August Ludwig von Schlözer (5 July 1735, in
Gaggstatt – 9 September 1809, in
Göttingen) was a German
historian and
pedagogist who laid foundations for the critical study of
Russian medieval history. He was a member of the
Göttingen School of History
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
.
Early career
August Ludwig von Schlözer was born at Gaggstatt,
Hohenlohe-Kirchberg
Hohenlohe-Kirchberg was a German County located in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, around Kirchberg. It was ruled by a protestant branch of the Hohenlohe family.
The county of Kirchberg was located between the territories of Brandenb ...
(today
Kirchberg an der Jagst
Kirchberg an der Jagst is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Jagst, 11 km northwest of Crailsheim
Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Inco ...
),
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...
. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all were
Protestant clergymen. In 1751, he followed them and began his studies in
theology in
University of Wittenberg
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...
, moving in 1754 to the increasingly renowned
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded i ...
to study history. After his studies, in 1755 he went to work as a tutor in
Stockholm, where he spent a year and a half as tutor in the family of the minister of the German congregation, and during 1756/1757 in
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Located north of the capi ...
, studying
Old Norse and
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
with the philologist
Johan Ihre
Johan Ihre (3 March 1707 – 1 December 1780) was a Swedish philologist and historical linguist.
Life
Ihre was born in Lund, son of the theologian Thomas Ihre and his spouse Brita Steuchia. After his father's death in 1720, Johan Ihre was ...
, then again in Stockholm as secretary of a German merchant. While in
Sweden he wrote an ''Essay on the General History of Trade and of Seafaring in the Most Ancient Times'' (1758, in Swedish) on
Phoenicians, which together with a publication on
Swedish history
The history of Sweden can be traced back to the melting of the Northern Polar Ice Caps. From as early as 12000 BC, humans have inhabited this area. Throughout the Stone Age, between 8000 BC and 6000 BC, early inhabitants used st ...
made him fairly well known. In 1759, he returned to
Göttingen, where he began the study of
medicine.
In 1761, he went to
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
with
Gerhardt Friedrich Müller Gerhardt is a masculine name of Germanic origin. It can refer to the following:
As a first name
* Ants Eskola (1908–1989), Soviet-Estonian actor and singer born Gerhardt Esperk
* Gerhardt Laves (1906–1993), American linguist
* Gerhardt Neef ...
, the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
n historiographer, as Müller's literary assistant and as tutor in his family. Here Schlözer learned
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
* Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
and devoted himself to the study of Russian history. In 1762, a quarrel with Müller placed him in a position of some difficulty from which he was delivered by an introduction to
Count Rasumovski, who procured his appointment as adjunct to the Academy. In 1765, he was appointed by the
Empress Catherine
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
an ordinary member of the Academy and professor of Russian history. In 1767, he was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Return to Göttingen
In 1767, he left Russia on leave and did not return. He settled at Göttingen, where in 1764 he had been made ''professor extraordinarius'', and ''doctor honoris causa'' in 1766, and in 1769 he was promoted to an ordinary professorship. Schlözer was acknowledged a brilliant professor who drew crowds of students, among whom were
Arnold Heeren
Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren (25 October 1760, Arbergen6 March 1842, Göttingen) was a German historian. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History.
Biography
Heeren was born on 25 October 1760 in Arbergen near Bremen, a small village ...
,
Karl Friedrich Eichhorn
Karl Friedrich Eichhorn (20 November 1781 – 4 July 1854) was a German jurist.
Eichhorn was born in Jena as the son of Johann Gottfried Eichhorn. He entered the University of Göttingen in 1797. In 1805 he obtained the professorship of law at ...
and
Johannes von Müller
Johannes von Müller (3 January 1752 – 29 May 1809) was a Swiss historian.
Biography
He was born at Schaffhausen, where his father was a clergyman and rector of the gymnasium. In his youth, his maternal grandfather, Johannes Schoop (1696–17 ...
. Schlözer had broad interests. He translated a pedagogical piece by the
Frenchman
The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France.
The French people, especially the nati ...
La Chalotais in 1771, as well as a travel book about
Jamaica for children and an introductory work on world history (''Vorbereitung zur Weltgeschichte für Kinder'', 1779). Schlözer criticised harshly
Johann Bernhard Basedow
Johann Bernhard Basedow (11 September 1724 – 25 July 1790) was a German educational reformer, teacher and writer. He founded the Philanthropinum, a short-lived but influential progressive school in Dessau, and was the author of "''Elementarw ...
, a then famous pedagogue, for his education approach using games and for his separation of girls and boys education.
Schlözer's activity was enormous, and he exercised great influence by his lectures as well as by his books, bringing historical study into touch with
political science generally, and using his vast erudition in an attempt to solve practical questions in the state and in society. Schlözer was interested in politics and
statistics. He was a proponent of
John Locke and
Montesquieu
Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher.
He is the principa ...
. Statistics were also important to him for their informational value for government. His exchange of ideas about the study of people and society with
Adam F. Kollár in
Vienna helped Kollár to clarify his own approach, incorporate and broaden some of Schlözer's views and eventually coin the term ''ethnology'' and provide its first definition in 1783.
Between 1776 and 1782, he had his own political periodical: ''A.L. Schlözer's Briefwechsel meist historischen und politischen Inhalts'' (10 vols.); continued between 1782 and 1793 with the name ''A.L. Schlözer's Staats-Anzeigen'' (18 vols.) by which he produced a strong impression. This periodical criticised the German government harshly, and was widely read with up to 4400 subscribers. It was first in German to publish the
declaration of human rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...
in 1791. In 1793, the government prohibited the publication of the ''Staats-Anzeigen''.
Schlözer was a versatile
historian giving lectures on a range of issues including
Oliver Cromwell, the
Dutch revolution,
bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
s, the
French Revolution (already in 1790), luxury, and the history of Germans in
Romania, while continuing publishing on
Russian history
The history of Russia begins with the histories of the East Slavs. The traditional start-date of specifically Russian history is the establishment of the Rus' state in the north in 862, ruled by Varangians. Staraya Ladoga and Novgorod became ...
. His ''Allgemeine nordische Geschichte'' (General northern history), 2 vols. (Halle, 1772) was long considered a reference work on Russian history. He translated the famous
Nestor Chronicle to the year 980, 5 vols. (Göttingen, 1802–1809). In 1769 he started lecturing on general world history, a topic reserved to the most educated in that time. The growing knowledge of other continents and the past posed a challenge to historians. How to compress all this information in history books in an understandable way? And what are the criteria for selecting and sorting information? In other words, scholars sought fundamental threads in history. Hundreds of articles and books addressed this question in the second half of the 18th century, drawing famous intellectuals including Herder and Schiller. Schlözer contributed to these discussions and published his ''Vorstellung einer Universalgeschichte'' in 1772. He continued to improve this piece in the following decades, until finalising the ''Weltgeschichte nach ihren Haupttheilen im Auszug und Zusammenhange'' (''Main elements of world history in excerpts and context''), 2 vols (2nd ed., Göttingen, 1792–1801).
World History
The ''Weltgeschichte'' (World History) provides guidance for education. Parts of this piece appear unfinished and it sometimes has a halting style. Some of its ideas are outdated. However, other ideas have more substance, one of which is globally applied until today as we will see in the following. The ''Weltgeschichte'' offers insight on the state of science at that time. Schlözer tackled three challenges: the scope, the topic and the structure of a
global history
World history may refer to:
* Human history, the history of human beings
* History of Earth, the history of planet Earth
* World history (field), a field of historical study that takes a global perspective
* ''World History'' (album), a 1998 albu ...
.
Since Schlözer opposed a strictly European perspective, the scope was the entire mankind. Moreover, he included all classes of society and social and cultural developments. The development of glass by the
Phoenicians and the introduction of potatoes in Europe were more important than the names of the Chinese or German emperors.
The central topic was development and the influence of historical events on today. Schlözer identified five fundamental factors for development: "Die Lebensart bestimmt, Klima und Nahrungsart erschafft, der Herrscher zwingt, der Priester lehrt, und das Beispiel reisst fort". (Schlözer, ''Weltgeschichte I'', 66) – "The life-style determines, climate and nutrition creates, the sovereign forces, the priest teaches, and the example inspires."
Schlözer also developed a structure for a
universal history, separating it in six epochs:
*''Urwelt'' (primeval world) – from the
creation
Creation may refer to:
Religion
*''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing
*Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it
*Creationism, the belief that ...
to the
Flood
*''Dunkle Welt'' (dark world) – from the flood to
Moses and the first written sources
*''Vorwelt'' (preworld) – up to the
Persian Empire
*''Alte Welt'' (old world) – up to the fall of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
in 476 AD
*''Mittelalter'' (Middle Ages) – up to the discovery of
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
by
Christopher Columbus in 1492
*''Neue Welt'' (the new world) – up to the present
This classification was not new, except for setting the
Middle Ages between 476 and 1492, which he as well as his colleague and rival in Göttingen
Johann Christoph Gatterer suggested roughly at the same time. These time borders for the Middle Ages are still accepted today.
Schlözer's most important innovation, however, was his suggestion to count backwards from the birth of
Jesus. An incentive for this was the growing disbelief of the biblical Creation and the then generally acknowledged creation date of 3987 BC. First speculations that the Sun and the Earth were perhaps created tens of thousands of years ago emerged in the 18th century. Schlözer's suggestion offered room for further theories about the creation of the Earth. Schlözer mentioned in a footnote that he adopted this idea from foreign historians, but did not reveal them. Whoever they were, Schlözer was the one to introduce this novel chronology into the European history, an act of tremendous importance for it was the fundamental for all ancient history. According to the philosopher
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt (, , ; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a political philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor. She is widely considered to be one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century.
Arendt was born ...
, this new method enabled man to look back "into an indefinite past to which one can add at will and into which we can inquire further as it stretches ahead". August Ludwig von Schlözer was instrumental in abandoning Creation beliefs of our
collective consciousness
Collective consciousness, collective conscience, or collective conscious (french: conscience collective) is the set of shared beliefs, ideas, and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society.''Collins Dictionary of Sociolog ...
, more than anybody else.
In 1804, Schlözer was ennobled by the emperor
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of Gra ...
and made a privy councillor. He retired from active work in 1805. He was much admired by the new Russian historiographer
Nikolai Karamzin
Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best remembered for ...
, while the professors
Mikhail Kachenovsky and
Mikhail Pogodin
Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin (russian: Михаи́л Петро́вич Пого́дин; , Moscow, Moscow) was a Russian Imperial historian and journalist who, jointly with Nikolay Ustryalov, dominated the national historiography between the death ...
proclaimed themselves Schlozer's followers.
Family life
Schlözer, who in 1769 married Caroline Roederer, daughter of
Johann Georg Roederer
Johann Georg Roederer (13 May 1726 – 4 April 1763) was a German physician and obstetrician who was a native of Strasbourg. He was father-in-law to historian August Ludwig von Schlözer (1735–1809).
Roederer studied medicine at Leiden, Paris ...
(1726–1763), professor of medicine at Göttingen and body physician to the king of England, left five children. His daughter
Dorothea, born on 10 August 1770, was one of the most beautiful and learned women of her time, and received in 1787 the degree of doctor. She was recognized as an authority on several subjects, especially on Russian
coin
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...
age. After her marriage with Rodde, a burgomaster of
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the st ...
, she devoted herself to domestic duties. She died on 12 July 1825 (see Reuter, ''Dorothea Schlözer'', Göttingen, 1887). Schlözer's son Christian (1774–1831) was a professor at Bonn, and published ''Anfangsgründe der Staatswirthschaft'' (1804–1806) and his father's ''Öffentliches und Privat-Leben aus Originalurkunden'' (1828). The youngest son,
Karl von Schlözer, a merchant and Russian consul-general at
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the st ...
, was the father of
Kurd von Schlözer (1822–1894), the historian and diplomatist, who in 1871 was appointed
German ambassador to the United States
Germany and the United States have had diplomatic relations since German unification in 1871. Prior to that, the only German states holding diplomatic relations with the U.S. were the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1835, and the three Hanseatic citi ...
and in 1882 to the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
, when he was instrumental in healing the breach between Germany and the papacy caused by the
May Laws
Temporary regulations regarding the Jews (also known as May Laws) were proposed by the minister of internal affairs Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev and enacted on 15 May (3 May O.S.), 1882, by Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Originally, regulations of ...
.
Publications
* August Ludwig von Schlözer: ''Vorbereitung zur WeltGeschichte für Kinder. Ein Buch für Kinderlehrer.'' Hrsg. von Marko Demantowsky und Susanne Popp, Göttingen, 2011. .
On Schlözer
* Han F. Vermeulen: 'From the Field to the Study. A. L. Schlözer and the Invention of Ethnology'. In: Han F. Vermeulen: ''Before Boas. the genesis of ethnography and ethnology in the German Enlightenment''. Lincoln & London, University of Nebraska Press, 2016.
* Martin Peters: ''Altes Reich und Europa. Der Historiker, Statistiker und Publizist August Ludwig (v.) Schlözer (1735–1809)''. Lit, Münster u. a. 2003, (zugl. Dissertation der Universität Marburg, 2000).
See also
*
Liberalism
*
Contributions to liberal theory
Contribution or Contribute may refer to:
* ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990)
** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album
*Contribution (law), an agreement between defendants in a suit to apportion liability
*Contributions, a ...
*
Human history
*
Ethnography
Notes
References
* This work in turn cites:
** Zermelo, ''August Ludwig Schlözer'' (Berlin, 1875)
** Wesendonck, ''Die Begründung der neuern deutschen Geschichtsschreibung durch Gatterer und Schlözer'' (Leipzig, 1876)
**
External links
Scans of Schlözer's ''Stats-Anzeigen''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlozer, August Ludwig Von
1735 births
1809 deaths
People from Schwäbisch Hall (district)
German Protestants
18th-century German historians
18th-century historians from the Russian Empire
Uppsala University alumni
People from the Duchy of Württemberg
Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences
Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
German male non-fiction writers