KARL HEYER (1888–1964), lawyer and historian, was one of the foremost pupils of Rudolf Steiner. Born in Hanau (Hesse), he studied law in Kassel. In 1911, he heard a lecture by Rudolf Steiner and began an intensive study of history and philosophy, attaining his PhD in 1917. Heyer worked actively in the movement for social threefolding, gave lectures and wrote essays and many books, including the nine-volume work Beiträge zur Geschichte des Abendlandes (‘Contributions to the History of the West’), which includes the present volume on Kaspar Hauser.