Leyser (family)

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Leyser's coat of arms

Leyser / von Leyser (Variations: Lyser, Leysser, Laiser, Laisser ) is the name of an old German-Austrian family of scholars, whose origins lie in the 13th century and which has many outstanding personalities, especially in the field of Protestant theology and the Brought about law .

origin

The name of this old family is very likely derived from the tributary Lieser , which flows into the Drau in Carinthia . The first Leyser mentioned by name is a knight Raimund Leyser who saved the life of the later German King Rudolf von Habsburg in a battle in Marchfeld in 1239 . Almost two hundred years later, a Johann Leisser appears who is mentioned in 1411 as castellan von Waldstein near Deutschfeistritz in Styria , furthermore in 1431 the abbot of Zwettl Monastery Erasmus Leyßer and in 1529 in connection with the defense of Vienna a Colonel Siegmund Leyßer. One line of this sex was raised to the baron and count status in 1642 and was entrusted with the office of inheritance , arsenal and gentry in Styria. The Austrian Leysers have been considered extinct since around 1800.

Around 500 registered persons of the same name can still be found throughout Germany today, as well as a larger number of people who emigrated to America and England in the 19th century. However, it is very likely that another independent family called Leyser has developed in Germany, whose name comes from the Lieser stream in the Moselle valley . This would also justify the accumulation of the name in Rhineland-Palatinate and the surrounding area. This family includes, for example, the theologian and writer Jakob Anton Leyser (1830-1897), the historian Karl Leyser and the deputy Gauleiter of the Gaus Saarpfalz (later: Westmark) as well as SS-Brigadführer and General Commissioner in Zhytomyr , Ernst Ludwig Leyser . In addition, there existed in Rhineland-Palatinate the male line of the noble family of Leyser von Lambsheim , which was named after the place Lambsheim .

In contrast, the Leysers of the family described in detail here, which can be found on the name distribution map in Lower Saxony and Eastern Germany, are mostly the last descendants of the old, originally Austrian, noble family who emigrated to Germany.

The Württemberg origin

In the course of time, some members of the old Austrian family line had apparently been expelled to Hungary and / or Württemberg because of their beliefs. The first documented Leyser, who in all likelihood is one of the descendants of the family members expelled to Württemberg and was born in Winnenden / Württemberg, whose parents are not known by name, is Kaspar Leyser (1526–1555). He is thus regarded as the progenitor of the German branch of this Leyser family. Although almost all sources agree on the connection between the Austrian and Wuerttemberg Leysers and the coat of arms structure is clearly similar, a definitive proof of this family relationship could not be fully provided to this day, partly due to the lack of knowledge about Kaspar's direct ancestors.

Said Kaspar Leyser, deacon in Vaihingen an der Enz , pastor in Winnenden and Nürtingen , drew attention to himself when in 1554 he applied to Duke Christoph von Württemberg to introduce stricter church discipline based on the Calvinist model and a presbytery . Although approved by the Duke, the proposal was rejected by the Protestant reformer and advisor to Duke Johannes Brenz and the secular councilors. Kaspar Leyser was married to Margarethe Entringer (1526–1566), whose only child together was Polykarp Leyser the Elder .

The Saxon, Prussian and Hanoverian lines

With Polycarp Leyser the Elder, whose imperial nobility was reconfirmed and conferred on December 22, 1590 by Rudolf II in Prague by means of an imperial handwriting due to his position in society, after his ancestors had allegedly rejected the previously assigned nobility due to impoverishment , began the quantitative and qualitative rise to one of the scholarly family of the educated middle class . With numerous descendants in the individual generations, the family was able to expand and branch out enormously. As a result of the activities of Polykarp Leyser in Wittenberg , the headquarters of the family moved to Saxony and in the following generations continued to be divided into Hanoverian and Prussian lines. Here it is primarily the lines of his sons Polykarp Leyser II and Wilhelm Leyser I who will write theological and legal history in the future and bring forth the most important personalities of the family. While his son Wilhelm I had also initially become a theologian, his son Wilhelm Leyser II, as well as his grandson Augustin Leyser, became important legal scholars. For his services Augustin Leyser was also awarded by Emperor Charles VI in 1739 . raised to the hereditary imperial nobility. Augustin von Leyser had two sons, but Augustin the Younger died in 1743 as a student and Wilhelm in 1750 as a Saxon lieutenant with no descendants, so this branch in the name stem has expired. In addition, the consistorial councilor Johann Gottlieb von Leyser (1699–1780) from Dresden was ennobled with a confirmation letter dated May 23, 1751, also on the basis of his services.

Other important personalities descend from the line of Polycarp II, such as the philosopher and physician Michael Leyser and the theologians Friedrich Wilhelm Leyser , Polycarp Leyser III. and Christian Leyser . From Polycarp III. The Hanoverian line later branched off, which includes, among others, Polykarp Leyser IV and the Saxon lieutenant general and last owner of the ancestral seat at Schloss Nudersdorf , August Friedrich Wilhelm von Leyser . Other well-known descendants of Polycarp II were the war and domain councilor and botanist Friedrich Wilhelm von Leysser , the painter and captain Ernst Polycarp Baron von Leyser (* 1792) and the generals Hans von Leyser and Ernst von Leyser . The latter was best known for his war crimes against civilians in the Balkans during World War II, for which he was prosecuted at the Generals Trial in Southeast Europe . Another son of Polycarp II, the theologian Johann Leyser , also became an outsider and black sheep of the family because he vehemently spoke out in favor of polygamy .

coat of arms

The original coat of arms of the Barons Leyser is quartered and shows two crescent moons turned outwards in the first and last black fields, whereas in the third and fourth blue fields three-hill mountains with two acorns crossed on a stem can be seen. A variation of the coat of arms shows, instead of acorns, crossed branches of vines and hung with grapes. On the left, crowned helmet with a golden-blue helmet cover, there are also two golden crescent moons between black ostrich feathers, whereas the right helmet with a golden-black helmet cover repeats the acorns or vines between blue wings

The coat of arms of the Württemberg-Saxon line, which has been ennobled since 1590, shows two crescent moons standing side by side, with their points turned outwards, in a black shield. Six black ostrich feathers, also covered with two golden crescent moons, are presented on the crowned helmet.

Known family members (listed genealogically)

  1. Polycarp I, ancestor of the family
    Polykarp Leyser the Elder (1552–1610), general superintendent , professor of theology and court preacher ⚭ Elisabeth Cranach, daughter of the painter Lucas Cranach the Younger
    1. Polykarp Leyser II (1586–1633), Protestant theologian and superintendent ⚭ Sabina Volckmar (1598–1634), daughter of the Leipzig mayor and bookseller Nikolaus Volckmar
      1. Friedrich Wilhelm Leyser (1622–1691), Protestant theologian, superintendent, coadjutor in Braunschweig , cathedral preacher in Magdeburg ⚭ Christina Margarethe Malsius (1631–1681), daughter of Magdeburg Chancellor Simon Malsius
        1. Polycarp Leyser III. (1656–1725), Protestant theologian, superintendent and court preacher, orientalist ⚭ I. Magdalena Margaretha Barckhausen (1666–1699), daughter of the theologian Hermann Barckhausen
          1. Polykarp Leyser IV. (1690–1728), Protestant theologian, philosopher and historian ⚭ Luise Schröter, née Schmidt
          2. Friedrich Wilhelm Leyser (born May 5, 1692 in Wunstorf, † July 15, 1766 in Celle ), Braunschweig-Lüneburg Appellate Council, inherited Nudersdorf Castle from Augustin von Leyser ⚭ Maria Katharina Ebell (1704–1754)
            1. Georg Ludwig von Leyser (* July 2, 1736 in Celle; † April 20, 1773) ⚭ Clara Augusta Leysser, daughter of Johann Gottlieb von Leysser (1699–1780)
              1. Wilhelm Friedrich August von Leyßer
                Wilhelm Friedrich August von Leyßer , also written Leysser , (1771–1842), Saxon lieutenant general and first President of the Second Chamber of the Saxon State Parliament , last owner of Nudersdorf Castle ⚭ Caroline Cunigunde Antonie Countess von Poetting and Persing (1772–1838)
        2. Friedrich Wilhelm Leyser (1658–1720), Dr. jur. and Royal Prussian Council as well as Syndicus in Magdeburg ⚭ Dorothea Eleonore Seyffarth (* 1664)
          1. Polykarp Friedrich von Leyser (born February 19, 1690 in Magdeburg; † January 14, 1767 in Halle), Prussian War and Domain Councilor ⚭ Christiane Charlotte Dreyssig (1708–1780)
            1. Polykarp Friedrich von Leyser (born July 1, 1724 in Magdeburg, † April 21, 1795 in Celle), Royal British Councilor, Royal Personal Physician in Celle ⚭ Charlotte Helene Ebell (1737–1801), niece of Loccum Abbot Georg Wilhelm Ebell
            2. Friedrich Wilhelm von Leysser (1731–1815), war and domain councilor , mine director and botanist , wrote Flora Hallensis in 1761
      2. Christian Leyser (1624–1671), Lutheran theologian and philosopher, superintendent in Sangerhausen, dean of the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Wittenberg ⚭ Dorothea Elisabeth Hagen (1647–1689), daughter of Pfänner Georg Hagen from Halle
        1. Christian Leyser (born June 18, 1664 in Sangerhausen; † September 14, 1739 there), church case administrator, councilor and mayor and owner of the Leysermühle ⚭ Anna Clara Detzschel (1671–1723) from Frankenhausen
          1. Johann Gottlieb von Leyßer (* October 30, 1699 in Sangerhausen; † October 23, 1780), consistorial councilor in Dresden, ennobled on May 23, 1751, owner of the Gersdorf manor , founder of the Saxon-Prussian line ⚭ Sophie Elisabeth Weller (* 1711)
      3. Michael Leyser , also written Lyser , (1626–1660), physician and anatomist
      4. Caspar Leyser , also written Lyser (1628–1699), court court and consistorial advocate, councilor and governing mayor in Wittenberg
        1. Sabina Dorothea Leyser (born May 19, 1654 in Wittenberg; † end of May 1702) ⚭ I. Franz Heinrich Höltich , lawyer and university professor at Leucorea . From this marriage Christiane Elisabeth Höltich (1674–1701) emerged, who in April 1691 married the church historian Johann Georg Neumann . ⚭ 2.) Christian Donati , logician and rector of the University of Wittenberg . As Donati's widow, Sabina Dorothea Leyser donated the Donatsche Stipendium for the descendants of Johann Georg Neumann and for the descendants of her grandfather Polykarp Leyser II of the male line.
      5. Sabina Elisabeth Leyser (* December 6, 1629 in Leipzig; † June 3, 1673 ibid) ⚭ Johann Christoph Marci , lawyer and Saxon politician. Two of their children were Polycarp Marci and Anna Maria Marci, ⚭ Johann Caspar Pflaume , lawyer, councilor and city judge of Leipzig.
      6. Johann Leyser (1631–1684), Protestant theologian and Danish field preacher, but also an advocate of polygamy
    2. Friedrich Leyser (* around 1590 in Braunschweig; † July 19, 1645 in Eilenburg ), Protestant theologian, court preacher and superintendent ⚭ Dorothea Schmidt, daughter of the magistrate Georg Schmidt from Torgau
    3. Wilhelm I. Leyser
      Wilhelm Leyser I (1592–1649), Protestant theologian, superintendent and rector of the University of Wittenberg ⚭ I. Regina Tünzel (1602–1631), daughter of the court and judiciary Gabriel Tünzel ⚭ II. Katharina Bose (1615–1677), daughter by the builder Kaspar Bose from Leipzig
      1. Wilhelm Leyser II (1628–1689), legal scholar and professor at the University of Wittenberg ⚭ I. Regina Calov (1643–1664), daughter of the mathematician Abraham Calov ; ⚭ II. Christina Strauch, daughter of the diplomat Augustin Strauch
        1. Augustin von Leyser (1683–1752), legal scholar and professor at the University of Wittenberg, court advisor , owner of Nudersdorf Palace ⚭ Dorothea Eleonore Leyser, daughter of his cousin and Magdeburg syndicus Friedrich Wilhelm Leyser (* 1658)

Genealogically belonging to the ennobled Saxon-Prussian line

  1. Hans von Leyser (1855–1928), son of the Prussian prime lieutenant a. D. Ernst Hugo von Leyser (1820–1896) on Simötzel near Kolberg and his wife Marie, née Steffen († 1892); Prussian Lieutenant General ⚭ Emilie von Wurmb
    1. Ernst von Leyser (1889–1962), German infantry general and commanding general in World War II

Literature and Sources

Web links

Commons : Leyser family  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Coat of arms of the Württemberg-Saxon line of the Leyser family, ennobled since 1590