Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Century

Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Century

Camões in Germany and RomanticDiscourses of Decline in the 19th

and 20th CenturyNora GOERNE

University of [email protected]

Recibido: Aceptado:

ABSTRACTIn an attempt to understand German-Portuguese cultural relations,this article explores the discovery, reception and distribution ofRenaissance writer Luís Vaz de Camões in Germany and subsequentintertextual production. The aims of this study are then threefold:First of all, I am to give an updated historical overview ofCamões’ reception which then allows for a deeper understanding ofCamões’ portrayal as Portugal’s tragic hero in German Romanticism.This then leads to a discussion of the projected decline of theHoly Roman Empire of the German Nation which were articulated byFriedrich Schlegel and his contemporaries. Lastly, this essayfocuses on similar discourses of decline in Reinhold Schneider’sDas Leiden des Camões oder Untergang und Vollendung der portugiesischen Machtwhich aimed to explore historical decline and personalexistentialist questions through a historical as well as afictional interpretation of Camões’ life.

Keywords: Camões, German-Portuguese cultural relations, ReinholdSchneider, discourses of decline of civilization, GermanRomanticism, reception studies

Camões in Deutschland und romantischeUntergangsdiskurse im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert

ZUSAMMENFASSUNGUm deutsch-portugiesische kulturelle Beziehungen besser zuverstehen, untersucht dieser Artikel die Entdeckung, Rezeption undVerbreitung des Renaissance-Dichters Luís Vaz de Camões inDeutschland und die anschließende intertextuelle Produktion. DieseStudie hat drei Ziele: Ein aktualisierter historischer Überblicküber Camões’ Rezeption soll helfen ein tieferes Verständnis überdie Darstellung von Camões als Portugals tragischen Helden in derdeutschen Romantik zu entwickeln. Daraufhin wird der angenommeneUntergang des Heiligen Römischen Reiches Deutscher Nation, der von

Revista de Filología Alemana2015, vol. 23

Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th CenturyFriedrich Schlegel und seinen Zeitgenossen artikuliert wurde,diskussiert. Schließlich konzentriert sich dieser Artikel aufReinhold Schneiders’ Das Leiden des Camões, welches historischenUntergang und persönliche existenzialistische Fragen durch einesowohl historische als auch fiktive Interpretation von Camões‘Leben erkundet.

Stichwörter: Camões, Deutsch-Portugiesische kulturelle Beziehungen,Reinhold Schneider, Diskurse des Untergangs der Zivilisation,Deutsche Romantik, Rezeptionsstudien

SUMARIO: 1. Introduction. 2. Translations and Quotations. 3.Historical Overview: German Discovery and reception of “Camoens”. 4Camões as Portugal's National Poet and Discourses of Decline in theRomantic Era. 5. Schneider, Spengler and Discourses of Decline inthe early 20th Century. 6. Conclusion.

Jede Kultur durchläuft die Altersstufendes einzelnen Menschen. Jede hat ihreKindheit, ihre Jugend, ihre Männlichkeitund ihr Greisentum.1

(Oswald Spengler 1918: 99)

1. Introduction

This article will examine the influence andimportance of “Camoens” in Germany as it is seen as oneof the keys to understand German-Portuguese culturalrelations. The reception of the Portuguese Renaissancewriter Luís Vaz de Camões (1524 –1580) in Germany hasalready been studied several times but mainly in thePortuguese language. Therefore, this article aims togive a summary of the history, distribution andreception of Camões from the 18th to the early 20thcentury in English. This history will be discussed inthe light of decline of three different empires:Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire.In the first part, I will give an updated historicaloverview of the discovery and reception of Camões inGermany. Thereafter, I will examine discourses ofdecline and the understanding of Camões as Portugal’snational poet in the Romanticism. Lastly, specialattention will be paid to Reinhold Schneider’s Das Leiden1 Every culture goes through the stages of life of the individual. Each has its childhood, its youth, its manhood and its senility.


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Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centurydes Camões oder Untergang und Vollendung der portugiesischen Macht(The Suffering of Camões or Decline and Completion ofthe Portuguese Power, 1930) because it is one of themost striking examples of an intertextual relationshipto Camões in the 20th century. Furthermore, it createsa link between the projected decline of Portugal in the16th century on the one hand and a historic as well aspersonal understanding of decline on the other hand.

2. Translations and Quotations

Because I am dealing with intertextuality betweenPortugal and Germany I wanted to make the paperaccessible to as many people as possible. Therefore, Iam writing in the English language while giving allquotes in the original language, may it be German,Spanish, Portuguese or French. The translation of thequotes in the English language can be found infootnotes, titles are translated in parentheses afterthe original title in the text. The full translation ofthe poem “An Camoëns” by Friedrich Schlegel is found inthe annex. All translations are mine unless otherwisestated. I have tried to make the translation as literalas possible, at the sacrifice of sonority or meter, tohelp the reader follow the original text as well aspossible.

3. Historical Overview: German Discovery and Receptionof “Camoens”

In 1755, the Great Lisbon Earthquake destroyed majorparts of “the place that was but is no longer Lisbon”(Amaral 2014) and claimed between 10,000 to 100,000lives. The tragedy did not only inspire variousliterary works like Voltaire's Candide (1759) and“Poème sur le désastre de Lisbonne” (Poem on theLisbon disaster, 1756) but it also attracted interestin the country and culture of Portugal. Voltairealready devoted one short chapter to Camões in his workEssai sur la poésie épique (Essay on Epic Poetry) in 1727 andacknowledged the beauty and novelty in Os Lusíadas (TheLusiads) and compared “le Camoëns” to Virgil: “Camoëns;il y a peu d'endroits dans Virgile plus attendrissants


Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centuryet mieux écrits”2 but he also criticized the manydisparities in his oeuvre, like the blending of Greekmythology and Christian faith. However, as Pratasnotes, Voltaire did not speak Portuguese and was notwell informed about Camões’ biography and the epic poem(1733: 5).

Regardless of Voltaire's critique, the German scholarJohann Nicolaus Meinhard (1727-1767) translated andpublished parts of Os Lusíadas in the “BraunschweigerAnzeigen” in 1762 (Pratas 1974: 4). Several otherpartial translations followed in the next decades3 butit was not until 1806 - 1807 that a full translation ofOs Lusíadas became available. However, in these two yearsboth Friedrich Adolph Kuhn with Karl Gottfried TheodorWinkler and Carl Christian Heise translated the poem.These translations were mainly made possible via thepublication of the first Portugiesische Grammatik(Portuguese Grammar) in 1778 by Johann Andreas von Junkand the bilingual Nova Grammatica Portugueza4 by AbrahamMeldola in 1785. Nagel emphasizes that the lack ofcommand of the Portuguese language was the mostimportant factor why Camões was not known in Germanybefore the late 18th century (1981: 786). He also notesthe difficulties translators had in adapting thePortuguese verses to German due to distinct differencesbetween the two languages (1981: 787).

The first presentation and critique of Camões inGermany was done by the scholar Johann Andreas Diezewho published an essay on Portuguese literature, Von derportugiesischen Dichtkunst (About Portuguese Poetry), as partof his book Geschichte der spanischen Dichtkunst5 (History ofSpanish Poetry, pages 526 -538) in 1769. Diezeemphasises the value and high quality of Portuguese

2 Camoëns: There are few parts in Virgil that are more heart-warming and better written.

3 As mentioned in Carrington 2007: 33 - Johann Andreas von Junk in 1778, Karl Siegmund von Seckendorff 1780 and 1786, Johann Heinrich Voß 1784 and Christian Ahlwardt in 1795

4 Nova Grammatica Portugueza even included the first canto of Os Lusíadas (Nagel 1981: 786).

5 This book is based on Luis José Velázquez de Velasco’s Orígenes de la poesía castellana that Dieze translated and to which he added many additional explanatory notes.


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Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centurypoetry and demands that the Portuguese literature,which he considered nearly forgotten, should berediscovered and made more widely known. He dedicatestwelve pages to Camões in which he gives a summary ofthe biography of “this great poet” (Velázquez de Velasco,1769: 526), his importance in Portugal, an overview ofavailable translations6 and denounces much of thecriticism of scholars like Voltaire who were not ableto read the original of Os Lusíadas (Velázquez de Velasco,1769: 532). While Dieze agrees with Voltaire’scriticism on Camões' mélange of elements of heathenmythology and Christian religion, he lauds Camões’sublime phrasing and inventiveness, especially in theepisode on Inês de Castro, and the incorporation of thehistory of Portugal in his poem: “Das grosse Genie desDichters zeigt sich überall. Der Reichthum [!] derErfindung in den Episoden, und Fictionen [!], mit denener sein Sujet, das an und für sich sehr simpel ist,ausschmückt, ist bewundernswürdig”7 (Velázquez deVelasco, 1769: 532). Asides from that, he gives aromanticized image of the life and misery of Camões,mentioning his withdrawal from public life, how hisslave had to go begging for him and how he stillremained true to his king, Dom Sebastião, even thoughhe let him die of hunger (Velázquez de Velasco, 1769:530).

The German writer, philosopher and literary criticKarl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel (1772 – 1829) has areputation as the discoverer of “Camöens.” While thisis not exactly true, Schlegel had, together with hisolder brother August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 – 1845), abig influence on the distribution of Camões in Germany.On 21 August 1801, A. W. Schlegel mentions in a letterto Sophie Bernhardi that his brother is zealouslystudying Portuguese with a fervent interest in Camões:“Mein Bruder ist ein eifriger Portugiese geworden, undenthusiastisch für den Camoens [!] eingenommen. Er hat

6 However, he does not make mention of the translation of Meinhard.7 The great genius of the poet reveals itself everywhere. The

richness of invention in the episodes, and fictions with which he embellishes his subject, which is very simple in itself, is admirable.


Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centurymich auch sehr dazu ermahnt”8 (qtd. in Carrington2007: 32). During his lifetime F. Schlegel lectured9

and published several articles about Portugueseliterature in general, and Camões in particular to whomhe even dedicated a poem (“An Camoëns”, 1806). Hisfirst essay, Beiträge zur Geschichte der modernen Poesie undNachricht von provenzalischen Manuskripten (Contributions to thehistory of modern poetry and message of Provencalmanuscripts) was published in the journal Europa in1803. A. W. Schlegel notes the importance of Camões aswell, more specifically in his lectures Vorlesungen überschöne Literatur und Kunst (Lectures on fine literature andart) in Berlin from 1801 – 1804 and includes him in his1804 anthology Blumensträusse italienischer, spanischer undportugiesischer Poesie (Flower bouquets of Italian, Spanishand Portuguese poetry). Inspired by the brothersSchlegel, Madame de Staël published a biography ofCamões in Biographie Universelle in 1811 which was “rica detodos os topoi que a sensibilidade romântica iriaapreciar”10 (Aguiar E Silva 2011) and in turn influencedthe further French reception of Camões. In contrast toVoltaire's and Dieze's criticism, F. Schlegel calls themix of Christian religion with ancient mythology a“sinnreiche Allegorie” (ingenious allegory) and claimsthat Os Lusíadas is the only oeuvre worthy to be calledan epic – alongside Homer (Pratas 7). One of the mainreasons for this is the genuine connection between thetheme of the epic and the life of the poet himselfwhich will be discussed in greater detail in thefollowing chapter.

Another crucial character in the reception of Camõesin 19th century Germany is the scholar Wilhelm Storck(1829 – 1905) whose contributions were twofold: between1880 and 1885 he translated the complete works ofCamões11 in six volumes with an additional part aboutCamões in Germany and he also published a biography ofthe poet in 1890, Luis de Camoens Leben (The Life of Luis

8 My brother has become an eager Portuguese, and taken enthusiastically by the Camoens. He also exhorted me.

9 See: Wiener Vorlesungen in Geschichte der alten und neuen Literatur

10 Rich in all topoi that romantic sensibility would appreciate


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Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centuryde Camões)12. Although he was a professor in Germanstudies, he was also giving lectures about Portugueseliterature at the University of Münster (Briesemeisterand Schönberger 2014).

Friedrich Bouterwek (1766-1828) was of similarimportance for the dissemination of Camões in Germanywhile mostly adhering to Schlegel's ideas. Between 1801and 1819 he published an extensive history ofliterature and poetry in twelve volumes (Geschichte derPoesie und Beredsamkeit seit dem Ende des dreizehnten Jahrhunderts,History of poetry and eloquence since the end of thethirteenth century): around 400 pages were dedicated toPortuguese literature in general and 68 to Camões inparticular (Carrington 2007: 41)13. Apart from thesescholars there were many other writers during GermanRomanticism who were enthusiastically writing aboutCamões, the “fils adoptief du romantisme allemand”14

(Bertrand qtd. in Briesemeister 1983: 29), among themphilosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (Pratas 1974: 5),Christoph Martin Wieland (Instituto Alemão Lisboa,Camões na Alemanha), Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock(Kittel, Frank, and Greiner 1747), Georg WilhelmFriedrich Hegel (Kaufmann 2009: 166) and Wilhelm vonHumboldt (Nagel 1981: 787) to mention only a few.

In addition, Camões inspired many poems15,Künstlerromane16 like Der Tod des Dichters (The Death of the

11 As Pratas notes, he was encouraged by Joaquim de Vasconcelos to translate all of Camões' works as commemoration of the tercentenary of the death of Camões (1974: 10).

12 This work has been translated by Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcelos and published in 1897-98 as Vida e obras de Luís de Camões (Busse 1988).

13 Published in the volume Geschichte der portugiesischen Poesie und Beredsamkeit (History of Portuguese Poetry and Eloquence)

14 The adoptive son of German Romanticism15 For example: “Camoens und sein Neger” (Camões and his Negro,

part of Roswitha, 1813) by Friedrich Kind, “An Camoëns” by Friedrich Schlegel (To Camões, probably written in 1802,published in 1807), Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (Camoëns, n.d.), Robert

Ave-Lallemant (Anson, 1879)and Hugo Schuchardt (Camoens. Ein Festgruß nach Portugal, 1880).


Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th CenturyPoet, 1833) by Ludwig Tieck, the dramatic poem Camoens17(1837) by Friedrich Halm (pseudonym of Baron EligiusFranz Joseph von Münch-Bellinghausen) and Austrianwriter Uffo Horn's Camoens im Exil18 (Camões in Exile,1839). Camões even inspired an opera: L'esclave de Camoens(184219) by Friedrich von Flotow (music) and Gustav Ganszu Putlitz (libretto) which however was not receivedvery well.

Towards the end of the 19th century the interest inCamões withered. After a republication of K. A. Kuhnand K. T. Winkler's translation in 1886 it took oversixty years until a new translation of Os Lusíadas byOtto Freiherr von Taube was published. In 1973, abibliographical exposition about Camões in Germany wasorganized by Marion Ehrhardt at the DeutschesInstitut20. Sporadic works about Camões and hisreception in Germany followed but the enthusiasim ofthe Romantics was never equalled and most articles arestill only available in Portuguese. Hans-JoachimSchaeffer attempted to revive Camões in cooperationwith Rafael Arnold who published from 2008 to 2013 abilingual version of Os Lusíadas, all of Camões’ lyricalworks (Sämtliche Gedichte/A Obra Lírica) and a selection oftranslations of Camões' best poems. Finally, twoimportant examples of intertextuality were published inthe 20th century: Die Brandung vor Setúbal (The Rolling Sea

16A Künstlerroman (also Künstlerdrama, Künstlernovelle) is a literary work that narrates the life and work of a fictive or existing artist. Famous examples include Goethe's Torquato Tasso and Thomas Mann’s Doktor Faustus.

17 It is the dramatisation of the 1828 unpublished elegy Camoens Tod (The Death of Camões).

18 He also wrote Camoens Jugendliebe (Camões' Early Love) and the dramatization of this work,Katharina von Attayde (Catarina de Ataíde), which were however left

inedited.19 Revised in 1852 as Indra, das Schlangenmädchen, revised twice in

1878, first as Zora l'enchanteresse and as Alma l'incantatrice later in the same year; sometimes also written asL'Esclave de Camoens.

20 For a more comprehensive overview see the bibliography of Martins with Garrario and Carrington.


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Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centuryat Setúbal”) by Günter Eich in 1957 and Das Leiden desCamões (The Suffering of Camões21, 1930) by ReinholdSchneider which will be discussed in the third part ofthis essay.

4. Camões as Portugal's National Poet and Discourses ofDecline in the Romantic

It is peculiar that most German works and comments onCamões focus on his life which has often been presentedin a distorted and dramatized way: Camões’ life was re-interpreted as a tragedy. However, it was this imagethat contributed to the success of Camões in 19thcentury Germany. As Briesemeister notes: “Vai-seforjando uma imagem lendária do poeta visto como vítimado seu gênio e dos infortúnios com um forte ressaibomelodramático”22 (1983: 22). This is reflected in thecreation of several Künstlerromane like the alreadymentioned Der Tod des Dichters by Tieck but it is alsoevident in the works of the brothers Schlegel andBouterwek. Poetry was the driving force of theRomantics with the ideal of the progressiveUniversalpoesie23 (Martins and Garraio 2000: 19). Iturged the intermingling of all genres and poeticelements like critique, philosophy and rhetoric, and asa result life itself became poetry, and in turn lifewas reflected in poetry (Rasch 1964).

Die romantische Poesie ist eine progressiveUniversalpoesie. […] Sie umfaßt alles, was nur poetischist, vom größten wieder mehrere Systeme in sichenthaltenden Systeme der Kunst bis zu dem Seufzer, demKuß, den das dichtende Kind aushaucht in kunstlosemGesang.24 (F. Schegel qtd. in Bernofsky 2008: 91)

21 Translated in Portuguese as Camões, Amgústia e Tragédia and published in 1967.

22 A legendary image of the poet seen as a victim of his genius and misfortunes with a strong, melodramatic aftertaste is forged.

23 Progressive, universal poetry24 Romantic poetry is a progressive, universal poetry. […] It

embraces everything that is purely poetic, from the greatest



In contrast with Classicism, Romanticism called for theunion of poetry and life: “Vereinigung der Poesie unddes Lebens – als eine Poesie, die mit dem Leben eins zuwerden sucht, wo das Leben ganz poetisch, die Poesieganz lebendig ist“25 (F. Schlegel qtd. in Martins andGarraio 2000: 17). Camões was valued for the strongconnection his poetry had with his own life as hefulfilled the Romantic ideal perfectly: he was not onlypoet but also warrior and sailor as F. Schlegelemphasizes. Like Vasco da Gama, the hero of his OsLusíadas, Camões himself travelled to India andseemingly incorporated his own experiences of the FarEast in his art (Martins and Garraio 18). As noted byMartins and Garraio, Bouterwek had a similar conceptionand explained that Camões’ poetry and his life arelinked and one has to learn about the latter tounderstand his oeuvre (2000: 28).

Furthermore, Camões was recognized and celebrated bythe Romantics as Portugal’s national poet and thewriter of Portugal’s national epic: “ein epischesNationalgemälde des portugiesischen Heldenruhms”26 asdescribed by Bouterwek (qtd. in Carrington 2007: 41), acelebration of the projected glory of the Portuguesenation. However, as it is reflected in F. Schlegel’sdesignation of Os Lusíadas as “Schwanengesang einesuntergegangnen Heldenvolkes”27 (Martins and Garraio2000: 19), this projected splendour of Portugal is nowperceivably lost. Camões died in 1580, shortly afterthe sixteenth king of Portugal D. Sebastião embarked ona crusade to Morocco in 1578 where he and his army

systems of art, containing within themselves still further systems,to the sigh, the kiss that the poetizing child breathes forth in artless song. […] The Romantic kind of poetry is the only one that is more than a kind, that is, as it were, poetry itself: for in a certain sense all poetry is or should be Romantic. (Transl. Bernofsky)

25 Union of poetry and of life - as a poetry that seeks to merge with life, where life is very poetic,and poetry is very much alive

26 An epic painting of the Portuguese heroic fame27 Swan song of a perished heroic nation


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Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centurysuffered a humiliating defeat. D. Sebastião presumablydied in the battle which resulted in the transfer ofpower to the Spanish crown. From the viewpoint of theRomantics, Camões dies with his nation after havingchronicled and eternalized Portugal’s unity andmagnificence in his Os Lusíadas. The topic of the poem isconsciously placed before his time, with the frameworkof the expedition to India in 1497. The myth of Vascoda Gama as “the country’s paradigmatic sea-hero andexplorer” had already existed before (Bennett 2012) butCamões enshrined it as a part of Portuguese history andconsciousness.

Another myth is evoked in the poem “An Camoëns”28 byF. Schlegel (probably written in 1802, published in1807), the tale of Camões as castaway and with it, theperceived tragic life of the poet: “Kaum war dein Lieddem wilden Meer entwunden, / Sahst du von Alter, Sorge,Gram gebunden, / Den letzten König deines Volkesentschwinden“29 (for the complete poem and translationsee the annex). In the mythologization of theshipwreck, it is recounted how Camões, ready to die amartyr, firmly grasped the manuscript of Os Lusíadas inone hand and salvaged it swimming back to shore. AsMartins and Garraio note, Schlegel’s Camões is trappedin the discrepancy of trying to uphold and praisePortugal’s glory while the power of the PortugueseEmpire is vanishing.

Schlegel realça os desencontros entre o elevadopropósito do artista de glorificar a pátria e os seusheróis e um destino ingrato, que, como única recompensa para

aquele que dedicara a sua vida à arte e à pátria,apenas reservara a decadência desta última e odesencanto de viver para a testemunhar.30 (2000: 20)

28 To Camões. For a Portuguese translation see Martins and Garrario 20-21, for the English translation see the annex.

29 No sooner had your song been wrested from the wild sea, / Did you see bound by age, worry and grief / The last king of thy peopledisappear

30 Schlegel highlights the inconsistencies between the high purpose of the artist to glorify the homeland and its heroes and his ungrateful destiny, which, as the only reward for the one who


Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th CenturySchlegel sees him confronted with a similar problem anddeclares Camões his role model: “Sei, Camoëns, dennmein Vorbild! Laß mich's wagen / Des deutschen RuhmsUrkunde aus den Wogen / Empor zu halten, an die Rettungglaubend.“ 31 Like Camões, Schlegel wishes to write apoem that reiterates and restores the glory of Germany(Carrington 2007: 36). The same wish was expressed byNovalis in a letter to Caroline Schlegel on 27 February1799. His novel Heinrich von Ofterdingen was supposed to bethe first in a literary cycle that eternalizes theGerman glory (Safranski 2013: 111).

At the end of the 18th century, Germany was in apolitical and social upheaval, plagued by famine andunder the influence of the French Revolution. In 1805,the French army under the command of Napoleon Bonapartedefeated the Third Coalition (alliance between Russiaand the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in theBattle of Austerlitz which eventually resulted in thedissolution of the Holy Roman Empire on 6 August 1806(Jacob, “Deutschland”). There was no sovereign Germannation-state32 but the German-speaking population wasscattered over many different counties which were moreor less under French ruling (Jacob, “Der DeutscheBund”). Comparatively, Schlegel considered both Germanyand Portugal to be in decline but the situation wasseen to be even harsher for Germany as its glory wasnot preserved in poetry like in Portugal. In otherwords, the lack of a German national epic was feltdeeply by Schlegel and other Romantics as EduardoLourenço confirms: “Os românticos alemães, em busca deuma pátria, deviam rever-se mais do que ninguém, comhad devoted his life to art and to his homeland, had reserved only the decay of the latter and the disillusionment of living to witness.

31 Be, Camões, then my role model! Let me venture it, to hold thedocument of German glory high above the waves, believing in salvation.

32 This sovereign German nation was demanded by the German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762 – 1814) at his lectures inBerlin Reden an die deutsche Nation: Forderung nach einem freiheitlichen und selbständigen deutschen Nationalstaat (Speeches to the German nation: Demand for a liberal and independent German nation-state) in 1807/1808 (Jacob, “Der Deutsche Bund”).


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Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centuryinvejosa nostalgia, neste espelho da exaltação dosentimento nacional”33 (1999: 146).

5. Schneider, Spengler and Discourses of Decline in theearly 20th Century

Fig. 1: FARIA, M. S. d. «Mvsis. et Posteritati. S. Lvdovico deCamões» Etching. 1648. Archive of Early American Images, The JohnCarter Brown Library, Brown University. 1624. Web. 28 May 2014.

As a child, Reinhold Schneider (1903 - 1958) foundthe above portrait of Camões in an orbis pictus in thelibrary of his grandfather (Carrington 2007: 81). Theimage stuck in his head and he later described Camõesas the „Galionsfigur meiner fragwürdigen Lebensfahrt”34

33 More than anyone, the German Romantics, in search of a homeland, should reconsider themselves, with envious nostalgia, in this mirror of exaltation of the national feeling.

34 Figurehead of my questionable journey of life


Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Century(Schneider qtd. in Carrington 2007: 81). His secondinfluential contact with Portugal was through the workDel sentimiento trágico de la vida en los hombres y en los pueblos35(1913) by the Spanish author and existentialistphilosopher Miguel de Unamuno who he discovered in 1926(Carrington 2007: 73). Unamuno’s writing reflected thedoubts and troubles of human existence and theconsciousness of our own death that Schneider wasstruggling with. Notably, Unamuno was also writingabout Portugal, namely in his book Por Tierras de Portugal yde España36 (1911) and Andanzas y Visiones Españolas37 (1922; itincludes a chapter about Coimbra). Most importantly, hewas writing about Portugal as the country of sadness,passion, suicide and saudade which intrigued the youngSchneider (Carrington 2007: 77). In 1928, he travelledto Portugal where he stayed for around six months andstarted to write his work Das Leiden des Camões oderUntergang und Vollendung der portugiesischen Macht which waspublished in 1930, the main focus of this chapter.Several other works about Portugal followed, likePortugal, ein Reisetagebuch38 (1931) and the short storyanthology Das Erdbeben39 (1932). Even though Das Leiden desCamões is Schneider’s first published work, it wasreceived positively by well-known writers such asHerman Hesse who lauded the choice of topic, his styleand interpretation (Zimmermann 1976: 158).

Apart from an introduction about Portugal and a shortconclusion entitled “Grab der Ewigkeit”40, the book isdivided in four parts: the first chapter deals with“the hero”, Vasco da Gama and the age of Portuguesediscoveries. Schneider continues to illustrate therelationship between “the poet” Camões, his personallife, his Os Lusíadas and his homeland as the “Vertretereines Volkes und seines Schickals”41 (Schneider 1976:8). The third chapter sheds light on the history of“the empire” of Portugal and the last part dedicates

35 Published in English as The Tragic Sense of Life36 Through Portuguese and Spanish lands37 Spanish Adventures and Visions38 Portugal. A Travel Diary39 The Earthquake40 Grave of eternity41 Representative of his nation and its fate


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Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centuryits attention to Camões’ life abroad, the gods ofCamões and Camões’ return to Portugal. The historicalcomponent of the work is considerable but it is not anexclusively historical work. It is written in poetic,not purely scientific language, and gives his personal,partly fictional interpretation of Portugal’s andCamões‘ history: „Meine Aufgabe ist es, die Weltauszudrücken, die mir eingeboren ist: das gelingt mireher durch Gestalten und Schicksale als durch Gedanken,am besten durch die Verbindung beider“42 (Schneider,1934 qtd. in Zimmermann 1976: 157). As Pratasunderlines, the work originated partly from apsychological stimulus (1974: 21); it was a way forSchneider to deal with the topic of decline, in apersonal as well as historical sense. As a child,Schneider witnessed the First World War, the end of theGerman Empire in 1919, the consequences of which had adirect effect on his family. His parents, who wereholders of a small guesthouse, had to close theirfamily business due to the economic recession,resulting in his father’s suicide in 1922. Schneiderwas troubled by the discrepancy between the will tolive and inevitable decline. He tried to take his ownlife as well but the attempt failed. Through thelecture of Unamuno’s work, Schneider started to viewthe Absurd, the “tragedy of life” from a differentperspective and tried to overcome his own decline(Zimmermann 1976: 152): “Das Kapitel über Coimbra inseinen >Andanzas y Visiones< [von Unamuno] wies michauf das portugiesische Problem. Ich ahnte, daß ich hierdie Landschaft meiner Seele, die Möglichkeit einerAussage finden konnte. Es ging mir um die Bewältigungdes Untergangs; sie konnte nur gelingen, indem ich denUntergang hereinnahm in mein Leben”43 (Schneider qtd. inZimmermann 1976: 153).

42 My responsibility is to express the world that is innate to me: In that I succeed more by figures

and destinies than by thought, best by combining both43 The chapter on Coimbra in his >Andanzas y Visiones< pointed

out to me the Portuguese problem. I guessed that I could find the landscape of my soul, the possibility of a statement here. For me it was about overcoming the declime; this could only succeed by taking the decline into my life



In the poems of Camões, Schneider found his ownmelancholy and suffering reflected (Carrington 2007:270), and with Os Lusíadas Schneider saw a possibilityhow a nation can become eternalized (“completed”) by anartist while the country itself was seen to be indecline (Carrington 2007: 269). The suffering of Camõesis then the first decline Schneider deals with in hisDas Leiden des Camões. Camões is seen as the representativeof the Portuguese soul (“Denn Portugal war Camões”44,Schneider 1976: 148), a born poet and tragic, despairedhero, almost comparable to Sisyphus, doomed by fate butnot able to die, or at least not yet: “Camões lebt vonseinen Verhängnissen. Auf die Frage, warum er nichtsterbe, gibt er zur Antwort: weil er fortwährend amSterben sei, es ist ein furchtbares, aber nicht zuvernichtendes Leben“45 (Schneider 1976: 67).Furthermore, Schneider reflects on the decline ofPortugal which, in his opinion, was only possiblebecause the Portuguese nation has given itself up(Schneider 1976: 5). Both Camões and his homeland areseen to be in decline (Schneider 1976: 72) but beforehis death, Camões has the “mission” to write Portugal’sepitaph (Schneider 1976: 149) and bequeath the past,which completes the cycle.

Schneider’s negative notion of history is not uniquefor the beginning of the 20th century but it also canbe found in the works of Oswald Spengler (1880-1936) asit was already noted by Martins and Garraio (2000: 43)and Van Den Neste (2014: 57). In Der Untergang desAbendlandes46 Spengler introduces the idea that aculture, just like an organism, is born, peaks, decaysand eventually dies.

„Das ist der Sinn aller Untergänge in der Geschichte -der inneren und äußeren Vollendung, des Fertigseins, dasjeder lebendigen Kultur bevorsteht -, von denen der inseinen Umrissen deutlichste als »Untergang der Antike«

44 Because Camões was Portugal.45 Camões lives of his fatalities. When asked why he does not

die, he gives the answer: because he is continually dying, it is a terrible life, but not to be destroyed.

46 Literally “The decline of the Occident”, published in English as The Decline of the West


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vor uns steht, während wir die frühesten Anzeichen deseignen, eines nach Verlauf und Dauer jenem völliggleichartigen Ereignisses, das den ersten Jahrhundertendes nächsten Jahrtausends angehört, den »Untergang desAbendlandes«, heute schon deutlich in und um unsspüren.“47 (Spengler 1918: 98).

The zenith in Spengler’s opinion is then imperialism,after which the culture declines. Following Spengler,Schneider characterizes the age of discoveries untilthe middle of the 16th century (Schneider 85) as therise of the Portuguese culture and power. It culminatesthen in an ideal sense in the first fourteen stanzas ofthe seventh canto of Os Lusíadas in which Camõescriticizes England, Germany, France and Italy andpraises Portugal for its endurance (Schneider 1976:87). But with Portugal’s completion comes theinevitable decline: “Der Sieg wächst aus dem Boden desUntergangs“48 (1976: 95) as it already reflected in thefull title of Schneider’s essay. The necessity ofdecline is what is emphasized by Spengler and thatSchneider demonstrates within the Portuguese context:“Denn nichts war in Lissabon durch alle Jahrhunderte sogewiß wie die Katastrophe”49 (Schneider 1932: 72).However, at the end of his essay, Schneider questionswhether a decline is really a decline when it iseverlasting and whether the decline of a country is sodire when its glory has been preserved in a work like OsLusíadas (Schneider 1976: 149). Viewing Das Leiden des Camõesin a broader, more global sense, Carrington notes:“Trata-se-ia, no fundo, também, de uma reflexãometapoética sobre o destino das nações e sobre o papeldos historiadores e dos poetas. Dada a falibilidade

47 This is the meaning of all declines in history - the inner and outer perfection, the finality that awaits every living culture - of which the »decline of the ancient world« stands out most to us while today we already can sense the first signs in and around us of an event completely similar in course and duration that belongs to the first centuries of the next millennium – the »decline of theWest«

48 The victory grows out of the ground of decline.49 Because nothing was ever so certain in Lisbon through

the course of the centuries as the catastrophe.


Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Centurydaquilo que é terreno, haveria que imortalizar o que éválido através da produção literária e histórica,fazendo com que […] à decadência se suceda o apogeu”50

(2007: 271).

6. Conclusion

In this essay I have tried to give a comprehensiveoverview of the reception and distribution of Camões inGermany which reached its peak in the first half of the19th century. The envisioned tragic life of Camõesfired the imagination of German Romanticists andinspired various works which were mostly focused on theperceived tragic life of the poet. Furthermore,Romantic poets like Schlegel saw in Camões a role modelof heroism and patriotism. As the Holy Roman Empire wasseen to be in decline, Schlegel wished for a nationalepic like Os Lusíadas which could unify and restore theglory of Germany. In Das Leiden des Camões, Schneider triedto deal with discourses of decline from a distance,through both a historical as well as a fictionalinterpretation of Camões’ life, Os Lusíadas and Camões’relationship to Portugal. Schneider was not onlydisturbed by the end of the German Empire after theFirst World War, but his reinterpretation of Camões andthe projected decline of the Portuguese empire was avehicle for Schneider to face numerous personalexistential questions.

Works Cited

AGUIAR E SILVA, V. Dicionário de Luís de Camões. Alfragide, Portugal:Leya 2011. Google Books. Web. 25 November 2014.

AMARAL, C. «Letter from a British Gentleman Resident in Lisbon to a London Merchant from 1755, British Testimonies» Quote. Olhares Estrangeiros sobre Lisboa. Fundação Ricardo do Espírito Santo, Lisboa, Portugal.

50 Given the fallibility of what is earthly, immortalizing what is valid should happen through literary and historical production, resulting in the pinnacle of society followed by decadence.


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Nora Goerne - Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th CenturyBENNETT, J. S. When the Sun Danced: Myth, Miracles, and Modernity in Early

Twentieth Century Portugal. Charlottesville, VA, USA: Universityof Virginia Press 2012. Google Books. Web. 5 June 2014.

BERNOFSKY, S. «The Infinite Imagination: Early Romanticism in Germany», in: FERBER, M. (Hg.), A Companion to European Romanticism. Malden, MA, USA, Oxford, UK and Victoria, Australia: John Wiley & Sons 2008, 86-100. Google Books. Web.5 June 2014.

BRIESEMEISTER, D. Camões na Alemanha. São Paulo: Faculdade Manoel da Nóbrega 1983.

BRIESEMEISTER, D, and A. SCHÖNBERGER. «Geschichte der Lusitanistik in Deutschland» Lusitanistik.de. Web. 5 June 2014.

BUSSE, W. «Eine Berliner Romanistin in Portugal: Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcelos (1851-1925). » in: TRABANT, J. (Hg.): Beiträge zur Geschichte der romanischen Philologie in Berlin. Berlin, Colloquium-Verlag 1988, 45-56. Romanistinnen.de. Web.5 June 2014.

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INSTITUTO ALEMÃO LISBOA. Camões na Alemanha: Exposição Bibliográfica. Lisboa: Instituto Alemão 1973.

JACOB, S. «Der Deutsche Bund: Deutschland von 1806/1815 bis 1871.» Zeittafel IV zur deutschen Geschichte: 1800 – 2000. Stefan Jacob,n.d. Web. 5 June 2014.

---. «Deutschland in der frühen Neuzeit.» Zeittafel IV zur deutschenGeschichte: 1800 – 2000. Stefan Jacob, n.d. Web. 5 June 2014.

KAUFMANN, W. «The Hegel Myth and its Method», in: KAUFMANN, W. (Hg.), Debating the Political Philosophy of Hegel. New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA: Transaction Publishers, 2009. 137-171. Google Books. Web. 5 June 2014.

KITTEL, H, and A. P. FRANK, and N. GREINER. Übersetzung - Translation – Traduction. 2. Teilband. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2007. GoogleBooks. Web. 5 June 2014.

LOURENÇO, E. Portugal como Destino seguido de Mitologia da Saudade. Lisboa: Gradiva 1999 .

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(1798). » Friedrich Schlegel: Kritische Schriften. München: Hanser, 1964. Universität Duisburg-Essen.de. Web. 4 June 2014.

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Annex

An Camoëns

Wo Indiens Sonne trunknen Duft den Winden

Ausstreut, gedachtest du der hohen Kunden,

Wie Gama einst der Thetis sich verbunden,

Wolltest der Helden Haupt mit Ruhm umwinden.

O weh uns Armen, irdisch ewig Blinden;

Kaum war dein Lied dem wilden Meer entwunden,

Sahst du von Alter, Sorge, Gram gebunden,

Den letzten König deines Volks verschwinden.

Wollust haucht in dem Liede, Seel' entraubend,

Frohlockend kommt der Helden Schiff geflogen,

Tief unten braust ein Strom verborgner Klagen.

Sei, Camoëns, denn mein Vorbild! Laß mich's

wagen

Des deutschen Ruhms Urkunde aus den Wogen

Empor zu halten, an die Rettung glaubend.

To Camões

Where the sun of India is spreading ebrious

scents to the wind,

You were commemorating the high message

How Gama once united with Thetis,

You wanted to enwind the heroes’ head with

glory.

Alas us poor, earthly forever blind men;

No sooner had your song been wrested from the

wild sea,

Did you see bound by age, worry and grief

The last king of thy people disappear.

Lust breathes in the song, soul bereaving

The hero’s ship comes flying with joy

Deep down roars a current of hidden

grievances.

Be, Camões, then my role model! Let me venture

it,

To hold the document of German glory high

above the waves, Believing in salvation.

Camões in Germany and Romantic Discourses of Decline in the 19th and 20th Century

Documents