Theodor Mundt was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 critic and novelist. He was a member of the Young Germany

Young Germany

Young Germany was a group of German writers which existed from about 1830 to 1850. It was essentially a youth ideology . Its main proponents were Karl Gutzkow, Heinrich Laube, Theodor Mundt and Ludolf Wienbarg; Heinrich Heine, Ludwig Börne and Georg Büchner were also considered part of the movement...

 group of German writers.

Biography

Born at Potsdam

Potsdam

Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....

, Mundt studied philology

Philology

Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...

 and philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 at Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. In 1832 he settled at Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

 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

Luise Mühlbach was the pen name of Clara Mundt , a German writer best known for her works of historical fiction which enjoyed a wide popularity that was short-lived...

 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

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

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

Privatdozent

Privatdozent or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications to become a tenured university professor...

. In 1848 he was appointed Professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of Literature and History in Breslau, and in 1850 ordinary professor and librarian in Berlin, where he died.

Works

Mundt wrote extensively on aesthetic 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 novel

Historical novel

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...

s such as Thomas Münzer (1841); Mendoza (1847); and Die Matadore (1850). With Karl August Varnhagen von Ense

Karl August Varnhagen von Ense

Karl August Varnhagen von Ense was a German biographer, diplomat and soldier.-Biography:He was born at Düsseldorf, with siblings including Rosa Maria Varnhagen. He studied medicine in Berlin, but spent more time on philosophy and literature, which he later studied more thoroughly at Halle and...

, he edited Karl Ludwig von Knebel

Karl Ludwig von Knebel

Karl Ludwig von Knebel , German poet and translator, born at the castle of Wallerstein in Franconia....

's letters and posthumous works. But perhaps Mundt's chief title to fame was his part in the emancipation of women, a theme which he elaborated in Madonna, Unterhaltungen mit einer Heiligen (1835).