Arndt, Ernst Moritz (ĕrnst mō`rĭts ärnt), 1769–1860, German poet and historian. An ardent nationalist and opponent of Napoleon I, he was forced to flee to Sweden and Russia because of his patriotic and martial verse and his book, Geist der Zeit [spirit of the times] (4 vol., 1806–18), which influenced German feelings against the French. He was (1818–20) a professor of history at the Univ. of Bonn but was dismissed because of his liberal ideas and participation in the Burschenschaften, the nationalist students' movement; he was not reinstated until 1840. In 1848, Arndt was elected to the Frankfurt Parliament, the all-German national assembly that attempted to bring about German unification.

Bibliography

See A. G. Pundt, Arndt and the National Awakening in Germany (1935, repr. 1968).

Arndt, Ernst Moritz

(born Dec. 26, 1769, Schoritz bei Gartz, Swed.—died Jan. 29, 1860, Bonn, Ger.) Swedish-born German prose writer, poet, and patriot. He rejected the Lutheran ministry at age 28 and eventually became a professor of history at Greifswald and Bonn. Among his important works is the huge Spirit of the Times, 4 vol. (1806–18), a bold call for political reforms that expressed German national awakening during the Napoleonic era. Not all of Arndt's poems were inspired by political ideas; Gedichte (1804–18) contains many religious poems of great beauty.