Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 2.djvu/839

 BRENTANO

759

BRENTANO

century belief in the existence of the island was com- pletely abandoned. But soon a new theory arose, maintained by those scholars who claim for the Irish the glory of discovering America, namely, Mac- Carthy, Rafn, Beamish, O'Hanlon, Beauvois, Gaf- farel, etc. They rest this claim on the account of the Northmen who found a region south of Vinland and the Chesapeake Bay called "Hvitramamaland" (Land of the White Slen) or "Irland ed mikla" (Greater Ireland), and on the tradition of the Sha- wano (Shawnee) Indians that in earlier times Florida was inhabited by a white tribe which had iron im- plements. In regard to Brendan himself the point is made that he could only have gained a knowledge of foreign animals and plants, such as are described in the legend, by visiting the western continent. On the other hand, doubt was very early expressed as to the value of the narrative for the history of discovery. Honorius of Augsburg declared that the Lsland had vanished; Vincent of Beauvais denied the authenticity of the entire pilgrimage, and the Bol- landists do not recogiiize it. Among the geographers, Alexander von Humboldt, Peschel, Ruge, and Kretschmer, place the story among geographical legends, which are of interest for the history of civ- ilization but which can lay no claim to serious con- sideration from the point of view of geography. The oldest account of the legend is in Latin, "Navigatio Sancti Brendani", and belongs to the tenth or eleventh century; the first French translation dates from 112.5; since the thirteenth century the legend has appeared in the literatures of the Netherlands, Germany, and England. A list of the numerous manuscripts is given by Hardy, "Descriptive Cata- logue of Materials Relating to the History of Great Britain and Ireland" (London, 1862), I, 159 sqq. Editions have been issued by: Jubinal, " La L^gende latine de S. Brandaines avec une traduction in^dite en prose et en po6sie roraanes" (Paris, 1836); Wright, "St. Brandan, a Medieval Legend of the Sea, in English Verse, and Prose" (London, 1844); C. Schroder, "Sanct Brandan, ein latinischer und drci deutsche Texte" (Erlangen, 1871); Brill, "Van Sinte Brandane" (Gronningen, 1871); Francisque Michel, "Les Voyages merveilleux de Saint Brandan i la recherche du paradis terrestre" (Paris, 1878); Fr. No- vati, "La Navigatio Sancti Brandani in antico Veneziano" (Bergamo, 1892); E. Bonebakker, "Van Sente IJrandane" (Amsterdam, 1894); Carl Wahland gives a list of the rich literature on the subject and the old French prose translation of Brendan's voyage (Upsala, 1900), XXXVI-XC.

Beamish, Tke Discovery of America (1881), 210-21 1 : O' Han- LON. Lives of the Irish Saints (Dublin, 1875). V, 389; Peschel, Abkaruilungen zur Erd- und Volkerkunde (Leipzig, 1S77), I. 20-28; Gaffarel, Les Voyages de Saint Brandan et des Papce dans VAtlantvjxie au moyen age in Bulletin de la Societe de Geographic de Rochefort (1880-81), II, 5; RncE, Geschichte des Zeitallers der Enldeckungen (Leipzig, 1881); Schirmer, Zur Brendanus Lenende (Leipzig, 1888); Zimmer, Keltische Bei- tragc in Zeitschrifi fiir deutsches Altertum und deutsche Litiera- tur (1888-89), 33; Idem, Die fruliesten Beriihrunnen der Iren id aen Nordgermanen in Berichte der Akademie der Wissen- ■hajt (Berlin, 1891); Kretschmer, Die Enldeckung Amerikas (Berlin, 1892, Calmund, 1902), 186-195; Brittain, The History of North Amenra (Philadelphia, 19071. I. 10; Rafn, Ant. Amer.. XXXVIl. and 447-450; Avezac, Les lies fantasti- ques de I'ocean occidentnl in Nouv. An, des voyages et de science qeoar. (1845), I, 293; MacCauthy, The voyage of St. Brendan, - Dublin University Magazine (Jan., 1S4S), 89 sqq.

Otto Hartiq.

Brentano, Klemens Maria, a German poet, one of the most prominent members of the Romantic School. He was bom at Thal-Ehrenbreitstein 8 Sep- tember, 1778; d. 28 July, 1842. After a futile at- tempt to become a merchant, he entered the Uni- versity of Jena in 1797, where he remained with occasional interruptions until 1803. Here he made the acquaintance of the brothers August Wilhelm and Friedrich Schlegel and of Ludwig Tieck, the

Klemens Maria Brentano

founders and leaders of the Romantic School, to which Brentano also attached himself. In 1803 he married Sophie Mereau, the divorced wife of Pro- fessor Mereau, and the follo\\'ing year moved to Heidelberg, where with Achim von Arnim, who later became his brother-in-law, and Joseph Gorres he was soon the leading spirit of the so- called younger Ro- mantic School. It was during this period that he pub- lished jointly with Arnim the famous collection of old folksongs knowTi as "Des Knaben Wunderhorn ' ', which appeared in three volumes be- tween the years

1805 and 1808. This collection es- tablished once for all the position of the Volkdied in German literature and had a powerful

effect on t lie IjtIc poetry not only of Germany, but also of other nations. Longfellow testifies that it had "the most wild and magic influence " on his imagina- tion. It was of course not to be expected that the text of these poems should be philologically accurate, but this in no way diminishes the importance of the service which the editors rendered to German literature. In

1806 Brentano 's ^^^fe died and he then led a wild, un- settled life, drifting to various places, Halle, Weimar, Kassel, Vienna, and Berlin. A second matrimonial venture proved disastrous; his T\-ife was a woman of unbridled temper and habits, and he soon separated from her. Finally he drifted to Berlin restless and discontented. There he met the accomplished Luise Hensel, who later on achieved fame as a poetess. His ardent love for her was unrequited. Luise Hensel de- clined all offers of marriage. A great change now came over the poet. His previous indifference to the Catho- lic Faith, in which he had been born, was changed to the most fervid devotion. He left Berlin and in 1818 went to the secluded Westphalian town of Diilmen, attracted by the fame of the stigmatic nun, Katharina Emmerich. For six years he remained near her, making a record of her visions and revelations. The publication of this record occupied the greater part of the remaining years of his life. After her death in 1824 he again wandered, settling at last in 1833 in Munich, where with Gorres he was the centre of a circle of distinguished Catholic scholars and men of letters. He died in 1842 while visiting his brother Christian in Aschaffenburg.

Brentano is chiefly known as the editor of "Des Knaben Wunderhorn", but he also has ^vritten a great deal of original matter. Among his earlier writings "Godwi" deserves notice, as a wild, formless romance in which some fine lyrics are interspersed, including the song of the "Lore Lay", later in- corporated in the "Wunderhorn". This song in- spired Heine's famous ballad on the same subject. "Die Romanzen vom Rosenlcranz" (Romances of the Rosary) is an unfinished narrative allegorical poem containing a fanciful mixture of biographical, historical, and legendary traits, which was published in 1852 after the author's death. Especially note- worthy are the stories, or Mdrcken, such as the "Geschichte vom braven Kasperl und dem schonen Annerl" (1817), a tragic story of \-illage life; and "Gockel, Hinkel und Gackeleia" (18.38). A fan- tastic, whimsical humour per\ ades nearly all of Bren-