Bøger i Danish Golden Age Studies serien

The present volume is the first anthology devoted to the Icelandic theologian and religious author Magnús Eiríksson (1806-81), a forgotten contemporary of Søren Kierkegaard in Golden Age Denmark. With his remarkably modern views, thoughts and ideas of society, politics, and religion, Eiríksson has taken on the role of a widely unknown pioneer in various contexts. As early as in his debut book, On Baptists and Infant Baptism (1844), Eiríksson made a name for himself as a devoted advocate of tolerance and freedom of thought and conscience in matters of religion. Although Eiríksson's numerous and multifaceted writings provoked a wide spectrum of reactions by members of the Danish society, the central figures at that time constantly took care to avoid engaging Eiríksson or his ideas in public debate and instead met him with "lofty silence."The present volume aims to end this silence, which has continued after Eiríksson's death, and it marks the beginning of a serious discussion of Eiríksson's works and ideas. The articles featured in this anthology are written by international scholars from different fields. With its strategic organization the collection covers the key topics of Eiríksson's writings and provides insights into his historical-cultural background. Understanding Eiríksson's polemics with his Copenhagen contemporaries - such as Hans Lassen Martensen, Henrik Nicolai Clausen, N.F.S. Grundtvig and Søren Kierkegaard - on some of the main theological issues of the day sheds light on the period as a whole and provides a new perspective on the complex and diverse discussions concerning religion in the Golden Age.

The Danish Golden Age was marked by several key events: the Napoleonic Wars, the bombardment of Copenhagen, the state bankruptcy in 1814 and the ensuing financial crisis, the revolution of 1848, and the establishment of a parliamentary democracy in 1849. At the same time, there were peasant reforms, religious upheavals, and significant changes in class and social structures. The contributors to this volume argue that these different crises did not just serve as a backdrop for or as obstacles to the flowering of culture in the Golden Age, but were instead the catalysts for it. Despite their many debates and polemics among themselves, the leading figures of Golden Age Denmark were generally in agreement about the fact that their age was in a state of crisis. The dramatic events spilled over into the various cultural spheres and shaped them in different ways. The essays in this volume trace the different crises as they appear in literature, criticism, religion, philosophy, politics, and the social sciences. Drawing compelling parallels between the perceived crisis of the Golden Age and the acute issues of our own day, this book strongly makes the case for the continuing relevance of the Golden Age for readers today.

I de senere år har der været stadig større interesse for den danske guldalders omfattende kulturliv. Det er ingen overdrivelse at sige, at kvinder spillede en vigtig rolle på næsten hvert eneste kulturelle område i denne periode. På dansk er der udgivet nogle bøger om emnet, men internationale læsere har kun i ringe grad haft mulighed for at vurdere kvindernes vigtige bidrag til guldalderens kulturliv. Det forsøger denne monografi at lave om på. Den viser, hvilken rolle kvinderne spillede inden for litteratur og teater, og diskuterer det mere generelle spørgsmål om datidens kvindefrigørelse. Med afsæt i tre centrale interesseområder er bogen inddelt i tre sektioner. I hver sektion er omdrejningspunktet en vigtig skikkelse, der kan ses som repræsentativ for det pågældende område. Første sektion, der handler om litteraturen, bruger således Thomasine Gyllembourg (1773-1856) og hendes forfatterskab som fikspunkt. Anden sektion behandler teaterlivet og periodens mest berømte skuespillerinde, Johanne Luise Heiberg (1812-90). Endelig tager tredje sektion spørgsmålet om kvindefrigørelse op til diskussion med udgangspunkt i den kontroversielle forfatter Mathilde Fibiger (1830-72). Katalin Nun er freelance redaktør, forsker og forfatter i København. Hun er medredaktør på Kierkegaard and the Greek World: Volume 2, Tome I

Guldalderens historiske baggrund er velkendt: Napoleonskrigene, Københavns bombardement, statsbankerotten i 1814 med deraf følgende økonomisk krise, 1848-revolutionen samt grundlovens og demokratiets indførelse i 1849. Der var bondereformer og religiøs tumult, og sociale klasser og strukturer var i kraftig forandring. Alt dette var med til at skabe det miljø hvori Guldalderen fødtes og udvikledes. Denne bog anser disse forskellige krisesituationer ikke blot som en kulisse eller forhindringer der skulle overvindes, men som aktive katalysatorer for den opblomstring der fandt sted i Guldalderen.Til trods for at de konstant lå i debat og polemik med hinanden, var Guldalderens ledende figurer generelt enige om at de levede i en krisetid. Alle de dramatiske samfundsmæssige udviklinger påvirkede også i høj grad de kulturelle sfærer og formede dem på forskellig vis. Artiklerne i denne bog følger de forskellige krisers påvirkninger igennem litteratur, kritik, religion, filosofi, politik og samfundsvidenskaberne og opstiller dragende paralleller mellem det der opfattes som ‘Guldalderkrisen’ og de udfordringer vores moderne samfund står over for i dag. Dermed viser bogen Guldalderens fortsatte relevans for læsere i det 21. århundrede.

Kierkegaard readers are familiar with his dogged polemicagainst Hegelianism, his critique of Friedrichvon Schlegel’s Romantic irony, and his visit to Schelling’slectures in Berlin. However, these are only a fewwell-known examples of a much deeper relation ofinfluence and inspiration. Kierkegaard read Germanfluently and was interested in many different authorsand thinkers from the German-speaking countries.The auction catalogue of his personal library revealsa wealth of works in German from a number of differentfields.Given his famous criticisms of the Hegelians,Schlegel, and Schelling, one might be tempted to believethat Kierkegaard was anti-German. But this isclearly not the case since he had high praise for someGerman thinkers such as Hamann, Lessing and Trendelenburg.The present work is dedicated to an explorationof Kierkegaard’s relation to different aspectsof Germanophone culture. Its goal is to gain a betterappreciation of the importance of his various Germansources for his thought. The points of contact are sonumerous that it can truly be said that if it were not forthe influence of German culture, Kierkegaard wouldnot have been KierkegKiaard and the Danish GoldenAge would not have been the Golden Age.Jon Stewart is Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophyat the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He is the founderand general editor of the series Kierkegaard Research:Sources, Reception and Resources (Routledge), Texts fromGolden Age Denmark and Danish Golden Age Studies(both Museum Tusculanum Press).

The Danish Golden Age of the first half of the nineteenth century endured in the midst of a number of different kinds of crisis - political, economic and cultural. The many changes of the period made it a dynamic time, one in which artists, poets, philosophers, and religious thinkers were constantly reassessing their place in society. This book traces the different aspects of the cultural crisis of the period through a series of case studies of key figures, including Johan Ludvig Heiberg, Hans Lassen Martensen, and Søren Kierkegaard. Far from just a historical analysis, however, the book shows that many of the key questions that Danish society wrestled with during the Golden Age remain strikingly familiar today.Jon Stewart is associate professor at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre at the University of Copenhagen.