With some reference to Heine, Rosenkranz and Vischer, this study presents Prutz, Hettner and Haym as a generation of literary historians crucially influenced by Hegelianism. It thematizes the Hegel reception and the programmatic contributions of these authors in establishing an ambitious form of literary historiography. It also discusses the achievements of that historiography with reference to the studies on Romanticism proposed by these three figures. Finally, it provides an assessment of the degree of professionalism displayed by their scholarly activities and situates the three authors in the history of German studies.