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What were the Xenien written by Goethe and Schiller?
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, engraving by James Posselwhite, 19th century.
The Xenien (or "Xenia") were a collection of satirical epigrams jointly composed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller during their period of close collaboration.1
Modeled after the works of the Roman poet Martial, these verses were published in an annual almanac. The collection was highly provocative, causing a significant literary furor and temporarily rendering both authors quite unpopular with their contemporaries.1