Die Ahnen

Ahnen, Die, a work of fiction in six volumes and seven ‘sections’ (Abteilungen) by G. Freytag, published 1873-81. It takes the form of seven short, linked novels, tracing the history of a German family through various periods of history. Freytag conceived the plan while accompanying the Crown Prince (see Friedrich III) in the field in 1870 and dedicated it to the Crown Princess (later Kaiserin Friedrich).

The first volume contains two sections, Ingo set in the 4th c. ad at the time of the migration of peoples, and Ingraban set in the 8th at the time of St Boniface, who plays a part in the story. In II a descendant of Ingo in the 11th c. appears as a supporter of Emperor Heinrich II. III (Die Brüder vom deutschen Hause), set in the 13th c., touches on the crusades and on the eastern campaigns of the Knights of the Teutonic Order (see Deutscher Orden). Marcus König (IV) treats of the decline of this Order and introduces in the final chapter the figure of Martin Luther. V (Die Geschwister) covers a long period from the end of the Thirty Years War (see Dreissigjähriger Krieg) to the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm I, and VI (Aus einer kleinen Stadt) is focused on the Napoleonic Wars with a symbolic opposition of French colonel and Prussian doctor as rivals in love. An epilogue carries the story up to the end of the 1848 Revolution (see Revolutionen 1848-9). Aus einer kleinen Stadt has frequently been reprinted as a separate novel.