AUERSPERG

auersperg, anton alexander, graf von (1806-1876), austrian poet, who wrote under the pseudonym of anastasius grun, was born on the 11th of april 1806, at laibach, the capital of the austrian duchy of carniola, and was head of the thurn-am-hart branch of the carniolan cadet line of the house of auersperg. he received his university education first at graz and then at vienna, where he studied jurisprudence. in 1830 he succeeded to his ancestral property, and in 1832 appeared as a member of the estates of carniola on the _herrenbank_ of the diet at laibach. here he distinguished himself by his outspoken criticism of the austrian government, leading the opposition of the duchy to the exactions of the central power. in 1832 the title of "imperial chamberlain" was conferred upon him, and in 1839 he married maria, daughter of count attems. after the revolution of 1848 at vienna he represented the district of laibach at the german national assembly at frankfort-on-the-main, to which he tried in vain to persuade his slovene compatriots to send representatives. after a few months, however, disgusted with the violent development of the revolution, he resigned his seat, and again retired into private life. in 1860 he was summoned to the remodelled _reichsrat_ by the emperor, who next year nominated him a life member of the austrian upper house (_herrenhaus_), where, while remaining a keen upholder of the german centralized empire, as against the federalism of slavs and magyars, he greatly distinguished himself as one of the most intrepid and influential supporters of the cause of liberalism, in both political and religious matters, until his death at graz on the 12th of september 1876. count auersperg's first publication, a collection of lyrics, _blatter der liebe_ (1830), showed little originality; but his second production, _der letzte ritter_ (1830), brought his genius to light. it celebrates the deeds and adventures of the emperor maximilian i. (1493-1519) in a cycle of poems written in the strophic form of the _nibelungenlied_. but auersperg's fame rests almost exclusively on his political poetry; two collections entitled _spaziergange eines wiener poeten_ (1831) and _schutt_ (1835) created a sensation in germany by their originality and bold liberalism. these two books, which are remarkable not merely for their outspoken opinions, but also for their easy versification and powerful imagery, were the forerunners of the german political poetry of 1840-1848. his _gedichte_ (1837), if anything, increased his reputation; his epics, _die nibelungen im frack_ (1843) and _der pfaff vom kahlenberg_ (1850), are characterized by a fine ironic humour. he also produced masterly translations of the popular slovenic songs current in carniola (_volkslieder aus krain_, 1850), and of the english poems relating to "robin hood" (1864). anastasius grun's _gesammelte werke_ were published by l.a. frankl in 5 vols. (berlin, 1877); his _briefwechsel mit l.a. frankl_ (berlin, 1897). a selection of his _politische reden und schriften_ has been published by s. hock (vienna, 1906). see p. von radics, _anastasius grun_ (2nd ed., leipzig, 1879).