Erik Pontoppidan the Younger

Erik Pontoppidan

Erik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan , to distinguish him from his great-uncle Erik Pontoppidan the elderly usually with the addition of the Yngre (the younger), (born 24 August ^{. Jul} / 3. September  1698 ^greg. In Aarhus ; † 20th December 1764 in Copenhagen ) was a Danish theologian , preacher , historian and author .

Life

Pontoppidan came as the son of pastor Ludvig Pontoppidan from a Danish pastor family. He became an orphan when he was ten and grew up with relatives. From 1716 he studied theology at the University of Copenhagen and passed his exams in 1718. He then worked as a private tutor in Kristiania and as court master of the noble Claus Huitfeldt on his trip to the Netherlands and England . In 1721 he became the tutor of Friedrich Karl , who became Duke of Holstein-Plön in 1722 ; In 1723 he became a preacher at Nordborg Castle . There he came into contact with German Pietism .

As Pastor Pontoppidan was from 1726 to 1734 in Havnbjerg near Nordborg on Als operates. During this time he wrote his first writings in which he defended Pietism against Lutheran orthodoxy . At the same time his first topographical and historical works appeared, from which decades later his main work Den Danske Atlas eller Konge-Riget Dannemark grew, which was only completed after his death.

King Christian VI , who promoted pietism, appointed him pastor in Hillerød in 1734 and in the same year as castle preacher at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød. As early as 1735 he was promoted to Danish court preacher in Copenhagen . In 1738 he also became an associate professor of theology, and in 1742 a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences .

In 1737 he worked out a catechism with the title Sandhed Til Gudfrygtighed (literally "Truth to the fear of God"; as "Instruction to the knowledge of truth to godliness, in a clear explanation about Martin Luther's Small Catechism" also translated into German) in 1737 , and 1740 a hymn book, the Nye Psalme-Bog . Both books emphasized the doctrine of sin and the need for repentance and penance. It was through them that Pietism was spread in Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark and - particularly sustainably - in Norway. In addition, Pontoppidan also wrote historical works and the novel Menoza .

After the death of King Christian VI. Pontoppidan became Bishop of Bergen in 1747 . Here he primarily promoted training, e.g. B. by founding the Seminarium Fredericianum in 1752, in which the real subjects and modern languages ​​should be in the foreground. His Glossarium Norvagicum from 1749 was one of the first Danish-Norwegian dictionaries. His Det første Forsøg paa Norges Naturlige Historie (two volumes 1752/53) served to research the Norwegian flora and fauna .

In 1755 Pontoppidan returned to Copenhagen because he had been appointed procurator of the university . His scientific work at this time was devoted to topography (e.g. Den Danske Atlas , two volumes 1763/64) and theology.

He is one of 18 deserving Danes who are named on the obelisk on Skamlingsbanken .

Fonts (selection)

• Dialogue; or Conversation of Severi, Sinceri, and Simplicis on religion (1726)
• Purity of teaching (1726)
• Bright mirror of faith in which the marks of the children of God are presented. Frankfurt and Leipzig 1727.
  • Troens Speyl, Forestillende Guds Børns Kiende-Tegn. København 1740.
• Theatrum Daniae veteris et modernae . Bremen 1730.
• Brief history of the Reformation of the Danish Church . Lübeck 1734 digitized .
• Kort Forestilling af de store Velgierninger . Copenhagen 1736.
• Everriculum fermenti veteris (1736)
• Sandhed Til Gudfrygtighed, Udi En enfoldig og efter mulighed kort, dog tilstrækkelig Forklaring over Dr. theol. Martin Luther's Lille Catekism. Copenhagen 1737
  • Instructions for the knowledge of the truth for godliness, in a clear explanation of Martin Luther's Small Catechism, for use in the churches and schools of the Duchy of Schleswig and the Duchy of Holstein . Altona 1741 digitized version of the 15th edition 1770 ( Kiel University Library )
  • Sannleiki Gudhraedslunnar . 1759.
• Onde Ordsprog, Som fordærver Gode Sæder, Igiendrevne af Guds Ord.København 1739
  • Evil Proverbs (1739)
• Marmora Danica selectiora sive Inscriptionum . Copenhagen 1739-1741.
• Gesta et vestigia Danorum extra Daniam . Preuss, Leipzig, Copenhagen 1740/41.
• Annales ecclesiæ danicæ diplomatici . Möller, Copenhagen 1741–1752 digitized .
• A couple of awakening sermons about the misery of earthly life and how it may be helped . Kothert, Bergen 1749.
• Glossarium norvagicum . Kothert, Bergen 1749.
• Det Første Forsøg paa Norges natural history . Copenhagen 1752.
  • The natural history of Norway . Linde, London 1755.
  • Attempt a natural history of Norway . Mumme, Copenhagen, Flensburg 1753–1769.
• Opvækkelige Hyrde-Breve, Aarlig forsendte til Præsteskabet i Bergens-Stift. Bergen 1753
  • Editing pastoral letters which he wrote to the priesthood of the Bergisches Stift . Berger & Boedner, Rostock 1754.
• Menoza, who wandered the world looking for Christians . Copenhagen 1759 digitized .
• Unpredictable concerns about the natural cause of the many and powerful earthquakes and the unusual weather that has been heard for some time both in and outside Europe . Pelt, Copenhagen 1757 digitized .
• Sandheds Kraft til at overvinde Den Atheistiske og Naturalistiske Vantroe. København 1758.
  • Power of truth to defeat atheistic and naturalistic unbelief . Pelt, Copenhagen 1759.
• Eutropii Philadelphi Oeconomiske Balance . Godiche, Copenhagen 1759.
• Origines Hafnienses or the conglomerate Residentz-Stad Kiøbenhavn, forestillet i sin oprindelige Tilstand . Godiche, Copenhagen 1760.
• The Danske Atlas eller Konge-Riget Dannemark . Copenhagen 1763–1781.
  • Brief news about natural history in Denmark . Rothe & Profft, Copenhagen 1765 (pm).
• Tractat om Sielens Udødelighed, including the Tilstand i og efter Døden, stadfæstet ved Guds Ord and the Sunde Fornuft. København 1762.
  • Scriptural and rational treatise of the immortality of human souls, of their condition in death, of their condition immediately after death, up to the last judgment . Rothe, Copenhagen 1766 (pm) digitized .

literature

• J. Møller: Biskop and Procantsler Erik Pontoppidans Levnetsløb and characteristics. In: Tidsskrift for Kirke og Theologie. Volume 4, 1834, pages 58-273.
• Michael Neiiendam: Erik Pontoppidan. Study and bidrag til pietismens historie. 2 volumes, Copenhagen 1930–1933.
• Michael Neiiendam: Pontoppidan, Erik (Ludvigsen) . In: Povl Engelstoft, Svend Dahl: (Ed.): Dansk biografisk leksikon . Founded by Carl Frederik Bricka . 2nd Edition. tape 18 : Pape – Paetz . JH Schultz, Copenhagen 1940, p. 458–466 (Danish, rosekamp.dk [PDF]).
• Håkon Hamre: Erik Pontoppidan and Hans Glossarium Norvagicum. In: Årbok for Universitetet i Bergen. Bergen 1972.
• Michael Neiiendam: Erik Pontoppidan . In: Svend Cedergreen Bech , Svend Dahl (eds.): Dansk biografisk leksikon . Founded by Carl Frederik Bricka , continued by Povl Engelstoft. 3. Edition. tape 11 : Olsen-Rask . Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1982, ISBN 87-01-77472-7 (Danish, biografiskleksikon.lex.dk ).
• Erich Unglaub: A new Menoza? The comedy 'Der neue Menoza' by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz and the Menoza novel by Erik Pontoppidan . In: Orbis litterarum 44 (1989) 1, pp. 10-47.
• Burkard Krug:  Erik Pontoppidan the Younger. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 7, Bautz, Herzberg 1994, ISBN 3-88309-048-4 , Sp. 830-831.
• Henrik Horstbøll: Enlightenment and Pietism in Denmark-Norway in the Eighteenth Century: The Discourse of Erik Pontoppidan . In: Fred van Lieburg (ed.): Pietism, revivalism and modernity, 1650-1850. Newcastle upon Tyne 2008, pp. 84-105.

Web links

Commons : Erik Pontoppidan II  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Works by and about Erik Pontoppidan the Younger  in the German Digital Library
• Publications by and about Erik Pontoppidan the Younger in VD 18 .
• Torleiv Austad: Erik Pontoppidan - 2. In: Norsk biografisk leksikon ( online edition )