Christian Friedrich von Schnurrer

Christian Friedrich Schnurrer , from 1808 by Schnurrer , (born October 28, 1742 in Cannstatt ; † November 10, 1822 in Stuttgart ) was a German theologian, orientalist, philologist and chancellor of the University of Tübingen .

Life

Christian Friedrich von Schnurrer began his theological career in the seminars in Denkendorf and Maulbronn . In 1766 he joined the newly founded college of repetents in Göttingen and worked there with the church historian Christian Wilhelm Franz Walch , who would have gladly won him over to this university. He was introduced to the historical-grammatical exegesis of the Old Testament by Johann David Michaelis , which he studied with preference.

He learned the Arabic language in Jena and Leipzig because he had recognized that it was valuable for criticizing and explaining the Hebrew Bible text. In London he admired the treasures of the British Museum and in Oxford he analyzed works written in Arabic by rabbis with exegetical-philological content as well as Samaritan writings in the Bodleian Library . In Paris , too , he spent most of his time in libraries and took Arabic language lessons.

When he returned home in autumn 1770, Duke Carl Eugen von Württemberg opened up the prospect of an academic career for him, but initially made him sub-governor for his noble boys . Only in the winter of 1772/73 did he get the position of extraordinary professor in the philosophy faculty of the University of Tübingen . His lectures, magazine articles, and programs focused on the exegesis and isagogy of the Old and New Testaments. In addition, partly his teaching post, for which he studied oriental languages ​​in detail since 1775, and partly the knowledge he had brought home from Oxford and Paris gave him the opportunity to study other Semitic languages ​​and scripts in addition to Hebrew.

In 1777 he was given the management of the Tübingen monastery . Duke Carl Eugen, who in his later years was almost as interested in the monastery as he was in the Karlsschule , was not wrong when he assumed that Schnurrer had the necessary authority over young people. As a listener of his lectures, the scholarship holders valued him as an outstanding philologist and text critic, while on the other hand they missed the development of the dogmatic content of the Bible passages, which the cautious university professor liked to avoid.

In 1806 he became chancellor of the university and therefore gave up the management of the monastery. He was transferred to the theological faculty, where he retained the subject of exegesis. As a result, it was obliged to take part in the negotiations as a representative of the university. The stance he took in the constitutional struggles of that time was the reason for his early retirement in 1817. He was honored with academic honors from learned societies ( Göttingen , Munich , Würzburg , Paris ) and with a seductive reputation from the University of Leiden (1795) loyal to his home country until the end.

He also dedicated his most important literary works to the state of Württemberg . In his explanations of the history of the churches, the Reformation and scholars in Württemberg (Tübingen 1798), which is a treasure trove for the historian because of the extraordinary knowledge of sources it contains, he described how the Protestant nature gained in importance in Württemberg and especially at the state university that Württemberg became a starting point for the attempt to spread the evangelical doctrine among the southern Slavs.

He published a contribution on the history of studies in Württemberg, in which he put his predecessors on the chair of memorial stones, in the book Biographical and literary messages from former teachers of Hebrew literature in Tübingen (Ulm 1792). The meaning of these images of life becomes clear when one considers that the series of them opened by Johannes Reuchlin was completed by Wilhelm Schickard .

The Latin speeches given by Schnurrer as dean and chancellor, which Councilor Paulus published in Heidelberg , brought noteworthy additions to the books already mentioned, in that they enriched the church and scholarly history of Württemberg in many ways. Silvestre de Sacy paid tribute to this library for his diligent cooperation and honorable mention. Schnurrer started a literary work with the Tuebinger learned news and edited it for a decade from 1783 to 93, which then continued to appear until 1808, which was primarily intended to serve the discussion of Swabian products.

Since 1801 he was a foreign member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences . On February 4, 1808, Christian Friedrich von Schnurrer was honored with the Knight's Cross of the Württemberg Civil Order of Merit . The personal nobility status was associated with the award.

Works (selection)

• Biographical and literary news from former teachers of Hebrew literature in Tübingen , Wohler, Ulm 1792.

• Explanations of the Würtemberg church, Reformation and scholarly history, Cotta, Tübingen 1798.

• Slavic book printing in Würtemberg in the 16th century. A literary report , Cotta, Tübingen 1799.

• Bibliotheca arabica , Halle / Saale 1811.

swell

• Wilhelm Heyd :  Schnurrer, Christian Friedrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 32, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1891, pp. 196-198.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Christian Friedrich von Schnurrer: "Slavic book printing in Württemberg in the 16th century" (Tüb. 1799).
2. ^ Royal Württemberg Court and State Handbook 1815, p. 36.