Friedrich Baron de la Motte Fouqué, German poet, 1777-1843

Friedrich Baron de la Motte Fouqué was a German writer of the romantic style. Between 1810 and 1815, Fouqué’s popularity was at its height; the many romances and novels, plays and epics which he produced with extraordinary rapidity, appealed greatly to the mood of the hour. "Undine" appeared around 1811, the only work by which Fouqué’s memory still lives today. A more comprehensive idea of his talent may, however, be obtained from the two romances "Der Zauberring" (1813) and "Die Fahrten Thiodolfs des Isländers" (1815). His play "Der Sängerkrieg auf der Wartburg" (The Song Contest on the Wartburg) is likely one of the sources for Wagner’s "Tannhäuser".