David Cranz

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David Cranz (born February 3, 1723 in Naugard ; † June 6, 1777 in Gnadenberg / Silesia ) was a German theologian and missionary who gained importance as a historian of religious communities.

Life

David Cranz grew up in the household of a pietistic pastor and began studying theology at the then Friedrichs University in Halle at the age of 16 . Two years later he joined the Moravian Brethren . Soon he was part of the leadership group around Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf , the founder of the faith movement, among other things as its secretary. In 1761 Zinzendorf sent him to Greenland , where the Moravians had been evangelizing since 1733. Cranz spent a year in Greenland, where he mainly dealt with writing down the history of the Greenland missions in Neu-Herrnhut and Lichtenfels . He published the knowledge gathered there in 1765 in his most important work, the "History of Greenland", which is now considered to be one of the most important historical descriptions of the traditional culture of Greenland. The natural history treatises, maps and copperplate engravings in particular are among the best of their time and were extremely popular in Germany. Even after his return to Europe, Cranz remained active as a historian, but also worked as a preacher and deacon in Rixdorf and Gnadenfrei . He was married and had three children. In 1777 Cranz died in Gnadenberg and was buried there.

Works

  • Short, reliable message from the Church of Unitas Fratrum, known under the name of the Bohemian-Moravian Brothers, coming from, doctrinal concept, internal and external church constitution and customs ... 1757. ( digitized on Wikisource )
  • Journey through Graubünden in 1757. A testimony from the history of the Moravians in Switzerland
New edition: With historical and biographical explanations ed. by Holger Finze-Michaelsen. Zurich: Theol. Ed. 1996, ISBN 3-290-17151-5
  • History of Greenland containing the description of the country and the inhabitants etc. in particular the history of the mission there of the Evangelical Brothers to New Herrnhut and Lichtenfels. 2nd Edition. Barby: Ehlers, 1770 (digital copies as PDF: Vol. 1 (PDF; 42.2 MB), Vol. 2 ; PDF; 25.3 MB)
  • Old and new history of brothers or brief history of the Evangelical brothers unity. 1st edition, Laux, Barby 1771. Archives . 2nd edition, Barby 1772. Reprint with a foreword by Gerhard Meyer. Hildesheim, New York: Olms 1973 ISBN 3-487-04619-9 . Google

literature

Web links

Wikisource: David Cranz  - Sources and full texts

swell

  1. ↑ Slow thaw in the eternal ice. NZZ Online, September 3, 2005, accessed on April 25, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Cranz, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Missionary and historian
DATE OF BIRTH February 3, 1723
PLACE OF BIRTH Naugard
DATE OF DEATH June 6, 1777
Place of death Gnadenberg , Silesia