Johann Ludwig Frey

Watercolor by Peter Toussaint (1838), copy after a painting in the Frey-Grynean Institute; incorrectly identified as Johannes Grynaeus in the legend of the watercolor

Johann Ludwig Frey (born November 16, 1682 in Basel ; † February 28, 1759 there ; entitled to live there ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian and historian .

Frey studied theology , went on an educational trip and from 1706 worked as a lecturer in catechetics and oriental languages at the University of Basel . In 1710/11 he was also pastor in Kleinhüningen . In 1711 he was appointed to the chair of history as the successor to Jakob Christoph Iselin , who switched to the professorship for dogmatics . He also became an associate professor in the theological faculty. In 1737 he became a professor of the Old Testament . His successor in the chair of history was Jakob Christoph Beck .

After the death of Samuel Werenfels, Frey became the most important exponent of the so-called “reasonable orthodoxy”, which sought to find a balance between the old Protestant high orthodoxy and the new spirit of the Enlightenment.

Frey remained single throughout his life. In 1747, in memory of his colleague Johannes Grynaeus, he founded the Frey-Grynaeische Institut , whose task it is to promote theological research and teaching.

literature

Julius August Wagenmann : Frey, Johann Ludwig . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 7, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 363 f.
Ernst Staehelin : Johann Ludwig Frey, Johannes Grynaeus and the Frey-Grynaeische Institut in Basel. For the bicentenary of the institute. Rector's program of the University of Basel for 1947. Ms. Reinhardt, Basel 1947 (sheds light on the circumstances of the time).
Ernst Staehelin: Frey, Johann Ludwig. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , p. 419 ( digitized version ).
Andreas Urs Sommer : Between Enlightenment and Reaction: Johann Ludwig Frey (1682–1759). In the S. (Ed.): In the field of tension between God and the world. Contributions to the past and present of the Frey-Grynaeisches Institut. Schwabe, Basel 1997, pp. 33–50 (comprehensive presentation of Frey's life and work).
Andreas Urs Sommer: Frey, Johann Ludwig . In: Religion Past and Present . 4th edition. Vol. 3, Tübingen 2000, Sp. 356 f.

Web links

Ulrich Gäbler : Frey, Johann Ludwig. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Individual evidence

^ Toussaint mixed up the inscriptions on the portraits of Johann Ludwig Frey and Johannes Grynäus (= University Library Basel, Portr BS Grynaeus J 1705, 1 ), cf. Rudolf Riggenbach : The portraits of the donors of the Frey-Grynaeisches Institute. In: Voluntary Basel Monument Preservation: Annual Report. Vol. 23 (1938), Basel 1939, pp. 19-30.
↑ Cf. Andreas Urs Sommer : On the Reasonability of Reformed Orthodoxy. The Frey-Grynaeische Institut in Basel. In: Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde . Vol. 98 (1998), pp. 67-82, DOI: 10.5169 / seals-118402 .

personal data
SURNAME	Frey, Johann Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swiss theologian and historian
DATE OF BIRTH	November 16, 1682
PLACE OF BIRTH	Basel
DATE OF DEATH	February 28, 1759
Place of death	Basel

[1] Toussaint mixed up the inscriptions on the portraits of Johann Ludwig Frey and Johannes Grynäus (= University Library Basel, Portr BS Grynaeus J 1705, 1 ), cf. Rudolf Riggenbach : The portraits of the donors of the Frey-Grynaeisches Institute. In: Voluntary Basel Monument Preservation: Annual Report. Vol. 23 (1938), Basel 1939, pp. 19-30.

[2] Cf. Andreas Urs Sommer : On the Reasonability of Reformed Orthodoxy. The Frey-Grynaeische Institut in Basel. In: Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde . Vol. 98 (1998), pp. 67-82, DOI: 10.5169 / seals-118402 .