Johann Stephan Pütter

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Johann Stephan Pütter, engraving by Johann Elias Haid (1777) after HFL Matthieu
Göttingen memorial plaque for Johann Stephan Pütter
Johann Stephan Pütter
(painting by Carl Lafontaine )

Johann Stephan Pütter (born June 25, 1725 in Iserlohn ; † August 12, 1807 in Göttingen ) was a German constitutional law teacher and publicist during the Enlightenment .

Life

Johann Stephan Pütter was born the son of an Iserlohn businessman, his mother came from the Iserlohn pastor family Varnhagen. He received his education exclusively from a local pastor as a private tutor. Through this he learned not only Latin and Greek, but also Hebrew, Chaldean and Syriac. He almost became an Orientalist until his father's death prompted him to continue the legal tradition of parts of the family.

Pütter began his studies when he was barely 13, initially at the University of Marburg, among others with the enlightened Christian Wolff , moved to the University of Halle in 1739 , where he became friends with Gottfried Achenwall , and completed his law studies at the University of Jena . In 1744 he completed his habilitation in Marburg, in 1746 he was appointed associate professor of law at the University of Göttingen , where he remained until the end of his life despite several other appointments, not least because he was the advocate and protective hand of his sponsor David Georg Strube enjoyed. Pütter even turned down offers to go to Braunschweig as minister , to Vienna as Reichshofrat or to St. Petersburg as reformer of the legal system. However, he was three times, in 1764, 1790 and 1794, as envoy of the Elector of Hanover (then King of England in personal union) in the imperial elections in Frankfurt.

In 1751 Pütter married a daughter of the princely Solms privy councilor Stock zu Braunfels. Like Achenwall, he was a member of the Masonic lodge "To the three lions" founded in Marburg in 1743 .

The Pütterstraße in the city center of Iserlohn commemorates the son of the city. The Pütterweg in Göttingen's east quarter is reminiscent of the world-famous professor of the university city.

In 1787 he was accepted as a foreign member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences .

plant

Title page: Historical development of today's state constitution

In legal practice, Pütter made a name for himself as a defender in a trial against a Hessian officer who had killed a subordinate in self-defense. In these and other Reich court trials, he was a sought-after legal representative, especially for aristocratic circles.

“At that time, Pütter was considered to be the most important and successful teacher of constitutional law, if not a law teacher at all. (…) Pütter made Göttingen a Mecca for adepts of constitutional and constitutional law. ”He is considered to be one of the most important representatives of the old state law. Pütter's widely used handbooks have suggested that the Holy Roman Empire was composed of real states. However, his writings on legal and constitutional history also make him the first real constitutional historian. Significant writings of Pütter are among other things his draft of a legal encyclopedia and methodology , the expert opinion Der Buchachdruck checked according to genuine principles of law and the historical development of the present state constitution of the German Empire . Pütter's contribution to the Elementa iuris naturae of 1750 can be assessed as rather minor and from the third edition onwards this work was only continued by Achenwall .

Pütter drew his knowledge not only from literature, but also went on an extensive study trip to the Reich Chamber of Commerce in Wetzlar , the Reichstag in Regensburg and the Reichshofrat in Vienna , as was customary with important constitutional lawyers of his time . His lectures were the most popular, his textbooks were popular and had high editions. His best-known work, The Development of the German State Constitution , he wrote on behalf of the Queen of England. Some historians believe that it was only through him that constitutional law became a science. He was also one of the first to use German as the language of instruction instead of the usual Latin. His free and lively presentation style was praised by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in the 7th Book of Poetry and Truth .

What was important about Pütter's work was that, in addition to Roman law, he also recognized Germanic law again and advocated a separate treatment of constitutional and administrative law . In contrast to the previously comprehensive police term, Pütter has separated the welfare system as an independent administrative area. Some of his theories found their way into the Prussian general land law . Beyond the legal issues, he is considered to be the one who coined the term Counter Reformation in 1776 .

Fonts (selection)

  • Complete handbook of German imperial history. Göttingen 1762, 2nd edition 1772.
  • Literature of German constitutional law. 3 vol., Göttingen 1776–1783. (1st volume: [1] ; 2nd volume: [2] ; 3rd volume: digitized version in the Google book search).
  • Historical development of the present state constitution of the German Reich. 3 volumes, Göttingen 1786–87. (3rd ed. 1798.)
  • Doctoral dissertation by Johann Stephan Pütter, submitted on April 16, 1744. Marburg, Müller o. J.
  • Preparation for a practical college of public law. Schmid, Göttingen 1749.
  • Patriotic representation of the current state of the highest imperial courts. OO 1749, (digitized version)
  • Instructions for legal practice (...). Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1753.
  • Elementa juris publici Germanici. Göttingen 1754, ( digitized in the Google book search).
  • Book reprinting checked according to the principles of the law. 1774.
  • Institutiones juris publici Germanici. 1776, 1782 ( digitized in the Google book search), 1787, 1792, 1802
    • German translation 1791 under the title: Instructions for teutschen Staatsrechte.
  • Outline of the changes in the state of the German Empire. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1753, 1755. (4th edition 1769: digitized in the Google book search), 7th edition. 1795 ( Digitized in the Google book search.)
  • Historical-political manual of the special German states, first part: Austria, Bavaria and Palatinate. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1758 ( digitized in the Google book search).
  • Selected legal cases from all parts of the legal scholarship customary in Germany in deductions, legal concerns, relations and judgments. 3 volumes. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1760–1785.
  • Public speech in celebration of general peace on September 19 in the University Church. Goettingen 1763.
  • Attempt at an academic scholarly history from the Georg-Augustus University in Göttingen. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1765.
Second part: From 1765 to 1788, Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1788
  • Opuscula rem judiciariam Imperii illustrantia. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1766.
  • New attempt at a legal encyclopedia and methodology. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1767.
  • Tabulae Genealogicae ad illustrandam Historiam Imperii Germaniamque Principem. 2 volumes. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1768–1788. ( Digitized version )
  • Legal concerns regarding the citizenship of Rostock. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1769.
  • Complete counter-evidence that the chur-cölln licent raised at Kasierswerth is not an accessory to the Kaiserswerther customs, has nothing at all to do with the Kaiserswerth pledge, and consequently cannot be claimed by Chur-Palatinate in any way . [Sl] 1770 ( digitized version )
  • Impartial legal concerns about the between the Crown of Bohemia and the Lords of Zedwitz (...). Dieterich, Göttingen 1772.
  • The only way to the true bliss that every human being is capable of. Dieterich, Göttingen 1775.
  • True story of the separation on May 8, 1776, of the previous visits to the Imperial and Imperial Court of Justice. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1776.
  • Latest imperial conclusion about some improvements of the imperial and imperial chamber court. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1776.
  • Contributions to the German state and princely rights. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1777.
  • Developed the main thread of German imperial history. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1778.
  • Primae Lineae Juris Privati ​​Principum Speciatim Germaniae. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1779, 1789 ( digitized in the Google book search).
  • Short term of the German imperial history. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1780.
  • Nova Epitome Processus Imperii. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1786.
  • Historical development of today's state constitution of the German Empire. 3 vol., Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1786–1787.
  • Irrelevant thoughts about the complaint made by the Osnabrück city of Fürstenau because of the Catholic religious practice permitted there. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1788.
  • Discussions and examples of German constitutional and princely law. 2 vol., Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1793–1794.
  • About the common imperial or princely taxic postal system against the secret Justizrath Pütter in Göttingen. Hanisch, Hildburghausen 1793.
  • Synopsis Historiae Imperii Romano-Germanici. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1793.
  • About the difference between the stands (...). Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1795.
  • About miscarriages of German princes and counts. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1796.
  • Spirit of the Peace of Westphalia (...). Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1795.
  • About the best way to refer to files. Göttingen, Schröder 1797.
  • Self-biography for the grateful jubilee of his 50-year professor in Göttingen. 2 volumes. Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1798. ( Volume 1 )

literature

  • Arno Buschmann : Estor, Pütter, Hugo - On the prehistory of the historical school of law. In: Thomas Gergen (Hrsg.): Diversity and unity in legal history. Festival ceremony for Elmar Wadle . Cologne et al. 2004, ISBN 3-452-25711-8 , pp. 75-101.
  • Wilhelm Ebel : Catalogus Professorum Gottingensium 1734–1962. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1962, DNB 451028422 .
  • Wilhelm Ebel: The Göttingen professor Johann Stephan Pütter from Iserlohn . (= Göttingen legal studies. Volume 95). Otto Schwartz & Co., Göttingen 1975, ISBN 3-509-00817-0 .
  • Friedrich Ellermeier: Memorable and strange things from Johann Stephan Pütter's “Attempt at an academic scholarly story from the Georg Augustus University in Göttingen”. Erwin Jungfer, Herzberg 1966.
  • Ferdinand Frensdorff :  Pütter, Johann Stephan . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 26, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, pp. 749-777.
  • Thomas Gergen: Johann Stephan Pütter (1725–1807) and the reprint of books. In: Archives for Copyright and Media Law. (UFITA) 2009 / III, pp. 715-744.
  • Gerd Kleinheyer , In: Ders., Jan Schröder (Hrsg.): German lawyers from five centuries. 5th edition. CF Müller Verlag, Heidelberg 2008, pp. 345-349.
  • Christoph Link : Johann Stephan Pütter. In: Michael Stolleis (Ed.): State thinkers in the early modern times. 3. Edition. CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-406-39329-2 , pp. 310-331.
  • Heinrich Marx: The legal method of finding the law from the nature of the matter with the Göttingen Germanists Johann Stephan Pütter and Justus Friedrich Runde. Dissertation. Andreas Funke, Göttingen 1967, DNB 482214864 .
  • Martin Otto:  Pütter, Johann Stephan. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 1 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Pütter Society Iserlohn (Ed.): Exhibition: 250 years of Johann Stephan Pütter. Haus der Heimat, Iserlohn from June 27th to July 13th, 1975.
  • Ulrich Schlie: Johann Stephan Pütters concept of the empire. Schwartz, Göttingen 1961.
  • Jan Schröder : Gottfried Achenwall, Johann Stephan Pütter and the "Elementa Iuris Naturae". In: Gottfried Achenwall, Johann Stephan Pütter: Beginnings of natural law (Elementa Iuris Naturae). edited and translated by Jan Schröder. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1995.
  • Wilhelm Schulte: Westphalian heads. Münster 1977, ISBN 3-402-05700-X , pp. 251f.
  • Patrick Sensburg : The great lawyers of the Sauerland. 22 biographies of outstanding legal scholars . 1st edition. FW Becker, Arnsberg 2002, ISBN 3-930264-45-5 .
  • Hermann Uhrig:  PÜTTER, Johann Stefan. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 7, Bautz, Herzberg 1994, ISBN 3-88309-048-4 , Sp. 1051-1064.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Commons : Johann Stephan Pütter  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Collection: Göttingen University History - Portraits
  2. ↑ Pütterweg
  3. ^ Members of the previous academies. Johann Stephan Pütter. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences , accessed on May 28, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Kleinheyer: German lawyers from five centuries. 2008, p. 346.
  5. ↑ Willoweit, p. 236, p. 259f.
  6. ↑ Kleinheyer: German lawyers from five centuries. 2008, p. 347.
  7. ↑ J. Schröder: Gottfried Achenwall, Johann Stephan Pütter and the "Elementa Iuris Naturae". 1995, p. 334.
personal data
SURNAME Pütter, Johann Stephan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German constitutional law teacher and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH June 25, 1725
PLACE OF BIRTH Iserlohn
DATE OF DEATH August 12, 1807
Place of death Goettingen