Ludwig Tieck (1773–1853) was at the centre of the early German Romantic movement, writing prose narratives and plays from an early age. In 1799 he joined the Schlegels’ circle in Jena; he was also a close friend of two other key German Romantic writers, Wackenroder and Novalis. His novella Eckbert the Fair was the inspiration for Judith Weir's opera Blond Eckbert (1994).