Franz Martin Pelzel

Portrait around 1780

Fr. Martinus Pelzel, engraving by Johann Berka (1784)

Franz Martin Pelzel ( Czech František Martin Pelcl ; born November 11, 1734 in Reichenau an der Knieschna , † February 24, 1801 in Prague ) was a Bohemian historian, Slavist and author.

family

Franz Martin Pelzel was a brother of Josef Bernhard Pelzel , since January 15, 1804 Edler von Pelzeln (* 1745 in Reichenau an der Knieschna, † September 23, 1809 in Vienna), secretary to Johann Ludwig von Cobenzl , later an imperial official, most recently an expeditor (Quality and deadline inspector) at the customs office in Vienna.

Life

Pelzel studied theology and law at the Charles University in Prague ; In 1757 he continued his studies in history and linguistics at the University of Vienna . From 1761 to 1769 he worked as court master for the Counts Sternberg and was then educator, librarian and archivist for the Counts Nostitz . After 1773 he taught Czech language and history in Vienna . In 1793 he went to Prague as a professor of the newly established course in Bohemian (Czech) language and literature at Charles University in Prague. This appointment earned him a high reputation among Czech intellectuals. From 1775 to 1799 he was a leader in the Bohemian Scholars Private Society , then a member of the successor organization Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences , which considered newer research directions in the sense of a contemporary academy movement.

He was known and friends of members of the National Rebirth of the Czechs , such as Josef Dobrovský and Václav Matěj Kramérius , with whom he worked and whose writings he edited. In the 1770s he took an active part in the political events of Josephinism together with Nikolaus Adaukt Voigt .

Works

Memorial stone for Franz Martin Pelzel in his place of birth

Pelzel wrote most of his numerous books in German. They dealt almost exclusively with Bohemian history, language and literature. In the 1780s he published monographs on Charles IV , Wenceslaus IV and a lexicon on members of the Jesuit order who had distinguished themselves as scholars, a work on Czech writers and a history book on the Germans in Bohemia and their language . From 1791 to 1795 he published historical treatises on the New Bohemian Chronicle , written in German, his most important work. As a historian, he carried on the ideas of Gelasius Dobner .

He was the first historian in Europe to pay attention to the German East Settlement of the Middle Ages (1790). He sought to grasp the origins of the national differences in the Bohemian countries, and at the same time wanted to overcome their continued impact through national patriotism. His views had a lasting influence on the 19th century, as did his assessments of Bohemian history under Charles IV, but were superseded and supplanted by the awakening self-confidence of the Czech people.

Publications (selection)

Brief history of Bohemia from the oldest to the present day. St. Clemens, Prague 1774; 2nd edition: Hagen, Prague 1779.
Emperor Charles the Fourth, King in Bohemia. 2 volumes. Hagen, Prague 1780/1781.
with Josef Dobrovský : Scriptores rerum Bohemicarum e bibliotheca ecclesiae metropolitanae Pragensis. 3 volumes. Prague 1783–1829 (The most important source for this edition was the Chronica Boemorum .).
Bohemian, Moravian and Silesian scholars and writers from the order of the Jesuits. Self-published, Prague 1786 ( digitized version ).
Life story of the Roman and Bohemian King Wenceslaus. Schönfeld-Meißner, Prague 1791.

literature

František Palacký : Appreciation of the old Bohemian historians. Borrosch, Prague 1830, p. XXII ( digitized version ).
Constantin von Wurzbach : Pelzel, Franz Martin . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 21st part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1870, pp. 444–448 ( digitized version ).
Johann Loserth : Pelzel, Franz Martin . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 25, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, pp. 341-343.
Ferdinand Seibt , Hans Lemberg and Helmut Slapnicka (eds.): Biographical lexicon for the history of the Bohemian countries. Oldenbourg, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-486-55973-7 , p. 168 f. (Short biographies: Franz Martin Pelzel; Josef Bernhard Pelzel Edler von Pelzeln).

Web links

Commons : Franz Martin Pelzel - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Works by and about Franz Martin Pelzel in the German Digital Library
Literature by and about Franz Martin Pelzel in the catalog of the German National Library
Literature and other media by and about Franz Martin Pelzel in the catalog of the National Library of the Czech Republic
in the Internet Archive
- Franz Martin Pelzel
- František Martin Pelcl

Individual evidence

^ Johann Siebmacher : The coats of arms of the Bohemian nobility (= J. Siebmacher's large book of arms. Vol. 30). Bauer and Raspe, Neustadt an der Aisch 1979, ISBN 3-87947-030-8 (reprint of the 1886 edition), p. 20, heraldic panel 17.
↑ Genealogical paperback of the knight and noble families, the noble houses (Brno paperback). 2nd year 1877; 5th year 1880; 9th year 1884; 12th year 1887; 16th year 1891.

personal data
SURNAME	Pelzel, Franz Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Pelcl, František Martin (Czech name form)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Bohemian historian and Slavist
DATE OF BIRTH	November 11, 1734
PLACE OF BIRTH	Reichenau an der Knieschna
DATE OF DEATH	February 24, 1801
Place of death	Prague

[1] Johann Siebmacher : The coats of arms of the Bohemian nobility (= J. Siebmacher's large book of arms. Vol. 30). Bauer and Raspe, Neustadt an der Aisch 1979, ISBN 3-87947-030-8 (reprint of the 1886 edition), p. 20, heraldic panel 17.

[2] Genealogical paperback of the knight and noble families, the noble houses (Brno paperback). 2nd year 1877; 5th year 1880; 9th year 1884; 12th year 1887; 16th year 1891.