Rückert

Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert (; 16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages.

Biography Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert was born 16 May 1788 in Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer, Johann Adam Rückert, and his wife, Maria Barbara ( Schwappach). He was educated at the local Gymnasium and at the universities of Würzburg and Heidelberg. From 1816 to 1817, he worked on the editorial staff of the Morgenblatt at Stuttgart. Nearly the whole of the year 1818 he spent in Rome, and afterwards he lived for several years at Coburg (1820–1826), where he married Luise Wiethaus-Fischer in 1821.

Memorials

A monument to Rückert is situated at Marktplatz in Schweinfurt. The monument of Rückert, whose birth house stands at the southeast corner of the town hall, has stood in the central square of Schweinfurt since 1890. It was created by architect Friedrich Ritter von Thiersch and sculptor Wilhelm von Rühmann. Allegorical figures from his works – Geharnischte Sonette ("Withering Sonnets") and Weisheit des Brahmanen ("Wisdom of the Brahmans") – are situated at the feet of the bronze Rückert.

Rückert is also commemorated by a small museum in his home at Neuses (now in Friedrich-Rückert-Strasse) and a park, Rückertpark which also features a memorial bust.

Literature

A comprehensive but by no means complete edition of Rückert's poetical works appeared in 12 volumes in 1868–1869. Subsequent editions have been edited by L. Laistner (1896), C. Beyer (1896), G. Ellinger (1897). See B. Fortlage, F. Rückert und seine Werke (1867); C. Beyer, Friedrich Rückert, ein biographisches Denkmal (1868), Neue Mitteilungen über Rückert (1873), and Nachgelassene Gedichte Rückerts und neue Beiträge zu dessen Leben und Schriften (1877); R. Boxberger, Rückert-Studien (1878); P. de Lagarde, Erinnerungen an F. Rückert (1886); F. Muncker, Friedrich Rückert (1890); G. Voigt, Rückerts Gedankenlyrik (1891). Hans Wollschläger und Rudolf Kreutner (Ed.): Historisch-kritische Ausgabe in Einzelbänden, Schweinfurt 1998ff.; thus far 4 volumes in 5 parts (as of July 2004): Die Weisheit des Brahmanen, 2 volumes, 1998. Gedichte von Rom, 2000. Liedertagebuch I/II, 1846–1847, 2001 Liedertagebuch III/IV, 1848–1849, 2002. Liedertagebuch V/VI, 1850–1851, Erster Band, 2003. Hans Wollschläger (Ed.): Kindertotenlieder [1993 also as insel taschenbuch 1545]. Hartmut Bobzin (Ed.): Der Koran in der Übersetzung von Friedrich Rückert, 4th edition, Würzburg 2001. Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's Königsbuch (Schahname) Sage I–XIII. Aus dem Nachlaß herausgegeben von E. A. Bayer. 1890. Nachdruck: epubli GmbH, Berlin, 2010 Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's Königsbuch (Schahname) Sage XX–XXVI. Aus dem Nachlaß herausgegeben von E. A. Bayer. Nachdruck der Erstausgabe. epubli Berlin, 2010. (Details) Wolfgang von Keitz (Hrsg.): Oestliche Rosen. epubli, Berlin 2012. (Details)

In 1847, Rückert also translated select verses of the Tirukkural, an ancient Tamil classic, into German.