Creator Bio
Michael Joseph Edler von Arnstein
1756–1811
The youngest of his parents’ five sons, Austrian Michael Joseph Arnstein converted to Catholicism in 1778, whereupon they disowned him. Deeply saddened at this turn of events, he attempted to reconcile with his parents, from whom, in the course of time, he received property and a sum of money. At his own request, and in order to develop his property, he was ennobled, receiving successively the titles Edler, Freiherr, and Reichsfreiherr, that is, nobleman, baron, and imperial baron.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Letter to His Parents after His Conversion
Certainly, dearest parents, I know what is commonly the result of the influence of education and of misunderstood religion, but is it possible that you could hate your son because he harbors other…
Related Guide
Life Writing: Biography, Autobiography, and Ego Documents, 1750–1880
The famous and the obscure, women and men, in epitaphs and private letters, ethical wills, cookbooks, and religious reflections, all reflect aspects of Jewish life in a period of great transition.