Herder, Johann Gottfried von

Herder, Johann Gottfried von, b 25 August 1744 in Mohrungen, East Prussia, d 18 December 1803 in Weimar. (Portrait: Johann Gottfried von Herder.) German philosopher, theologian, and writer; a theorist of the Sturm und Drang literary movement and an important thinker in the philosophy of history and culture. He emphasized the role of folklore in the development of literature and compiled the first anthology of folk poetry from various nations—Volkslieder (1778–9). His work influenced Mykhailo Maksymovych and Amvrosii Metlynsky in Ukraine.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 2 (1989).]