The German writer Achim von Arnim (1781-1831) is known chiefly for his novels and his edition of German folk songs. He was an influential member of the German romantic movement.

On Jan. 26, 1781, Achim von Arnim was born in Berlin of an aristocratic Prussian family. He studied science and law at the universities of Halle and Göttingen but soon turned his attention to literature. After becoming acquainted with the poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Clemens Brentano, Arnim traveled extensively through western Europe and England. He then settled in Heidelberg, where he, Brentano, and the poet Johann Josef von Görres formed the Heidelberg group of the German romantic school and founded a literary journal, Zeitung für Einsiedler (Newspaper for Hermits). Between 1805 and 1808 Arnim and Brentano compiled Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy's Magic Horn), the best-known collection of German folk songs. It consisted chiefly...