200px, Theodor Mundt Theodor Mundt (September 19, 1808 – November 30, 1861) was a German critic and novelist. He was a member of the

Young Germany Young Germany (german: Junges Deutschland) was a group of German writers which existed from about 1830 to 1850. It was essentially a youth ideology, similar to those that had swept France, Ireland, the United States and Italy. Its main proponents ...

group of German writers.

Biography

Born at

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, Mundt studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

and philosophy at Berlin. In 1832 he settled at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

as a journalist, where he co-edited ''Blätter für litterarische Unterhaltung'', and where he was subjected to a rigorous police supervision. In 1839 he married Klara Müller (1814–1873), who under the name of

Luise Mühlbach Luise Mühlbach was the pen name of Clara Mundt (née Clara Maria Regina Müller) (January 2, 1814 in Neubrandenburg – September 26, 1873 in Berlin), a German writer best known for her works of historical fiction, which enjoyed a wide, though s ...

became a popular novelist, and he moved in the same year to Berlin. Here his intention of entering upon an academical career was for a time thwarted by his collision with the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n press laws. In 1842, however, he was permitted to establish himself as ''

Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...

''. In 1848 he was appointed Professor of Literature and History in Breslau, and in 1850 ordinary professor and librarian in Berlin, where he died.

Works

Mundt wrote extensively on

aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

subjects, and as a critic he had considerable influence in his time. Prominent among his works are ''Die Kunst der deutschen Prosa'' (1837); ''Geschichte der Literatur der Gegenwart'' (1840); ''Aesthetik, die Idee der Schönheit und des Kunstwerks im Lichte unserer Zeit'' (1845, new ed. 1868); ''Die Götterwelt der alten Völker'' (1846, new ed. 1854). He also wrote several historical novels such as '' Thomas Münzer'' (1841); ''Mendoza'' (1847); and ''Die Matadore'' (1850). With

Karl August Varnhagen von Ense Karl August Varnhagen von Ense (21 February 1785 in Düsseldorf – 10 October 1858 in Berlin) was a German biographer, diplomat and soldier. Life and career He was born in Düsseldorf, the younger brother of Rosa Maria Varnhagen, a noted poet, w ...

, he edited

Karl Ludwig von Knebel Karl Ludwig von Knebel (30 November 1744 – 23 February 1834) was a German poet and translator. Biography He was born at the Castle of Wallerstein (near Nördlingen) in Franconia. After having studied law for a short while at Halle, he entered th ...

's letters and posthumous works. But perhaps Mundt's chief title to fame was his part in the

emancipation of women Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, a theme which he elaborated in ''Madonna, Unterhaltungen mit einer Heiligen'' (1835).

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mundt, Theodor 1808 births 1861 deaths German philosophers Writers from Berlin German male novelists 19th-century German novelists 19th-century German male writers