Gottfried Hoffmann (pedagogue)

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Gottfried Hoffmann (born December 5, 1658 in Plagwitz near Löwenberg ( Silesia ), † October 1, 1712 in Zittau ) was a German Protestant educator , school rector and hymn poet .

Life

Hoffmann was born in Plagwitz in the Principality of Jauer . The hardships to which the Protestants of Silesia were exposed after the Peace of Westphalia concluded in 1648 forced Gottfried Hoffmann's parents, persecuted by the Jesuits , to seek refuge in Lichtenau in Upper Lusatia in 1666 . In outwardly very depressed circumstances, Hoffmann was now a student at the Lyceum in Lauban from 1671 to 1681 and then switched to the Zittau grammar school , which was then headed by the German poet and teacher Christian Weise . With this he came into close contact, acted as his assistant and learned from him the art of pedagogy.

It was not until 1685 that Hoffmann, as a mature man, attended the University of Leipzig . Here he attended lectures in philosophy based on the teachings of René Descartes and also studied languages, history and theology . At the beginning of 1688 he obtained the title of Magister. He soon proved himself in sermons and disputations as well as as a teacher in noble families. The exile son , who was nevertheless very pious, stayed away from the pietistic movements , which were strongly represented at the universities .

Hoffmann initially intended to become an academic teacher, but followed in 1688, when the Lyceum of Lauban was redesigned by its Rector Wende, the call to work as Vice Rector at this institution. After Wende's departure he received his office in 1695 and was rector of the school in Lauban until 1708, then rector in Zittau. In 1698 his Evangelical History Calendar was published by G. Rößler in Lauban. He insisted on a practical treatment of the teaching, as his writings published at the time show:

  • The good schoolboy (1695)
  • Detailed report of the method used by the Lectionibus in the Lauban Lyceo (1695)
  • Introduction to Latin (1696)
  • Good Pedagogue (for home teaching, 1696)
  • Neat and thorough way of composing the Latin language (1702)
  • Well-meaning suggestions, such as Christian parents sending their children to school, to whom Praeceptoribus can assist (1702)
  • Lauban Church and School Prayers (1704)
  • Selected key sayings of the Holy Scriptures (1705)
  • Aerarium biblicum or a thousand verses from the Bible explained in brief (1706)
  • Life history of all Protestant pastors who taught in Lauban (1707)

In 1708 Hoffmann moved to the grammar school in Zittau, where he took over the post of rector from Weise. Through him new life came to this school too. His work Das Zittauische "Dic cur hic et hoc age" , published in 1709, effectively summarized his pedagogical principles and was probably one of the best pedagogical works of that time. Significantly more students now attended the grammar school he ran. In the interest of his students, Hoffnmann managed, among other things, the installation of the council library in new rooms.

Both educational establishments at which Hoffmann worked flourished under his leadership. The esteemed educator revived the staging of Latin school comedies and promoted the spiritual life of his high school students by lecturing on passages from the Bible , for example on Sundays . Also mainly for his students he composed 60 hymns.

After Hoffmann had worked as the rector of the Zittau grammar school for four years, he died on October 1, 1712 at the age of 53. Grateful students donated a memorial service in his honor, which should take place annually. Of his three sons, Christian Gottfried Hoffmann (* 1692, † 1735) and Johann Wilhelm Hoffmann (* 1710, † 1739) were distinguished lawyers.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Sachs: The flight of the evangelical wife Anna Magdalena von Reibnitz (1664– ~ 1745) with her five children from Silesia, threatened by forced Catholicization, in 1703 - a mood picture from the age of the Counter Reformation and Pietism. In: Medical historical messages. Journal for the history of science and specialist prose research. Volume 34, 2015 (2016), pp. 221–263, here: p. 249.
personal data
SURNAME Hoffmann, Gottfried
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant educator and hymn poet
DATE OF BIRTH December 5, 1658
PLACE OF BIRTH Plagwitz near Löwenberg ( Silesia )
DATE OF DEATH October 1, 1712
Place of death Zittau