The paper will discuss the pros and cons of the possible creation of a Europe-wide counterpart to existing national philologies as a framework for studying and teaching literature. Relying on differences between national and nationalist philology, and reviewing the two most recent histories of German and English literatures, the paper will argue that the predominant manner of writing histories of national literatures has undergone significant changes in recent decades, and that the habit of perceiving them as a threat should be reviewed.