''Corsaren'' ( en, italic=yes, The Corsair) was a

Danish language Danish (; , ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern German region of Southern Schles ...

weekly satirical and

political magazine Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power. Political journa ...

published by

Meïr Aron Goldschmidt Meïr Aron Goldschmidt (October 26, 1819 – August 15, 1887) was a Danish publisher, journalist and novelist. He was the founding editor of the satirical and political magazine ''Corsaren''. Biography Goldschmidt was born in Vordingborg, ...

, who also wrote most of its content. The magazine was based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, and was published between 1840 and 1846.

History and profile

The first issue of ''Corsaren'' was published on 8 October 1840 in Copenhagen. The first six months there were no fewer than six editors due to censorship issues. It was not until the 161st issue three years later that Goldschmidt's name was printed on the back as its publisher. In 1842 Goldschmidt was sentenced to 24 days in prison, a fine of 200 rigsdaler and future censorship.

The Kierkegaard Affair

''Corsaren'' played an important role in the life of

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...

to the point that Kierkegaard could divide his life into a before and after ''Corsaren''. This was a fight that Kierkegaard, to a certain degree, started himself when he under the pseudonym Frater Taciturnus in a five-page article called "The Work of a Traveling Aesthete" ("En omreisende Æsthetikers Virksomhed") in ''The Fatherland'' (''Fædrelandet'') on 27 December 1845 wrote: "Hopefully I will soon appear in ''The Corsair''. It is really hard for a poor writer to be thus singled out in Danish literature that he (assuming we pseudonyms are one) is the only one that is not scolded there." And again on 10 January 1846: "... can I ask to be scolded ...". Goldschmidt was forced to sell ''Corsaren'' in 1846 for 1,500 rigsdaler.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corsaren 1840 establishments in Denmark 1846 disestablishments in Denmark Danish-language magazines Satirical magazines published in Denmark Weekly magazines published in Denmark Defunct magazines published in Denmark Defunct political magazines Magazines established in 1840 Magazines disestablished in 1846 Magazines published in Copenhagen Political magazines published in Denmark

History and profile

The Kierkegaard Affair

See also

References