Johann Hermann Franz von Pape

Silhouette Johann Hermann Franz von Pape, called Papius

Johann Hermann Franz von Pape (* 1717 ; † 1793 ), called (von) Papius , was a German lawyer. He was best known as an assessor at the Reich Chamber of Commerce in Wetzlar .

Live and act

Von Papius came from the third line of the von Papen family founded in the early 17th century (so-called Papius line). His belonged to the Würzburg upper class for generations. He was a great-grandson of Conrad Friedrich Papius, the long-time state paymaster , city councilor and Lord Mayor of Würzburg . Papius' father and grandfather also served as prince-bishop's secret councilors and mayors in Würzburg. His mother came from the Würzburg bourgeoisie.

Johann Hermann von Pape studied law in Würzburg. From 1740 to 1742 he was an intern at the Imperial Court of Justice and at the same time the syndic of the Lower Rhine District . During his internship he met his future wife Maria Genoveva. She was the daughter of assessor Johann von Speck, which enabled Papius to pursue a career at the Imperial Court of Justice through the support of his father-in-law. Speckmann had already got him his position as the syndic of the Lower Rhine Empire.

At the instigation of his father-in-law, Papius was presented for the post of assessor of the Burgundian Imperial Circle , although he did not meet certain necessary requirements and was therefore less qualified than other candidates. Papius' presentation was controversial among the assessors of the court and there were some discussions in the college of cameras, also because of his inadequate qualification. In 1756 he was accepted as an assessor at the Reich Chamber of Commerce.

Since Papius had been presented by the Burgundian Imperial Circle, his rank within the cameral society was not very high, so that he probably wanted to compensate for this disadvantage through external representation and representation. From the beginning of his Assessorat in 1756 and the convocation of the Reich Chamber Court search in 1767, von Papius managed to amass a considerable fortune. Within a short period of time he managed to acquire several properties with associated houses, stables and gardens. These included the so-called Palais Papius in Kornblumengasse and the property in Hofstatt 10 on which he built a house that today houses the Reich Chamber Court Museum. In a very short time, von Papius had acquired five very representative houses and had them extensively renovated.

All of this could hardly be paid for with the salary of an assessor, especially since there were other large expenses for velvet, silk and brocade as well as expensive delicacies. According to Baumann, this lifestyle could almost certainly only be financed through illegal judicial practices, i.e. through bribery.

In the early modern period , gifts to officials were more common than they are today, as many offices were for sale and these gifts were used to amortize the purchase price. These gifts were not viewed as corruption, but were considered a social duty. Corrupt practices from a modern point of view were not considered as such in society at the time. In the Reichskammergerichtsordnung , however, the acceptance of gifts by members of the court was forbidden.

In addition, with reference to his old nobility, he was appointed Reichspanuer- and Freiherrn. Goethe , who knew Papius from his traineeship in Wetzlar, immortalized the Reich Chamber Court Assessor - who, according to Schönwerk (1975) was dismissed for corruption - as Sapupi in his drama Götz von Berlichingen .

literature

• The "Papius Affair": Corruption at the Reich Chamber Court, Wetzlar City Magistrate (ed.), Society for Reich Chamber Court Research e. V. (Ed.), Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2012, 64 pp., Paperback, ISBN 978-3865687753
• Werner Dettelbacher: Goethe's "Assessor Sapupi". At the same time a contribution to the relationship of the Würzburg council families. Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Kunst 24 (1972), pp. 112–123

Remarks

1. ↑ Anette Baumann: Corruption and Visitation at the Imperial Court of Justice in the 18th century: a preliminary balance sheet . Ed .: Society for Reich Chamber Court Research (=  publication series of the Society for Reich Chamber Court Research . No. 41 ). Wetzlar 2012, p. 6 .
2. ↑ Anette Baumann: Corruption and Visitation at the Imperial Court of Justice in the 18th century: a preliminary balance sheet . Ed .: Society for Reich Chamber Court Research (=  publication series of the Society for Reich Chamber Court Research . No. 41 ). Wetzlar 2012, p. 8 .
3. ↑ Anette Baumann: Corruption and Visitation at the Imperial Court of Justice in the 18th century: a preliminary balance sheet . Ed .: Society for Reich Chamber Court Research (=  publication series of the Society for Reich Chamber Court Research . No. 41 ). Wetzlar 2012, p. 9 .
4. ↑ ^{a b} Anette Baumann: Corruption and Visitation at the Imperial Court of Justice in the 18th century: a preliminary balance sheet . Ed .: Society for Reich Chamber Court Research (=  publication series of the Society for Reich Chamber Court Research . No. 41 ). Wetzlar 2012, p. 11 .
5. ↑ Anette Baumann: Corruption and Visitation at the Imperial Court of Justice in the 18th century: a preliminary balance sheet . Ed .: Society for Reich Chamber Court Research (=  publication series of the Society for Reich Chamber Court Research . No. 41 ). Wetzlar 2012, p. 13 .