author
Otto von Corvin
1812–1886
Remembered for sharp, controversial writing and a life touched by revolution, this 19th-century German author moved between literature, journalism, and political struggle. He is best known today for Der Pfaffenspiegel, a fiercely anti-clerical book that made his name widely known.
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About the author
Born in Gumbinnen in East Prussia in 1812, Otto Julius Bernhard von Corvin-Wiersbitzki became a German writer, journalist, and political activist. He is generally referred to as Otto von Corvin, and modern reference sources describe him above all as an author whose work combined polemic, satire, and public argument.
He is best known for Der Pfaffenspiegel (1845), a book attacking the Catholic Church that kept his name in circulation long after his lifetime. Reference accounts also note that he took part in the revolutions of 1848–1849 in Baden, served with the republican forces at Rastatt, and was sentenced to death before that punishment was commuted to imprisonment.
After those upheavals, he continued his career as a man of letters, and his reputation came to rest on both his political involvement and his combative prose. He died in 1886, leaving behind the image of a restless, outspoken figure from a turbulent century.