Simon von Geldern

From von Geldern's diary: drawing of the globe

Simon von Geldern , called the Oriental or the Morgenländer (born November 12, 1720 in Vienna , according to other sources in Düsseldorf , † 1774 [according to other sources 1788] in Forbach ) was a German traveler and writer .

Life

Simon von Geldern was Heinrich Heine's maternal great-uncle - the van Geldern family was a formerly important Jewish family from Geldern on the Lower Rhine .

Heinrich Heine describes him in his memoirs as an adventurer and utopian dreamer. He got his nickname through his extensive travels in the Orient . He spent many years in the port cities of North Africa , especially the Moroccan states, where he learned the craft of armorer from the Portuguese and continued to practice it successfully.

Simon von Geldern made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem . He is said to have had a vision during a prayer on Mount Moria . He was later chosen to be the leader of a Bedouin tribe who raided the North African desert.

Then he stayed at the courts of Europe and later had to flee to England , since his too intense relationships with a lady of higher class were discovered. He claimed to be a connoisseur of Kabbalah and published a French pamphlet called Moïse sur Mont Horeb , which is likely related to his vision there.

In 1753 he saw the Genisa of the Ben Esra Synagogue in Cairo , but was not allowed to examine it, as it was said that anyone who touched the sacred pages would be affected by calamity.

Simon von Geldern wrote diaries that Heinrich Heine found in the attic of his uncle Simon (who is not the great-uncle Simon described here) at Mertensgasse 1 (so-called Arche Noä ) in Düsseldorf.

Fonts

• Prière que les Juifs font avant de se coucher, traduite de l'hébreu… par M. le Dr et RS de Gueldres,… 1758
• The Israelites on Mount Horeb. To Oratorio, French and English. From A Manuscript Of Doctor De Gueldre. Cadell, London 1773
• Maʿaśē Yehûdît Isaak b. David, Fürth 1784 digitized

literature

• Thomas W. Evans: Memoirs of Heinrich Heine. G. Bell and sons, London 1884, pp. 167-172
• David Kaufmann: From Heinrich Heine's ancestral hall. Schottländer , Breslau 1896 (based on a Hebrew manuscript by Simon von Geldern, Jewish genealogy)
• Fritz Heymann , The Chevalier of Geldern. A chronicle of the adventure of the Jews. Amsterdam, Querido Verlag, Amsterdam 1937
• John F. Oppenheimer (Red.) And a .: Lexicon of Judaism. 2nd Edition. Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh u. a. 1971, ISBN 3-570-05964-2 , col. 232.
• Ludwig Rosenthal: Heinrich Heine's Grossoheim Simon von Geldern. A historical report with the previously mostly unpublished source material. Henn, Kastellaun 1978

Web links

• Article about Simon von Geldern in the Jewish Encyclopedia from 1901-1906 (Authors: Joseph Jacobs, Goodman Lipkind)
• Family history of Heinrich Heine with references to Simon von Geldern