Peter Erasmus Müller (Bishop)

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Peter Erasmus Müller

Peter Erasmus Müller (born May 29, 1776 in Copenhagen ; † September 4, 1834 ) was a Lutheran Bishop of Roskilde , historian and linguist.

Life

He was the son of the conference councilor Frederik Adam Müller († 1795). In 1805 he married Louise Augusta Stub (1778-1852), daughter of the commander-in-chief Otto Frederik Stub (1753-1827) and his wife Louise Elisabeth Kratzenstein.

He lost his mother when he was four years old. He had little contact with his peers and was more interested in his father's art treasures and books. After private training in his father's house, he came to the University of Copenhagen in 1792 and studied theology. He passed all exams with distinction. In 1797 he won the gold medal in a theological prize assignment and was awarded a master's degree with a thesis on church history. In the same year he traveled to German universities with Jacob Aall . He stayed there for 1½ years and then traveled to universities in France and England for another year. Upon his return he lectured on Christian moral teaching and became an associate professor of theology. In 1803 he received the theological doctorate with his dissertation De hierarchia et studio vitæ asceticæ in sacris et mysteriis Græcorum Romanorumqve latentibus . At the same time he took over the editing of Lærde Efterretninger (learned news), which he continued in 1811 as Dansk Litteraturtidende (Danish literary newspaper ) until 1830. Its excellent necrologists are of particular importance . In 1808 he became a full professor and immediately (and two more times) served as rector of the university.

In 1811 he became a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences , in 1813 he was accepted into the Royal Danish Society for Patriotic History and in 1815 he joined the "Arnamagnæanske Commission".

In 1830 he was appointed as the successor of Friedrich Münter to the Bishop of the Diocese of Zealand and thus to the Primate of the ( Lutheran ) Danish People's Church . In this capacity he made the balance between the warring wings of the Church his task.

His son Otto was friends with Hans Christian Andersen at a young age , which sheds light on networking in literary circles.

After a long illness he died on September 4, 1834.

Working as a theologian

Initially he gave exegetical lectures. Later he only read systematic theology. In 1810 he wrote his work Kristelig Apologetik (Christian Apologetik ), in which he tried to establish apologetics for the first time its own scientific existence within systematic theology. In 1808 his Kristeligt Moralsystem was published , which was based on Kant's philosophy and remained a standard work for a long time. In 1826 he wrote System i den Kristelige Dogmatik . During this time, the Danish church clashed with Grundtvig , which is known as the "church struggle ". Müller hated this argument to a high degree, and he would have liked to stay out of it, but as a primate had to reconcile the different wings from 1830 onwards.

scientist

Theology was not his passion. Rather, this belonged to historical and linguistic studies. In 1829 Dansk Synonymik eller Forklaring af enstydige danske Ord appeared in two volumes. In 1806, his quite astute work Antikvarisk Undersøgelse over de ved Gallehus fundne Guldhorn (Antiquarian study of the gold horn found near Gallehus) was rewarded by the scientific society. His work came to the result, which is untenable today, that the gold horn is a product of Celt-Iberian origin.

He established his fame with his research on Norse literature and history. Previously, research in this area had been haphazardly and there was no orderly overview of the material. A distinction between mythical and historical material had not yet been made. His work from 1812 "Om Avthentien af ​​Snorres Edda og Beviset derfra kan hentes for Asalærens Ægthed" was directed against the view, which was also widespread among German scholars, that the Icelandic sources are unhistorical and that Snorri's doctrine of gods is Christian. In 1813 he wrote the book Om det islandske Sprogs Vigtighed , for which he was awarded by the "Selskabet for Norges Vel".

1817-1820 he published the saga library in three volumes. The work was easy to read even for laypeople. There was a reliable overview of the entire saga literature . The content of each saga was communicated, its mythical character and historical credibility examined, the time of origin, the possible author and the relationship to the other sagas presented. The work was not based on an in-depth study of the manuscripts, and Müller's linguistic and philological knowledge was poor. But it became the guide for the study of sagas in the following period. In 1820 and 1823 he continued his research with Undersøgelse om Kilderne til Snorros Heimskringla og disses Troværdighed (investigation into the sources of Snorris Heimskringla and their credibility). In it he portrayed Snorri as a compiler of older traditions without originality.

In 1823 Om Kilderne til Saxos 9 første Bøger og deres Troværdighed (About the sources of Saxos 9 first books and their credibility) and in 1830 Kritiske Bemærkninger over Saxos danske Histories 10.-16. Bog (critical remarks on Saxos Danish history 10th – 16th book). Müller's last project remained unfinished: A text-critical edition of Saxo Grammaticus with accompanying explanations. When he died, the pressure of the last fifth was missing. Velschow completed the work and the explanations for the last four books ( Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica ). The text volume came out in 1839, the commentary in 1858. In the last years of his life he wrote two more biographies: 1830 the Vita Andreæ Sunonis, archiepiscopi Lundensis and 1831–1833 the Vita Lagonis urn, episcopi Roskildensis .

literature

The article is essentially based on Dansk biografisk Lexikon . Other information is shown separately.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Conference Council (Konferensraad) has been a Danish title since the 17th century, which assigned the owner to the second class at court.
  2. ↑ Kommandørkaptajn is a naval rank that corresponds to a lieutenant colonel in the army.
  3. ^ Kirsten Dreyer: HC Andersen. En Brevbiografi. . Comments on Letter No. 8.
  4. ^ List of rectors on the University of Copenhagen website
  5. ↑ Kirsten Dreyer. HC Andersen on letter 78.
predecessor Office successor
Friedrich Münter Bishop of Zealand
1830 - 1834 		Jacob Peter Mynster
personal data
SURNAME Müller, Peter Erasmus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish bishop, historian and linguist
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1776
PLACE OF BIRTH Copenhagen
DATE OF DEATH September 4, 1834