Beethoven was Left-Handed? - This time it's published in a book

[Mr. S]

According to the book, A Left-handed History of the World by Ed Wright, the author states that Anton Schindler recalled that Beethoven was left-handed. He also states that the hands of Beethoven Schieler portrait were completed when the composer was no longer sitting for it.

I've been able to fact check the fact that Schieler completed the hands with the composer absent - and this is true but I cannot find anywhere a reference to Schindler stating Beethoven wrote with his left hand.

What's unique about this is that it's published in a book and not on the internet.

[DavidO]

Interesting. Whom do we believe?

I wonder which hand Beethoven cracked his hardboiled egg with -- or measured out his sixteen (or whatever) coffee beans.

Come to think of it, which hand did he use to pick up the chair in order to brain Prince Lichnowsky with?

[Peter]

I'm inclined not to believe it - after all being left handed would probably attract comment, but right handed would not and as far as I'm aware there are no references on this point.

[Hofrat]

Beethoven was right handed. For some reason, Beethoven's name appears on websites devoted to left handers. I have written to many of these sites and requested sources. The answer was that his name was supplied by a subscriber of the site and published without any verification. Beethoven remains on these lists because they do not really care who is left handed, rather they care about the misfortunes of the left hander.

[Sorrano]

Seems like this has been discussed already in some detail?

[Hofrat]

Interesting. Whom do we believe?

I wonder which hand Beethoven cracked his hardboiled egg with -- or measured out his sixteen (or whatever) coffee beans.

Come to think of it, which hand did he use to pick up the chair in order to brain Prince Lichnowsky with?

Well, if you look at the Steinl portrait of Beethoven writing Missa Solemnis, you will see that the pencil is in the right hand!!

[Peter]

Well, if you look at the Steinl portrait of Beethoven writing Missa Solemnis, you will see that the pencil is in the right hand!!

Yes but as Mr.S points out, the hands were painted in Beethoven's absence. I think the only real evidence is that nobody at the time stated he was left handed (which they surely would have) - this is one of those ridiculous points where somebody claims something and because we can't disprove it they claim it as fact for the reasons you already mentioned Hofrat.

[Frankli]

For a lefthander it is hard to write with ink, since the left hand tends to make a mess of the words that have just been written. Besides, pushing a pen rather than pulling it is harder, since the ink stops flowing every now and then.
For this reason lefthanded children were forced to write with their right hand - I still have a small trauma from that :-).
So IF Beethoven was lefthanded, he would probably have written with his right hand anyway.

But if there exist no statements of Beethoven doing other things with his left hand (Schindler being too unreliable), he must probably have been righthanded.
The drawing of Beethoven walking with a stick in his right hand is in all ways more convincing than any word by Schindler.

[Quijote]

Yes but as Mr.S points out, the hands were painted in Beethoven's absence. I think the only real evidence is that nobody at the time stated he was left handed (which they surely would have) - this is one of those ridiculous points where somebody claims something and because we can't disprove it they claim it as fact for the reasons you already mentioned Hofrat.

I tend to agree with Peter, but perhaps for different reasons. Given the interest in Beethoven's eccentricities during his own lifetime I too feel sure that this would have been remarked upon. Still, it is a feasible hypothesis, given that even up to modern times being left handed was frowned upon, hence the term sinister, whose archaic meaning signifies 'on the left side'. School teachers often beat pupils for writing with their left hand, even going so far as to tie the left hand behind the poor student's back in an attempt to inculcate right handedness. Who knows, perhaps B really was left handed in his youth and had to 'learn' to use his right hand. Could this explain his very bad handwriting (letters and manuscripts)?

[Quijote]

I wonder which hand Beethoven cracked his hardboiled egg with -- or measured out his sixteen (or whatever) coffee beans.

60 beans. Beethoven was very particular about that. For cracking his hardboiled eggs, he didn't need to use any hand, he used Schindler's head! This is my theory and I'm sticking to it, so there!