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In their Critische Dichtkunst (1740), Johann Jakob Bodmer and Johann Jakob Breitinger define poetry as an ‚ars popularis‘. What is meant by this enigmatic term? Historical studies dealing with popularity, popularisation or popular enlightenment (‚Volksaufklärung‘) in the 18th century have so far largely overlooked the ‚ars popularis‘. This article aims to close this gap by comprehensively contextualising and interpreting this concept and tracing its roots back to the discussion of the so-called ‚artes populares‘ and ‚artes vulgares‘ in the early modern period.