Ignaz Denner
1816 short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann
Ignaz Denner is an 1814 short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann which first appeared in 1816 as part of his Night Pieces collection.
The narrative tells the tale of Andres, a gamekeeper who is haunted by a dubious merchant who is actually a thief using Andres to further his criminal activities. The tale involves infanticide, potions and magic, and fits into the genre of Dark Romanticism.
Background
E. T. A. Hoffmann wrote Ignaz Denner in May 1814. It was originally written for inclusion in Hoffmann's Fantasiestücke but was rejected by the publisher for being too "weak". In early 1816, Hoffmann edited the text, changed its title from Der Revierjäger ("The Gamekeeper") to Ignaz Denner, and it was included in his Night Pieces.
Plot summary
Andres, a gamekeeper, accompanies his master, Graf Aloys von Vach, on a trip through Italy. He is promoted after saving the Graf from a robbery. During the trip, Andres meets Giorgina, an orphan living in an inn where she is mistreated by the innkeeper. Andres and the Graf take Giorgina with them on their return from Italy, and Giorgina and Andres are married.
The public source identifies “Ignaz Denner” as 1816 short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ignaz, Denner and short.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1657426. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1814 and 1816.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ignaz Denner” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.