The notes translated here are taken from Günderrode’s manuscripts held at the Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg in Frankfurt, which are in the public domain. German transcriptions of these notes can also be found in the critical edition of Günderrode’s works edited by Walter Morgenthaler and in an article published in 1975 by Doris Hopp and Max Preitz. PleaseContinue reading “Karoline von Günderrode’s Notes on History of Religion”
Category Archives: Karoline von Günderrode
Karoline von Günderrode’s “Timur” and the Influence of Ossian
This post explores a strong stylistic and thematic influence on Günderrode’s work: the writings of legendary Scottish bard Ossian. For an English translation of Günderrode’s dramatic fragment “Mora” see Karoline von Günderrode: Philosophical Writings (OUP: forthcoming January-March 2026). A translation of the short story “Timur” is included at the end of this post. Versions of the original GermanContinue reading “Karoline von Günderrode’s “Timur” and the Influence of Ossian”
Karoline von Günderrode, “The Prisoner and the Singer”
A version of the original German text can be found here. Rather than providing a new translation of the poem, I’ll send you to an existing one here. “The Prisoner and the Singer” was written in 1805 or 1806 and included in Günderrode’s third collection, Melete. The verses describe a singer who grants a prisoner’s request toContinue reading “Karoline von Günderrode, “The Prisoner and the Singer””
Karoline von Günderrode’s Notes: Where Did They Come From?
In which I explain a mystery in Günderrode scholarship. Please cite me if you quote or share information from this post. In 1975, Doris Hopp and Max Preitz published a selection of notes from Günderrode’s notebooks, including a set of quotations by Kant, Spinoza, Locke, Fichte, Rousseau, Herder and other philosophers and writers. Günderrode groupedContinue reading “Karoline von Günderrode’s Notes: Where Did They Come From?”
Poems in Günderrode’s Notebooks & Their Sources
Supplementary information and corrections to published scholarship on the sources for poems transcribed in Günderrode’s notebooks. This is a resource for scholars working on Günderrode’s notes and unpublished writings. Günderrode left numerous notes from her studies on a range of subjects, including philosophy, chemistry, Latin, metrics, physiognomy, ancient history and religions from across the world.Continue reading “Poems in Günderrode’s Notebooks & Their Sources”
Karoline von Günderrode, “Muhammad’s Dream in the Desert”
This poem was published in Günderrode’s first collection of poetry, dialogues and short stories, Poems and Fantasies, which appeared in 1804. Unlike Günderrode’s play Muhammad, the Prophet of Mecca, the poem does not follow Muhammad’s life or use the Prophet as a stand-in for European political figures. Instead, the piece develops Romantic, Christian, and alchemicalContinue reading “Karoline von Günderrode, “Muhammad’s Dream in the Desert””
Karoline von Günderrode, “Antiquity, and Modernity”
This unfinished poem by Günderrode contrasts faith and reason; an enchanted world with a safer but less inspiring world of science. The piece has parallels to Novalis’ “Christendom, or Europa,” although it was very likely written before Novalis’ text was published. It is interesting in part because of its consideration of themes that appear inContinue reading “Karoline von Günderrode, “Antiquity, and Modernity””
Karoline von Günderrode, “Valorich”
Although this piece is unfinished (it ends mid-sentence), it was set to be published as the last piece in what would have been Günderrode’s third collection of poetry and short prose, “Melete.” The second part of the piece has been lost, leaving a tantalising fragment that uses humour to gently mock its characters and theContinue reading “Karoline von Günderrode, “Valorich””
Why We Should Read Günderrode as a Philosopher
The question of why we should read Karoline von Günderrode (1780-1806) as a philosopher is only a specific instance of the question about the value of studying historical women’s writing in general for its philosophical contributions. The discipline of philosophy, as it is carried out in academic institutions in the west, has historically tended toContinue reading “Why We Should Read Günderrode as a Philosopher”
Untitled painting (Günderrode; the unknown)
Sarah Cameron is a multi-award winning painter and photographer with an MFA from the Slade School of Fine Art and a BFA from Edinburgh College of Art. I commissioned this large, untitled piece at a time when Sarah was working, in conceptual terms, on paintings as repositories of emotions and, in technical terms, on theContinue reading “Untitled painting (Günderrode; the unknown)”
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