1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Meyer, Konrad Ferdinand

MEYER, KONRAD FERDINAND (1825–1898), Swiss poet and novelist, was born at Zürich on the 11th of October 1825. After studying law at the university, he went for considerable periods to Lausanne, Geneva and Paris, and in Italy interested himself in historical research. In 1875 he settled at Kilchberg near Zürich, was created in 1880 a doctor philosophiae honoris causa by that university, and died at Kilchberg on the 28th of November 1898. After Gottfried Keller, Konrad Meyer is the most important Swiss poet of modern times, though as a novelist he was perhaps more successful. His poetical works include Balladen (1867); Romanzen und Bilder (1870); the epic poem, Huttens letzte Tage (1871); and Gedichte (1882; 20th ed., 1901). Among his novels must be specially mentioned Jürg Jenatsch (1876; 20th ed., 1894); Der Schuss von der Kanzel (1878); Der Heilige (1880; 12th ed., 1894; English by M. von Wendheim, Thomas à Becket, the Saint, 1885); Die Richterin (1885); Die Versuchung des Pescara (1887); Angela Borgia (1891). His shorter stories were collected in two volumes in 1885 (5th ed., 1892).

See A. Reitler, Konrad Ferdinand Meyer (1885); Lina Frey, K. F. Meyer’s Gedichte und Novellen (1892); K. E. Kranzos, K. F. Meyer (1899); A. Frey, K. F. Meyer (1900); H. Kraeger, K. F. Meyer: Quellen und Wandlungen seiner Gedichte (1901); B. Meyer, K. F. Meyer in der Erinnerung seiner Schwester (1904); Briefwechsel zwischen Luise von François und K. F. Meyer, herausg. von A. Bettelheim (1905); A. Langmesser, K. F. Meyer (1905).