Ossian in Germany / Bibliography, General Survey, Ossian's Influence upon Klopstock and the Bards

Bibliography, General Survey, Ossian’s Influence upon Klopstock and the Bards
BY RUDOLF TOMBO, Jr., A.M., Ph.D. SOMETIME FELLOW IN GERMAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
AMS PRESS, INC. NEW YORK 1966
Copyright 1901, Columbia University Press, New York Reprinted with the permission of the Original Publisher, 1966
AMS PRESS, INC. New York, N.Y. 10003 1966
Manufactured in the United States of America

Meinen lieben Eltern

When the subject of Ossian’s influence in Germany first occurred to me, it seemed a simple matter to exhaust the topic in the limits set by a work of this character. A little search, however, revealed that if the entire field were to be covered, the different authors could not be discussed with any degree of completeness. Another obstacle stood in the way of the fulfilment of the original scheme. The amount of material discovered at the outset in the British Museum led to the preparation of a card index of German Ossianiana; in Germany each library furnished additions at such a rapid rate, that the idea of a chronological bibliography soon suggested itself. The latter developed into such proportions, that it seemed advisable to publish it as an introduction to the literary material to follow. Nothing remained, therefore, but to confine the literary discussion to a certain period, and in order to retain the chronological sequence, as well as in consideration of the difficulty of obtaining material on the bardic poets in this country, the beginning was made with Klopstock and the “bards.” It is the intention of the writer to discuss in later publications Ossian’s influence upon Herder, Goethe, and Schiller, as also upon the poets of the Storm and Stress , of the Göttinger Hain , and of the Romantic School, some of the material for which has been collected. A short bibliography of Ossianic material in other languages has also been prepared, which will gladly be placed at the disposal of any one desirous of working up the subject. The author will be pleased to receive any corrections or additions to the bibliography that may suggest themselves to the reader.