Christian Friedrich von Matthäi

Christian Frederick Matthaei (* 4. March 1744 in Gröst , † September 14 ^{. Jul} / 26. September  1811 ^greg. In Moscow ) was a German classical scholar .

Life

Matthäi was born the son of a soldier who was a trumpeter in the company of Rittmeister Rüdiger. He first attended the school in Königsbrück an der Pulsnitz , then the Annenschule and from 1754 the Kreuzschule in Dresden . Matthäi enrolled at the University of Leipzig on August 23, 1763 . Encouraged by Johann August Ernesti , he pursued a degree in classical philology. Following his studies, he became court master of the sons of the court judge of Watzdorf in 1767 . In 1769 he returned to Leipzig, acquired the degree of master's degree on March 1, 1770, and completed his habilitation on March 17, 1770.

Since attempts to mediate at other academies failed, Matthäi went to Russia in 1772 as rector of the noble and non-noble grammar school of Moscow University . In 1776 he became an associate professor of classical philology at the Moscow Academy , in 1778 a full professor, and in 1782 he received the title of a councilor. Personal hostility spoiled his stay in Moscow. After a home leave granted him in the spring of 1784, his health conditions forced him to stay in Germany.

Therefore, in 1785 he accepted a position as rector at the Princely School of Meissen and in 1789 was appointed professor of Greek studies at the University of Wittenberg . He lectured on the New Testament and the Greek classics. Appointed again to his Moscow chair in 1803 , he moved there in 1804 to serve as the Imperial Russian Councilor until the end of his life. He was a member of the Imperial Free Economic Society of Saint Petersburg .

Philosophical science owes him the publication of numerous manuscripts of classics from the archives of Russian churches and monasteries. His most important scientific work was devoted to the New Testament and the Church Fathers .

Selection of works

• Lectiones Mosquenses (Leipzig 1779).
• Vetustum ecclesiae Graecae, Constantinopolitanae, ut videtur, Evangeliarum bibliothecae Serenissimi Ducis Saxo-Gothani. / Nunc primo totum ad cognoscendam liturgiam Graecorum accuratius examinavit et adjectis variantibus sacri contextus lectionibus edidet. Breitkopf, Leipzig, 1791.
• XIII epistolarum Pauli codex Graecus cum versione latine veteri vulgo Antehieronymiana olim Boernerianus nunc bibliothecae electoralis Dresdensis , Meissen, 1791.
• Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine (Riga, 1782–1788).
• Novum Testamentum Graece. Wittenberg 1803. tomus 1

Individual evidence

1. ^ Fr. Matthäi: The German Settlements in Russia (PDF; 218 kB)

literature

• Karl Heinrich Dzondi (Schundenius): Memories of the festive days of the third foundation ceremony of the Academy in Wittenberg. P. 89
• New Wittenberger Wochenblatt , 1803, p. 261
• Franz Eyssenhardt :  Matthäi, Christian Friedrich von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 20, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, p. 606.
• Nikolaus Müller: The finds in the tower knobs of the town church in Wittenberg. Evangelical bookstore Ernst Holtermann, Magdeburg, 1912
• Oskar Leopold von Gebhardt : Christian Friedrich Matthaei and his collection of Greek manuscripts. In: Central Journal for Libraries. O. Harrassowitz Verlag, Leipzig, 1898, p. 345
• Heinrich Johann Michael Doering : The learned theologians of Germany. 4th vol., Neustadt an der Orla 1831–35
• Walter Friedensburg : History of the University of Wittenberg. Publisher Max Niemeyer Halle (Saale) 1917
• Heinz Kathe : The Wittenberg Philosophical Faculty 1502–1817 (= Central German Research. Volume 117). Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-412-04402-4 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Christian Friedrich von Matthäi in the catalog of the German National Library
• Selection of works at the University of Jena