Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz, painting by Friedrich Georg Weitsch , 1789, Gleimhaus Halberstadt

Johann Wilhelm Daniel von Archenholz (also Archenholtz) (born September 3, 1743 or 1741 in Langfuhr ; † February 28, 1812 in Öjendorf ) was a Prussian officer, writer and editor of several magazines. In the sense of the Enlightenment he saw himself as a citizen of the world and a free spirit .

Life

Archenholz came from an old Hanoverian officer family. He spent his childhood in Gdansk, where his father did his duty as a sergeant lieutenant in the city. In 1757 the family moved to Berlin , where Archenholz joined the cadet corps there on June 4th, which is known as very strict.

In December 1758 he was transferred to Breslau and took part in the Forcade Regiment in the Seven Years' War . He was seriously injured during the storming of the Süptitzer Heights in the Battle of Torgau in 1760. He was only able to rejoin his regiment in March 1761. Overall, Archenholz served in the Prussian army until 1763, most recently as a captain in the Puttkamer regiment .

Johann Wilhelm von Archenholtz, engraving by Johann Christian Heinicke (1790)

After the Peace of Hubertusburg he was honorably discharged from the army “because of his injuries”, although King Friedrich II knew about Archenholz's passion for gambling. For the next few years Archenholz traveled through half of Europe. He spent six years in Great Britain alone, whose constitution he admired. He also visited Italy, France and the Scandinavian countries. His biographer Friedrich Ruof writes that he made his living through his first literary work and “not entirely flawless commercial activity”. In 1780 Archenholz fell from his horse in Rome . Despite the immediate treatment in the sulfur baths near Pisa , a permanent paralysis of one foot remained, which made further travel difficult for him. This misfortune greatly embittered his disposition, which in any case was not sociable.

Archenholz moved to Dresden. Here he made friends with War Councilor Johann Leopold Neumann . In his house he learned a. a. Friedrich Schiller and Georg Joachim Göschen know. In the meantime he was able to earn his living entirely from articles for scientific journals. From 1782 he published a successful monthly called Litteratur- und Völkerkunde or New Literature and Ethnology . He wrote many of the articles himself, others came from writers from all over Europe, whose acquaintance Archenholz always tried very hard on his travels. In the summer of 1786 Archenholz married Sophie Friederike von Roksch . The two had four children: Agathon, Auguste Sophie, Charlotte Adrienne and Wilhelm Anarchis. Shortly after his marriage, Archenholz and his family left Dresden and moved to Hamburg, where the censorship of press products was less strict than in Saxony. The Enlightenment could now afford to publish his writings openly and no longer anonymously.

Archenholz already saw himself as a citizen of the world and a free spirit during his military service. Since the mid-1760s he was a member of the Freemasons and Lodge Brother a. a. by Johann Christoph Bode and Friedrich Ludwig Schröder . When the French Revolution broke out in 1789 , he was initially enthusiastic about their ideals. In August 1791 he even moved to Paris with his family . The first point of contact for every German was the German Club with the circle around Count Gustav von Schlabrendorf . Archenholz was also found here. He founded the magazine Minerva to give readers in Germany a reliable picture of the events. At the end of June 1792, however, he had to flee France due to the political situation. After some political publications, he was threatened with the guillotine . The increasing riots also changed his attitude towards the revolution.

After returning from France, Archenholz settled in Hamburg again and bought an estate in Öjendorf. He lived as a writer and newspaper publisher and called himself “Editor, formerly captain in Königigl. prussia. Services ". In 1809 he began to retire from publishing activities and moved to his estate. He died there on February 28, 1812.

meaning

Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz had a very modern understanding of his journalistic activities for his time. He tried to give his readers factual, impartial information and not to sell them opinions. His main interest was current politics in the countries of Europe and their prehistory. In his magazines, especially Minerva , he also led regular debates about current events, in which he let the various parties have their say.

His best known work is the very graphic story of the Seven Years' War . This book was the template for a number of revised reprints as well as the basis for many school books. England and Italy , one of the most widely read travelogues of its time , were also very popular . In it he compared the political conditions in both countries, with England doing very well, but Italy badly.

In his 19-volume work Britische Annalen (Vol. 20 = Register) for the period 1788–1796 , Archenholz writes in great detail year after year about life in England, for example about political events, but also criminal cases, moral history, literature, trade and Industry; He also had some parts written by famous colleagues (e.g. Forster). For his work on Gustav I. Wasa , he commissioned the Berlin artist Johann Friedrich Bolt to make a copper engraving of the King of Sweden.

Fonts

Tableau de l'Italie ( Italy ), 1788
  • Annals of British History from 1788–1796 , 20 vols., Braunschweig a. a. 1788-1800; (There are other editions at the same time.) Olms, Hildesheim 1997 (reprint of the Tübingen edition 1790–1800)
  • The English in India. Dyk, Leipzig 1.1786–3.1788 (digital copies: Vol. 1 , Vol. 2 , Vol. 3 )
  • England and Italy. Winter, Heidelberg 1993, ISBN 3-8253-0110-9 (volumes 1–3, reprint of the Leipzig 1785 edition)
  • History of the Flibustier. Edition Fumfei, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-86172-008-6 (reprint of the Tübingen 1803 edition)
  • History of Gustav Wasa, King of Sweden. Saur, Munich 1990/94 (reprint of the Tübingen 1801 edition)
  • History of the Seven Years' War in Germany from 1756 to 1763 , Karlsruhe 1791 (digitized version of the Leipzig 1866 edition: ULB Darmstadt ) (EA 1788 at Schwan and Götz in Mannheim)
  • Small historical writings. Schmieder, Karlsruhe 1791, contains u. a.
    • History of Pope Sixtus V. s. n., Berlin 1791
    • History of the Fiesco conspiracy in 1547. s. n., Berlin 1791
    • Painting of the Prussian army before and during the Seven Years' War. Saur, Munich 1990 (reprint of the Berlin 1791 edition)
    • Historical remarks on the great moral revolution of the sixteenth century. s. n., Berlin 1791
  • War in the Vendée. Dyk, Leipzig 1794 (volumes 1–2)
  • Literature and Ethnology. Göschen, Leipzig 1.1782–5.1786
  • The Parisian Jacobins in their meetings. Saur, Munich 1991 (reprint of the Hamburg 1793 edition)
  • Minerva - a journal of historical and political content , Hamburg 1792–1856
  • Miscelles to the story of the day. Scriptor-Verlag, Kronberg im Taunus 1979 (reprint of the Hamburg 1795 edition)
  • New literature and ethnology. Olms, Hildesheim 1997 (reprint of the Leipzig 1.1787–5.1791 edition)
  • Rome and Naples. Manutius-Verlag, Heidelberg 1990 (reprint of the Leipzig 1790 edition)

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Munke: Archenholz (Archenholtz), Johann Wilhelm (aka Johann Daniel) von, in: Sächsische Biographie, ed. from the Institute for Saxon History and Folklore e. V., accessed on January 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Rieger, Ute: Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz as a 'time citizen'. A historical-analytical study for the Enlightenment in Germany, Berlin, 1994, p. 10.
  3. ↑ "... died ... at the age of 71 ...", in: Johann Wilhelm v. Ark wood . In: Der Aufmerksame , a national folk newspaper, Leykam, Grätz, No. 27, Thursday, April 2, 1812.
personal data
SURNAME Archenholz, Johann Wilhelm von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Archenholz, Johann Wilhelm Daniel von; Archenholtz, Johann Wilhelm Daniel von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian historian and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH September 3, 1741 or September 3, 1743
PLACE OF BIRTH Langfuhr
DATE OF DEATH February 28, 1812
Place of death Öjendorf