1. Quizzes & Games
  2. Word of the Day
  3. Video
  4. New Words
 

Novalis


Novalis

biographical name

/

Novalis, detail of an engraving by Edouard Eichens, 1845—Courtesy of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany; photograph, Walter Steinkopf

(born May 2, 1772, Oberwiederstedt, Prussian Saxony—died March 25, 1801, Weissenfels, Saxony) German Romantic poet and theorist. Born into a noble family, he took his pseudonym from a former family name. He studied law and then mining and in 1799 became a mine inspector. His beautiful Hymns to the Night (1800) expresses his grief on the death of his young fiancée. In his last years before his own death from tuberculosis at age 28, he drafted a philosophical system based on idealism and produced his most significant poetic work. His mythical romance Heinrich von Ofterdingen (1802) describes a young poet's mystical and romantic searchings.

Variants of NOVALIS

Novalis orig. Friedrich Leopold, Baron von Hardenberg

This entry comes from Encyclopædia Britannica Concise.
For the full entry on Novalis, visit Britannica.com.

Seen & Heard

What made you look up Novalis? Please tell us what you were reading, watching or discussing that led you here.

Test Your Vocabulary

Take Our 10-Question Quiz

Get Our Free Apps
Voice Search, Favorites,
Word of the Day, and More
iPhone | iPad | Android | More
Join Us on FB & Twitter
Get the Word of the Day and More
Facebook | Twitter