Who was Ernst Moritz Arndt?

Ernst Moritz Arndt (1769–1860) was a German prose writer, poet, and patriot who expressed nationalistic sentiments during the Napoleonic era. After traveling through Europe, he became bitter seeing ruined castles along the Rhine River. Arndt became a lecturer in history in Greifswald in 1800. He published Germanien und Europa in 1803, which voiced his opinions on French aggression. In 1806, he became a professor of history at the University of Greifswald. To avoid Napoleon's wrath, Arndt fled to Sweden, continuing to promote patriotic ideals through poems and pamphlets. In 1848, Arndt participated in the Frankfurt National Assembly as a deputy. Besides political works, he also wrote religious poems.

What kind of writing is Ernst Moritz Arndt known for?

Ernst Moritz Arndt is known for his prose, poems, and patriotic writings that stirred nationalistic feelings during the Napoleonic era. His notable works include Reisen durch einen Theil Deutschlands, Ungarns, Italiens, und Frankreichs in den Jahren 1798/99 , Germanien und Europa , and Geist der Zeit , where he voiced his views against French aggression and urged Germans to resist French dominance. Arndt's political poems and songs further communicated his patriotic ideals. Besides his political works, his Gedichte contains religious poems.

When and where did Ernst Moritz Arndt live?

Ernst Moritz Arndt, a German writer, was born on December 26, 1769, in Schoritz bei Gartz, Rügen, Sweden. He died on January 29, 1860, in Bonn, Germany. He was a patriotic poet and prose writer who expressed the national awakening in his country during the Napoleonic era. Arndt held positions at the University of Greifswald and later at the University of Bonn.

How did Arndt's writing influence the German people?

Ernst Moritz Arndt, a German writer, significantly influenced the German people during the Napoleonic era through his patriotic prose, poetry, and songs. Arndt's writings, particularly his Geist der Zeit (Spirit of the Times), called on his countrymen to resist French domination. To escape Napoleon's retribution, he sought refuge in Sweden, from where he continued to disseminate his patriotic ideals through pamphlets and poems. His political poetry, written to assist in organizing the struggle against France, extolled patriotic themes and further inspired his fellow countrymen.

What role did Arndt play during the Napoleonic Wars?

During the Napoleonic era, Ernst Moritz Arndt played a significant role in Germany’s national awakening. Witnessing the ruined castles along the Rhine River fueled his bitterness against the French, which he expressed in his writings. To avoid Napoleon's vengeance, Arndt sought refuge in Sweden, continuing to inspire his countrymen through patriotic pamphlets, poems, and songs. In 1812, he went to St. Petersburg, Russia, to help organize the final struggle against France, writing political poetry that extolled patriotic themes.

Ernst Moritz Arndt

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Quick Facts

Born:: Dec. 26, 1769, Schoritz bei Gartz, Rügen, Swed.

Died:: Jan. 29, 1860, Bonn, Ger. (aged 90)

Notable Works:: “Germanien und Europa”; “Reisen durch einen Theil Deutschlands, Ungarns, Italiens, und Frankreichs in den Jahren 1798/99”; “Spirit of the Times”; “Versuch einer Geschichte der Leibeigenschaft in Pommern und Rügen”

Subjects Of Study:: Germany

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Ernst Moritz Arndt

German writer

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Who was Ernst Moritz Arndt?
Ernst Moritz Arndt (1769–1860) was a German prose writer, poet, and patriot who expressed nationalistic sentiments during the Napoleonic era. After traveling through Europe, he became bitter seeing ruined castles along the Rhine River.

Arndt became a lecturer in history in Greifswald in 1800. He published Germanien und Europa in 1803, which voiced his opinions on French aggression. In 1806, he became a professor of history at the University of Greifswald. To avoid Napoleon's wrath, Arndt fled to Sweden, continuing to promote patriotic ideals through poems and pamphlets.

In 1848, Arndt participated in the Frankfurt National Assembly as a deputy. Besides political works, he also wrote religious poems.
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1. Ernst Moritz Arndt
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What kind of writing is Ernst Moritz Arndt known for?
Ernst Moritz Arndt is known for his prose, poems, and patriotic writings that stirred nationalistic feelings during the Napoleonic era. His notable works include Reisen durch einen Theil Deutschlands, Ungarns, Italiens, und Frankreichs in den Jahren 1798/99, Germanien und Europa, and Geist der Zeit, where he voiced his views against French aggression and urged Germans to resist French dominance. Arndt's political poems and songs further communicated his patriotic ideals. Besides his political works, his Gedichte contains religious poems.
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1. Ernst Moritz Arndt
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When and where did Ernst Moritz Arndt live?
Ernst Moritz Arndt, a German writer, was born on December 26, 1769, in Schoritz bei Gartz, Rügen, Sweden. He died on January 29, 1860, in Bonn, Germany. He was a patriotic poet and prose writer who expressed the national awakening in his country during the Napoleonic era. Arndt held positions at the University of Greifswald and later at the University of Bonn.
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1. Ernst Moritz Arndt
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What important themes did Arndt write about?
Ernst Moritz Arndt, a German writer, poet, and patriot, focused on themes related to German national awakening during the Napoleonic era. His writings expressed his views on French aggression and called on his countrymen to shake off the French yoke. Arndt's works also covered the history of serfdom in Pomerania and Rügen, which contributed to its abolition. Beyond his patriotic and political themes, Arndt's poems also included religious themes.
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1. Ernst Moritz Arndt
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How did Arndt's writing influence the German people?
Ernst Moritz Arndt, a German writer, significantly influenced the German people during the Napoleonic era through his patriotic prose, poetry, and songs.

Arndt's writings, particularly his Geist der Zeit (Spirit of the Times), called on his countrymen to resist French domination. To escape Napoleon's retribution, he sought refuge in Sweden, from where he continued to disseminate his patriotic ideals through pamphlets and poems. His political poetry, written to assist in organizing the struggle against France, extolled patriotic themes and further inspired his fellow countrymen.
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1. Johann Arndt
2. Ernst Moritz Arndt
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What role did Arndt play during the Napoleonic Wars?
During the Napoleonic era, Ernst Moritz Arndt played a significant role in Germany’s national awakening. Witnessing the ruined castles along the Rhine River fueled his bitterness against the French, which he expressed in his writings. To avoid Napoleon's vengeance, Arndt sought refuge in Sweden, continuing to inspire his countrymen through patriotic pamphlets, poems, and songs. In 1812, he went to St. Petersburg, Russia, to help organize the final struggle against France, writing political poetry that extolled patriotic themes.
1 Britannica Source
1. Ernst Moritz Arndt
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ernst Moritz Arndt (born Dec. 26, 1769, Schoritz bei Gartz, Rügen, Swed.—died Jan. 29, 1860, Bonn, Ger.) was a prose writer, poet, and patriot who expressed the national awakening in his country in the Napoleonic era.

Arndt was educated at Stralsund, Greifswald, and Jena and qualified for the Lutheran ministry. At the age of 28 he rejected his clerical career and for 18 months travelled through Europe. On his return to Germany the sight of ruined castles along the banks of the Rhine River moved him to bitterness against the French who had destroyed them. He described the impressions of this journey in Reisen durch einen Theil Deutschlands, Ungarns, Italiens, und Frankreichs in den Jahren 1798/99, 6 vol. (1801–04; “A Journey Through Parts of Germany, Hungary, Italy, and France in the Years 1798–99”).

In 1800 Arndt settled in Greifswald as assistant lecturer in history and in 1803 published Germanien und Europa, in which he proclaimed his views on French aggression. His subsequent Versuch einer Geschichte der Leibeigenschaft in Pommern und Rügen (1803) is, as the title suggests, a history of serfdom in Pomerania and Rügen that resulted in its abolition three years later by the Swedish king Gustav IV. In 1806 Arndt was appointed to the chair of history at the University of Greifswald and published the first part of his Geist der Zeit (Spirit of the Times, 1808), in which he called on his countrymen to shake off the French yoke. To escape the vengeance of Napoleon, he took refuge in Sweden, from where he continued to communicate his patriotic ideals to his countrymen in pamphlets, poems, and songs.

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Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry

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Arndt returned to Germany in 1809. He was summoned to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1812 to assist in the organization of the final struggle against France. Here he continued to write political poetry that extolled patriotic themes. When the University of Bonn was founded in 1818, Arndt was appointed to the chair of modern history. In this year appeared the fourth part of his Geist der Zeit, in which he criticized the reactionary policy of the German powers. The boldness of his demands for reform offended the Prussian government, and in 1820 he was suspended. He was reinstated in 1840 by King Frederick William IV of Prussia and was appointed rector of the university the following year. After the revolutionary outbreak of 1848, he took his seat as one of the deputies to the Frankfurt National Assembly. He took part in the deputation that offered the imperial crown to Frederick William, but, indignant at the king’s refusal to accept it, he retired from public life.

Not all of Arndt’s lyrical poems were inspired by political ideas, nor was he a merely chauvinistic figure. Many of the works in his Gedichte (1804–18, complete ed. 1860; “Poems”) are religious poems of great beauty.

Other important works are his autobiography, Erinnerungen aus dem äusseren Leben (1840; “Recollections from the External Life”), the most valuable source of information for Arndt’s life; and Meine Wanderungen und Wandelungen mit dem Reichsfreiherrn Heinrich Karl Friedrich von Stein (1858; “My Travels and Saunterings with the Baron Heinrich Karl Friedrich von Stein”). Notable editions of his works are those of H. Meisner and R. Geerds, 16 vol. (1908), and of A. Leffson and W. Steffens, 12 vol. (1912).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Ernst Moritz Arndt

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