Dreves was born in
Hamburg. He already had contact with
Jesuits at school, as he attended the
Stella Matutina grammar school in
Feldkirch from 1861. After completing his education, he immediately entered the Jesuit order in November 1869. He completed his
novitiate in
Sigmaringen and then studied at the , at the religious house in
Bleijenbeek Castle in the Netherlands and at the Jesuit College of Ditton-Hall in
Shropshire, England. He devoted his research mainly to medieval Latin hymnody. He is especially important as the author and editor of the
Analecta hymnica medii aevi, the largest collection of medieval Latin poetry to date (
hymns,
sequences,
tropes, rhyming offices and
psalters). With astonishing diligence, Dreves searched libraries all over Europe for old manuscripts and
incunables. From 1886 to 1926, 55 volumes of
Analecta were published, from volume 25 onwards
Clemens Blume co-editor. Dreves died in
Mitwitz bei Kronach (Oberfranken) at the age of 54. == Works ==