Johann von Wowern

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Johann von Wowern, portrait by Frans Denys

Johann von Wowern (also Johan van (den) Wouwer (n) , Johannes Wowerius , Joannes Wouweren , Wouwer von Wowerius ; born March 10, 1574 in Hamburg , † March 30, 1612 at Gottorf Castle ) was a German politician , classical philologist and Lawyer .

Live and act

Johann von Wowern was a son of Nicolaus van Wouwern († before June 1594) and his wife Sophia, born von Winthem († 1615), whose father Sebastian von Winthem (1500–1563) was a Hamburg councilor. The ancestors on the father's side came from the nobility of Brabant , and on the mother's side from the patriciate of Hamburg. The family name was not spelled consistently and probably also not pronounced. There are also Latinized spellings and German and Dutch sounds. During the 17th century, the spelling with "ow" prevailed.

Von Wowern's father originally lived in Antwerp . He converted to Lutheranism, whereupon his family disinherited him. He then went to Hamburg in 1568, where Johann von Wowern attended the Johanneum School of Academics . From 1592 to 1597 he studied at the University of Leiden . He was particularly interested in philology and first heard from Janus Dousa and then from the younger Scaliger. During his studies he got to know Heinsius, Gruter and Meursius. In the spring and summer of 1597 he researched together with his school and college friend Heinrich Lindenbrog in Paris. They searched so intensively for old manuscripts that they were accused of stealing manuscripts from St. Viktor's monastery. Lindenbrog spent some time in jail as a result. Von Wowern then moved to Lyon, certainly not just of his own free will.

Bishop Rataeus invited von Wowern to Montpellier, where he was in constant contact with the philologist Isaac Casaubonus . In the summer of 1559 he went to Paris again and after some time moved on to Italy, where he spent two and a half years. He traveled all over Italy, but lived mostly in Florence and Rome. Through contacts with humanists like Gaspar Scioppius or cardinals like Cesare Baronio , he was able to visit the Vatican Library . Because of his very good relationship with the Curia, rumors arose that he had converted to the Catholic faith.

In the summer of 1602 von Wowern accepted an invitation from members of the humanist circle at the court of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. During the trip he visited Lyon. According to his own statements, he declined a call as an imperial council. Instead, he went back to northern Germany. From 1603 to 1607 he had residences in Hamburg and at Wandsbeker Castle . During this time he undertook mostly humanistic studies.

Von Wowern had already dealt with the Satyricon during his student days . In Hamburg and Wandsbek he created several editions by late antique authors, which appeared in multiple editions during the 17th century. There was also the treatise “De Polymathia”, which was a science teaching. The work helped him to gain general recognition. At the same time he had to defend himself against the obviously inaccurate accusation that he had plagiarized an unprinted work by Casaubonus.

Von Wowern tried unsuccessfully for a position with Christian IV. In 1607 he was advised by Enno III. In the same year he brought his sons to the Gottorfer Hof because of a possible war, where he quickly became a confidante of Duke Johann Adolf . He then went to the Emden court for some time and negotiated the Peace Treaty of The Hague in 1608 . He then received a position as a Privy Councilor in Gottorf. Thus he was responsible for all secret and financial matters.

Von Wowern developed into an all-powerful minister shortly after taking office. Although only local nobles were allowed to act as officials, von Wowern took over the inspection of the Aabenraa office in 1610 and that of the Gottorf office the following year. He supported the establishment of a modern central administration, endeavored to reform the state finances and hired dike builders from Holland. The reforms increased the tax burden and increased the prince's power, making him a hated person. A particular contributing factor is that he interfered in church affairs. He himself was considered religiously indifferent, but supported Calvinist currents at court. Compared to Lutheranism , Calvinism was considered a more modern denomination that was more appropriate for people of the world.

Von Wowern fought several conflicts with the church. Thus, under his leadership, the Eitzensche Predigereid, on which the dogmatics of the Gottorf regional church was based, changed. Superintendent Jacob Fabricius the Elder had to hand over his office to the Calvinist Philipp Caesar in 1610 . At the same time a new church regiment came into force, which made von Wowern himself one of two secular presidents of the regional church. In addition, he had Pastor Nicolaus Heldvader persecuted because of a personal thirst for revenge .

In mid-March 1612 von Wowern wrote his will. In it he stated, among other things, that the duke should receive his books. In doing so, he significantly enlarged the court library, which he himself ran. Wower had been plagued by a chronic illness from around 1603, from which he finally died unmarried “cum applausu totius ducatus” . He was buried in the Schleswig Cathedral . His grave could be seen until the cathedral was rebuilt in the mid-19th century. Among his heirs are presumably children to be found out of wedlock with a Kellinghusen.

Historical classification

Von Wowern showed himself to be a humanist who only spread in this form in Germany in the following generations. He had experience in worldly matters and showed himself to be an indifferent scholar in religious terms. The title of his "Polymathia" became a common term in the scientific community of the late Baroque. Von Wowern tried to mediate between speculative philosophy, which dealt with the secrets of the world, and empirical philology, which was limited to linguistic detail. Like Francis Bacon , he advocated a science based on experience.

Wowern's contemporaries assessed his work very differently. European humanist friends who were friends saw him as a learned, linguistic and urbane person. His enemies thought him vain and emphasized his ambition. Most of his opponents were at the court in Gottorf. The hostilities arose because of his absolutist reforms. Several years after von Wowern's death, the Duchess and Lutheran Augusta informed Jacob Fabricius the younger that he had been "a weldwiser man, but a wrong man". "He hedde vehl bad done, schollde he lenger levt lifted", the Duchess continues. Nonetheless, she was also fascinated by him: "I have heard of 12 bet 5 talk, and I thought you had been for an hour."

Works (selection)

  • Petronii Satyricum , Leiden 1595.
  • Apollinarii Sidonii opera , Paris 1598.
  • De Polymathia tractatio: integri operis de studiis veterum , Hamburg 1603.
  • Firmii Materni de errore profanarum religionum , Hamburg 1603.
  • Emendationes in Tertulliani opera , Frankfurt 1603.
  • Syntagma de graeca et latina Bibliorum interpretatione , Hamburg 1618.
  • Epistolarum centuriae duae , Hamburg 1618.

literature

Web links

Commons : Jan van den Wouwer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files