Novalis, Die Christenheit oder Europa [Christianity or Europe]

Catherine Grimm (Miami University)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1799

Places

Germany, Saxony-Anhalt (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Essays/ Lectures (any)

Resources

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Written between October and early November 1799,

Die Christenheit oder Europa

[

Christendom or Europe

] is Friedrich von Hardenberg’s only prose essay. With a glorifying description of the European Middle Ages as a time of unity and the practice of Christian ideals, Hardenberg calls for the restoration of a strong and cohesive Christendom that will invigorate the present inhabitants of Europe after a period of political (French Revolution) and religious (the disintegration of papal authority) turmoil and decline. Hardenberg first recited the essay to fellow Romantics – Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel, Dorothea Veit, Caroline Schlegel, Ludwig Tieck and Friedrich Schelling – on 13 or 14 November 1799 in Jena. By then, it had already inspired a parody written by Friedrich…

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1784 words

Citation: Grimm, Catherine. "Die Christenheit oder Europa". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 March 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=14308, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Novalis, Die Christenheit oder Europa [Christianity or Europe]

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