author
Ritter von Anselm Feuerbach
1775–1833
A pioneering German jurist, he helped reshape criminal law in Bavaria and argued that punishment should be grounded in clear, written statutes rather than arbitrary force. He is also remembered for his writings on the mysterious Kaspar Hauser case.
1 Audiobook
Kaspar Hauser : Beispiel eines Verbrechens am Seelenleben des Menschen
by Ritter von Anselm Feuerbach
About the author
Born near Jena on November 14, 1775, Paul Johann Anselm Ritter von Feuerbach became one of the most influential legal thinkers in Germany. He studied at the University of Jena and went on to build a reputation as a scholar of criminal law, teaching and writing at a time when European legal systems were changing rapidly.
Feuerbach is best known for his work on the Bavarian penal code of 1813. His reforms helped end the use of torture in Bavarian law and pushed criminal justice toward a more modern principle: laws should be clearly written in advance, so people know what is punishable. That idea made him an important figure in the development of modern German criminal law.
Later in life, he also became widely known for his interest in the case of Kaspar Hauser, the young man whose mysterious past fascinated Europe. Feuerbach wrote about the case and helped ensure it remained part of legal and cultural history. He died in Frankfurt am Main on May 29, 1833.