Nikolaus Becker

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nikolaus Becker

Nikolaus Becker (also Nicolaus Becker ; * October 8, 1809 in Bonn ; † August 28, 1845 in Hünshoven , today a district of Geilenkirchen ) was known as the poet of the Rhine song .

Life

Information board at the birthplace of Nikolaus Becker at Sternstrasse 64 in Bonn

Nikolaus Becker was born in Bonn as the youngest of fourteen children. His parents were the businessman and city councilor Edmund Becker (1754-1830) and his third wife Maria Cäcilia Josepha Henriette DuMont (1773-1835). From 1820, Nikolaus Becker attended high school in Bonn and then moved to Düren in 1828 . After graduating, he returned to his hometown in 1830 and enrolled at Bonn University to study law . Although he was more intensely concerned with poetry than with law during his studies, he passed his first state examination in law in 1832. After completing his subsequent one-year military service, he entered the legal preparatory service at the Cologne Court of Justice as an auscultator . Letters show that this gave him little pleasure. After his mother's death in 1835, he moved to his stepsister in Hünshoven near Geilenkirchen. Her husband, who was a clerk at the Friedensgericht in Geilenkirchen, found the brother-in-law a job there. Becker was very accommodating because the activity left enough free time to relax because he suffered from health problems. Most of his poems were written during this period, inspired by walks in nature.

On September 18, 1840, his poem “The Free Rhine” appeared in the “Trierische Zeitung” after the publisher Joseph DuMont , a close relative of his mother, had persuaded him to publish it. It was only when it was published in the " Kölnische Zeitung " in October of the same year that the poem, which hit the nerve of the times due to the political background ( Vormärz , Orient crisis and Rhine crisis ), gained greater popularity. During this time, when demands from the French side were increasing on the areas left of the Rhine , Becker became a celebrated patriot through the publication of his poem. A short time before, he had turned to his nephew, the Mayor of Bonn, Edmund Oppenhoff , with the request to find a better-paid job for him because his financial situation was so bad, now Becker was showered with honors. King Friedrich Wilhelm IV gave him 1,000 thalers and promised to get him a court position.

As soon as its fame came, it faded away as quickly. In 1841 his collected poems appeared with 72 poems by Becker, but were not very well known. In July 1841 he took up a new position as a clerk at the Cologne Court of Justice , but his health deteriorated increasingly. At the beginning of July 1845 he moved back to his stepsister in Hünshoven, where he died shortly afterwards at the age of only 35.

Rhine song

Becker was best known for his Rheinlied from 1840. The most common verses were: “You shouldn't have him, the free German Rhine , until a flood buries the last man's bones”, which was applauded as a popular expression of the German national feeling. By "they" I meant the French . The song reflects the Rhine crisis between France and the German Confederation .

text

They shouldn't have him,
The free German Rhine,
Whether they scream hoarsely for it like greedy ravens
,

As long as he still wears
his green dress, flowing calmly ,
As long as a rudder
beats resounding in his wave!

They shall not have him,
The free German Rhine,
As long as hearts feast
on his fire wine;

As long as
the rocks stand firm in its stream ,
As long as high domes can be seen
in its mirror!

They shouldn't have him,
The free German Rhine,
As long as there are bold boys
For slender whores free;

As long as the fin lifts
A fish on its bottom,
As long as a song still lives
In its singer's mouth!

They shall not have him,
The free German Rhine,
Until its flood bury
The last man's bones!

Effects

The Prussian "romantic on the throne" Friedrich Wilhelm IV transferred the poet a fee of 1000 thalers , and King Ludwig I of Bavaria sent him a cup of honor. He was also an honorary member of the Bonn cockchafer association . Since the song opposed French claims to the Rhineland and the Rhine, it elicited replies in France . Among these, that of Alfred de Musset Nous l'avons eu, votre Rhin allemand was characterized by arrogance , while Lamartine's Peace Marseillaise (1841) struck more conciliatory strings.

From the Rhine song , there were over 200 musical settings, including by Robert Schumann . Schumann composed his "patriotic song [...] for a voice and choir with accompaniment of the pianoforte" just a few months after the text was published as a contribution to a competition. The work was very successful during Schumann's lifetime because of the catchy melody, but is almost unknown today because the song was rejected for political reasons.

criticism

Heinrich Heine criticized the national and anti-France tone of the song and left in Germany. Commenting on a winter fairy tale his " father Rhine " himself:

At Biberich I swallowed stones,
they really did n't taste good!
But it's heavier in my stomach
The verses of Niklas Becker.

monument

Memorial plaque on the parish church of Geilenkirchen- Hünshoven

The Cologne sculptor Heinrich Eschweiler created a memorial with the relief image of the poet, which was unveiled in Geilenkirchen on August 13, 1899 . The memorial was destroyed in World War II. Nikolaus Becker's relief image was recovered from the rubble and integrated into a new plaque at the Catholic parish church of St. Johann Baptist in Hünshoven.

Works

literature

Web links

Commons : Nikolaus Becker  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Landschaftsverband Rheinland - Quality for People: Portal Rheinische Geschichte: Nikolaus Becker (1809-1845), poet , author: Lydia Becker, 2012, accessed on February 15, 2018
  2. ↑ Inscription on the back of the destroyed monument.
    Richard Sier: Germany's spiritual heroes. Monuments of honor for our outstanding leaders in the spiritual field in words and pictures . VA Universum, Berlin undated (1904), p. 8
  3. ^ Nikolaus Becker: The German Rhine in the Gutenberg-DE project
  4. ↑ Dietrich Höroldt (Ed.): History of the City of Bonn, Vol. 4. Dümmlers Verlag, Bonn 1989.
  5. ^ Robert Schumann: Der deutsche Rhein WoO 1 (1840) : Notes and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
  6. ^ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Robert Schumann. The vocal work. dtv / Bärenreiter, Munich / Kassel 1985, ISBN 3-423-10423-6 , p. 175 f.
  7. ↑ Allusion to the Nebeljungenstreich .
  8. ^ Heinrich Heine: Germany. A winter fairy tale. Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg 1844. Caput V, para. 5. p. 23 ( digitized and full text in the German text archive ).

This article is based on a text in the public domain from Meyers Konversations-Lexikon , 4th edition from 1888 to 1890.

Please only remove this note if you have revised the article to such an extent that the text reflects the current state of knowledge on this topic, this has been proven and it meets today's linguistic requirements.
To refer to the Meyers article afterwards, you can{{ Meyers Online | Volume | Page}} to use.
personal data
SURNAME Becker, Nikolaus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Becker, Nicolaus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German poet, author of the Rheinlied
DATE OF BIRTH October 8, 1809
PLACE OF BIRTH Bonn
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 1845
Place of death Hünshoven (today: Geilenkirchen )