author
Otto Henne am Rhyn
1828–1914
A prolific Swiss writer and cultural historian, he set out to explain how societies develop through religion, politics, customs, and everyday life. His books aimed at big patterns, giving readers sweeping tours through the history of civilization.
2 Audiobooks
Mysteria : History of the secret doctrines and mystic rites of ancient religions and medieval and modern secret orders
by Otto Henne am Rhyn
Kurzgefaßte Symbolik der Freimaurerei.
by Otto Henne am Rhyn
About the author
Born in St. Gallen on August 26, 1828, Otto Henne am Rhyn was a Swiss writer, historian, journalist, and archivist. After studying at the universities of Bern and Geneva, he taught for a time and later served as state archivist of the canton of St. Gallen. He added "am Rhyn" to his family name after his marriage to Elisabeth am Rhyn.
He is best remembered for large-scale works of cultural history, especially his wide-ranging surveys of civilization and German cultural development. Reference sources describe him as an important contributor to the German Kulturgeschichte tradition, a style of history that looks beyond rulers and battles to include beliefs, institutions, and daily life.
Henne am Rhyn died in Weiz, Styria, in 1914. For listeners who enjoy older nonfiction with a broad historical reach, his work offers a window into how a 19th-century scholar tried to make sense of the story of human culture.