Johann Christoph Gatterer

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Johann Christoph Gatterer, around 1793
from: Gottfried August Bürger and Philippine Gatterer
Die Allee in Göttingen, Gatterer's house on the left, from: Gottfried August Bürger and Philippine Gatterer.

Johann Christoph Gatterer (born July 13, 1727 in Lichtenau near Nuremberg , † April 5, 1799 in Göttingen ) was a German historian during the Enlightenment .

Life

Gatterer was born as the son of the married couple Melchior and Gertraut Gatterer. His father was a Wagenknecht in the Nuremberg military garrison Lichtenau when he was born. As a child, Gatterer moved with his parents to Nuremberg, where his father, as a private in the local city militia, found it difficult to support his family. Although Gatterer's father was illiterate himself, he enabled his son to attend a Latin school in Nuremberg. At the age of 13 he was giving tutoring himself, including Latin and Greek, and shortly afterwards also in Hebrew. Already in his school days, Gatterer probably occupied himself with the genealogical and heraldic treatises of Johann David Köhler (1684–1755), who was professor of history in Altdorf from 1714 and in Göttingen from 1735. Koehler was later to take on a mentoring role for Gatterer. After working as a killer at the Lorenzer Schule in Nuremberg (where his former teacher Jungendres was the rector), he switched to the Auditorium Publicum in order to prepare for university studies there.

From 1747 he studied theology, oriental studies, philosophy and mathematics in Altdorf near Nuremberg and in 1752 became a teacher of geography and history at the grammar school in Nuremberg, and in 1756 additionally professor of imperial history and diplomacy at the local auditorium Aegidianum . In 1759 he followed a call to Göttingen as a professor of history , founded the “Historical Academy” in 1764, and from 1766 “Historical Institute”, mainly for the edition of medieval historical sources, and was significantly involved in the publication of scientific journals. In 1776 he was elected a full member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences .

Gatterer established the historical auxiliary sciences at Göttingen University (which to this day include the disciplines of chronology, diplomatics, genealogy, geography, heraldry and numismatics). In the genealogy and diplomatic disciplines in particular , he set essential standards for German universities and wrote numerous fundamental works on individual disciplines as well as historical outlines. For Gatterer, these auxiliary sciences were not subordinate subjects, but the basis on which historical science is built and without which no serious historical research can be carried out. As for historical science itself, he also called for the use of sources, evidence and criticism in the auxiliary disciplines. The “genealogical truth” is the highest goal - nothing has changed in that to this day. One of his pedagogical innovations was that he no longer only taught the auxiliary sciences as a set of rules to be learned, but instead introduced the view into academic lessons in a typical enlightening manner and always explained his teaching using originals and copperplate engravings from manuscripts and documents. These innovations became the academic standard in Austria and Hungary thanks to Gatterer students such as Friedrich Mereau, Gregor Gruber and Martin Schwartner. Gatterer's didactic collection, the Gatterer apparatus, was famous in the late 18th century and became the model for similar collections. Today it is in the State Archives in Speyer. Gatterer thus made considerable contributions to universal history and the auxiliary historical sciences .

family

Gatterer married Helena Barbara Schubert (1728–1806), the daughter of a Büttner and calibration master, and had eleven children, including the poet Philippine Engelhard (1756–1831) and Christoph Wilhelm Gatterer , a professor of camera science, technology and diplomacy in Heidelberg also continued his father's extensive collection of documents (" Gatterer Apparat "), which has been in the Speyer State Archives since 1996.

Works

The most important work is the general historical library. By members of the Royal Institute of Historical Sciences in Göttingen. Edited by J. Ch. Gatterer. Volumes 1–4, 7–8, 11–16 (v. 16) in 6. Gebauer, Halle 1767–71. It is divided into: treatises, especially on historical art; Reviews of historical books, land charts, coats of arms and coins; Historical news and questions. It contains u. a. the following articles, mostly written by Gatterer himself: Contributions to a theory of medals ; Random thoughts about German history; Comparison of the old and new historians with regard to frankness; Diplomatic response to the dispute over King Heinrich the Finkler's tomb, which is believed to have been found recently in Quedlinburg, along with the associated files and drawings.

  • Historia Genealogica Dominorum Holzschuherorum from Aspach et Harlach in Thalheim Cet. Patriciae Gentis tum apud Norimbergenses tum in exteris etiam Regionibus Toga Sagoque Illustris ex incorruptis Rerum Gestarum Monimentis conquisita. Nuremberg 1755.
  • Commentatio de Gunzone, Italo, qui saeculo X. obscuro in Germania pariter, atque in Italia eruditionis laude floruit, ad illustrandum huius aevi statum literarium / Qua orationem de difficultate artis diplomaticae d. 29 decembris ARS 1756. inaugurandi cussa habendam rite indicit Iohannes Christophorus Gatterer. Fleischmann, Norimbergae [Nuremberg] 1756.
  • Oratio de artis diplomaticae difficultate, quum munus publici professoris capesseret, biduo ante exitum A. 1756 in auditorio publico, quod Norimbergae ad D. Aegidii est, habita, nunc vero in usum praelectionum publicarum edita, multisque observationibus locupletata. Fleischmann, Norimbergae 1757.
Manual of the Latest Genealogy and Heraldry, 1763
First family tree of the Hohenstauffischen house, 1788
  • Elementa artis diplomaticae universalis. Volume 1 (not published anymore). Vandenhoeck , Gottingae [Göttingen] 1765 ( scan in Google book search).
  • Johann Christoph Gatterer's outline of the chronology. Dieterich, Göttingen 1777.
  • Commentatio diplomatica de methodo aetatis codicum manuscriptorum definiendae / Lecta d. 18th nov. 1786. In: Commentationes Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Gottingensis antiquiores. 8. 1785/86, pp. 85-121.
  • Outline of the universal history according to its entire scope from the creation of the earth to the first half of our times together with a preliminary introduction of history in general and of universal history in particular, as well as of the writers who have belonged up to now. Verlag der Wittwe Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1765.
  • Johann Christoph Gatterer: Introduction to the synchronistic universal history to explain his synchronistic tables. 2 volumes. Published by Wittwe Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1771.
  • Johann Christoph Gatterer's Outline of Heraldry. Joh. Christian Dieterich, Göttingen / Gotha 1773 ( scan in the Google book search).
  • Johann Christoph Gatterer's Outline of Heraldry or Heraldry. Gabriel Nicolaus Raspe, Nuremberg 1774.
  • Johann Christoph Gatterer's outline of the genealogy. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1788 ( digitized version ).
  • Outline of diplomacy. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1798 ( uni-goettingen.de ).
  • Johann Christoph Gatterer's Practical Diplomatics: in addition to 15, mostly in copper-engraved plates. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1799.
  • More information about the new edition of the simultaneous writers on German history. In: Archive of the Society for Older German History. 1 (1819/20), pp. 203-225.

Johann Christoph Gatterer Medal

In 1954 the Genealogical-Heraldic Society Göttingen e. V. (GHGG) in memory of the Göttingen historian and founder of scientific genealogy this honor. The medal, designed by the Göttingen publisher and heraldist Heinz Reise , has since been awarded to more than 40 personalities for scientific merits in the field of genealogy and heraldry in silver and for organizational achievements in bronze. The award, which used to be carried out by the GHGG on the proposal of a specialist committee, has been carried out by the German Working Group on Genealogical Associations since 1995 , so the award is given greater weight. It should be awarded on the German Genealogy Day following the award decision .

Hall of Fame in Munich

A bust of Johann Christoph Gatterer was placed in the Hall of Fame in Munich . The bust was damaged (nose area) in 1944 and has not yet been restored or reproduced. Today a plaque commemorates it.

literature

  • Clemens Alois Baader : Gatterer (Johann Christoph). In: Lexicon of deceased Bavarian writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Volume: A-L. Jenisch and Stage, Augsburg [u. a.] 1824, p 181-186 ( personenlexika.digitale-sammlungen.de ).
  • Franz Xaver von Wegele :  Gatterer, Johann Christoph . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1878, pp. 410-413.
  • Heinz F. Friederichs: Foreword. In: Johann Christoph Gatterer. Genealogy outline. Excerpts reproduced in facsimile on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publishing house Degener & Co., Neustadt a. d. Aisch 1960.
  • Lothar Graf zu Dohna:  Gatterer, Johann Christoph. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, ISBN 3-428-00187-7 , pp. 89-91 ( digitized version ).
  • Peter Hanns Reill: Johann Christoph Gatterer. In: Hans-Ulrich Wehler : German historians. Vol. VI. Vandenhoeck u. Ruprecht, Göttingen 1980, ISBN 3-525-33443-5 , pp. 7-22.
  • Werner Wilhelm Schnabel: Johann Christoph Gatterer in Nuremberg. About the early days of the Göttingen historian. In: Yearbook of the Historical Association for Middle Franconia. Volume 96 (1992/93), pp. 61-109.
  • Martin Gierl: History as a more precise science. Johann Christoph Gatterer and the historiography of the 18th century in full. Frommann-Holzboog, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 2012, ISBN 978-3-7728-2568-2 .
  • Maciej Dorna: Mabillon and others. The beginnings of diplomacy , Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2019 (Wolfenbütteler Forschungen; 159), ISBN 978-3-447-11141-6 .

Web links

Commons : Johann Christoph Gatterer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erich Ebstein (ed.): Gottfried August Bürger and Philippine Gatterer. An exchange of letters from Göttingen's sensitive time. Dieterich'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, Leipzig 1921, p. 160 / II.
  2. ↑ Erich Ebstein (ed.): Gottfried August Bürger and Philippine Gatterer. An exchange of letters from Göttingen's sensitive time Dieterich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Leipzig 1921, p. 64 / II.
  3. ↑ Karl Heinz Debus: The Gatterer apparatus. State Archives Speyer. Ed .: Kulturstiftung der Länder and Landesarchiv Speyer. Speyer 1998, ISSN  0941-7036 , p. 10.
  4. ↑ Johann Christoph Gatterer, the founder of scientific genealogy. edited by Wolfgang Ollrog. In: Archives for kin research. Issue 81/82, volume 47, February 1981, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg 1981, p. 4 f.
  5. ↑ The local curator Gerlach Adolph von Münchhausen , to whom Gatterer owed his appointment, prohibited him from lecturing in the lucrative subjects "European history of states" and statistics and forced him to take courses on "Historical Encyclopedia", In: Karl Heinz Debus: The Gatterer Apparat. State Archives Speyer. Ed .: Kulturstiftung der Länder and Landesarchiv Speyer. Speyer 1998, ISSN  0941-7036 , p. 12.
  6. ↑ Holger Krahnke: The members of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen 1751-2001 (= treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Philological-Historical Class. Volume 3, Vol. 246 = Treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Mathematical-Physical Class. Episode 3, Volume 50). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-525-82516-1 , p. 89.
  7. ^ Heinz F. Friederichs: Foreword. 1960. In: Johann Christoph Gatterer. Outline of the genealogy. see also under references (o. p.).
  8. ↑ Mark Mersiowsky : Baroque collector's pride, collections of rarities, flotsam of secularization or multimedia of the Enlightenment? Diplomatic-paleographic apparatus in the 18th and early 19th centuries. In: Peter Worm, Erika Eisenlohr: Work from the Marburg auxiliary science institute. Elementa diplomatica 8. Marburg 2000, pp. 229-241.
  9. ↑ Johann Christoph Gatterer, the founder of scientific genealogy. Modifications made by Wolfgang Ollrog. In: Archives for kin research and all related areas . Issue 81/82, Volume 47, February 1981, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg 1981, pp. 21, 25.
personal data
SURNAME Gatterer, Johann Christoph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German historian
DATE OF BIRTH July 13, 1727
PLACE OF BIRTH Lichtenau
DATE OF DEATH April 5, 1799
Place of death Goettingen