schlegel

Schlegel is a German surname of likely occupational origin, associated with the use of a hammer or mallet in traditional metalworking or carpentry. The name has been borne by several notable figures in German literary and intellectual history.

Notable bearers include August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), a German poet, translator, and critic who was a leading figure of the early German Romantic movement; he helped popularize Shakespeare in German through translations produced with Ludwig Tieck. Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829), his brother, was a German philosopher, writer, and critic and a central figure in Romantic theory and criticism. Together, the Schlegel brothers played a significant role in shaping Romantic thought in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.