Clemens Brentano

Clemens Brentano (1778–1842) was a German writer and a major representative of Heidelberg Romanticism. After an apprenticeship in commerce and studies in mining and medicine, he turned to literature and philosophy in Jena and Göttingen. There he became friends with Achim von Arnim. Together they edited the collection of traditional songs “Des Knaben Wunderhorn,” one of Brentano’s best-known works. His other writings include poems such as “Der Spinnerin Nachtlied,” the fairy tale “Gockel, Hinkel und Gackeleia,” and the story “Geschichte vom braven Kasperl und dem schönen Annerl.” He later also wrote Catholic devotional works and recorded the visions of the nun Anne Catherine Emmerich. Brentano was the brother of the writer Bettina von Arnim.