Die Christenheit oder Europa
By: Novalis.
Published: 1826
Place of publication: München
Language: ger
Subjects: Christianity -- Early works to 1800
Genres: Early works to 1800
First sentence: "Es waren schöne, glänzende Zeiten, wo Europa ein christliches Land war, wo eine Christenheit diesen menschlich gestalteten Weltteil bewohnte; ein großes gemeinschaftliches Interesse verband die entlegensten Provinzen dieses weiten geistlichen Reichs. ..."
Description: An essay by German romantic Novalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg), written in October/November of 1799, and delivered as a speech in November 1799 to a group of his contemporaries.  Christenheit oder Europa (Christianity or Europe) depicts a glorified European Middle Ages, where Christianity was a stronger force in society than in the turbulent times of the French Revolution.  Novalis viewed the late 18th century as a time of moral decline and turmoil, and believed that Christian faith was necessary to a unified, cohesive Europe in the century to come.
Notes: The essay was not published until 1826, after Novalis' death.  There was talk of publishing it in the Romantic journal "Athenaeum", but it ultimately remained unpublished due to controversy over Novalis' rather idyllic portrayal of Medieval times, where he writes about a simple, innocent Christian people following the Church with childlike obedience.   A contemporary of Novalis', Friedrich Schelling, wrote a parody of his essay and also presented it on the same November day in 1799, calling it Epikurisch Glaubensbekenntnis Heinz Widerporstens, or “Heinz Widerporsten’s Epicurean Declaration of Faith.”