The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and promote it as both a scholarly and literary language, after the pattern of the

Accademia della Crusca The Accademia della Crusca (; "Academy of the Bran"), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian langu ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

and similar groups already thriving in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, followed in later years also in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(1635) and Britain. It was also known as the Palmenorden ("Palm Order") because its emblem was the then-exotic ''fruitbearing'' coconut palm. (1576–1629), Hofmarschall at the court in Weimar, was the founding father of the society. As a young man he had travelled Italy and got inspired by the Italian language academies.''Teutleben, Caspar von''
at deutsche-biographie.de (in German) During the funeral celebrations of Duchess Dorothea Maria in August 1617 which were attended by several princes he took the opportunity to propose the founding of a society following the example of the Italian ''Accademia della Crusca''. Particularly Prince Ludwig von Anhalt-Köthen who already had joined the ''Accademia della Crusca'' in 1600 took hold of the idea and became the first president of the Palm Order. The society counted a king (

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

), 153 Germanic princes, and over 60 barons, nobles, and distinguished scholars among its members. It disbanded in 1668. The first book about the Palm Order, ''Der Teutsche Palmbaum'', was written by Carl Gustav von Hille and published in Nuremberg in 1647.

Members

The society had 890 members. Of these, the below list only includes those that have articles on the English Wikipedia. For a complete list, including their fruitbearing names, see this German article. * Matthias Abele von und zu Lilienberg * Johann Valentin Andreae * Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg * Christian II of Anhalt-Bernburg * Viktor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg * Georg Aribert of Anhalt-Dessau * Johann Georg I of Anhalt-Dessau * Johann Georg II of Anhalt-Dessau * Johann Kasimir of Anhalt-Dessau * Friedrich of Anhalt-Harzgerode * Emanuel of Anhalt-Köthen * Leberecht of Anhalt-Köthen * Ludwig I of Anhalt-Köthen * Ludwig der Jüngere of Anhalt-Köthen * Wilhelm Ludwig of Anhalt-Köthen * August of Anhalt-Plötzkau * Johann of Anhalt-Zerbst * Karl Wilhelm of Anhalt-Zerbst * Rudolf of Anhalt-Zerbst * Hans Georg von Arnim * Frederick V, Margrave of Baden-Durlach * Johan Banér *

Steno Bielke Sten Svantesson Bielke, also Steno Bielke, (1598 – 2 AprilÖhman (2005), p.213 1638)Wild (2000), p.63Giese (2003), p.85 was a statesman of the Swedish Empire. Bielke studied in Uppsala and Tübingen before he became chamberlain of Gustavus A ...

* Sigmund von Birken * Wilhelm of Birkenfeld * Frederick William of Brandenburg * George William of Brandenburg * John of Brandenburg *

Christian of Brandenburg-Bayreuth Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (30 January 1581 in Cölln – 30 May 1655 in Bayreuth) was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (later renamed ''Brandenburg-Bayreuth''). He was the eldest o ...

* George of Brunswick-Lüneburg * Christian Louis of Brunswick-Lüneburg * Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg * Augustus the Younger of Brunswick-Lüneburg * Ferdinand Albert I of Brunswick-Lüneburg * Friedrich Ulrich von Braunschweig und Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel * Rudolf von Bünau * Rudolf von Bünau *

Johann Cothmann Johann Cothmann (1588 in Lemgo - 1661, Güstrow) was a German jurist and diplomat. He was also a member of the Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German lit ...

* Christoph von Dohna * Robert Douglas *

Ernst von Freyberg Ernst Conrad Rudolf Freiherr von Freyberg-Eisenberg (born 26 October 1958 in Geneva) is a German manager and was President of the Istituto per le Opere di Religione between February 2013 and July 2014

* Andreas Gryphius * Christian Gueintz * Friedrich Kasimir von Hanau * Philipp Moritz von Hanau-Münzenberg *

Georg Philipp Harsdörffer Georg Philipp Harsdörffer (1 November 1607 – 17 September 1658) was a Jurist, Baroque-period German poet and translator. Born in Nuremberg, he studied law at Altdorf and Strassburg. He studied at the University of Strassburg under profes ...

* David Elias Heidenreich * Wilhelm Christoph von Hesse-Bingenheim und Hesse-Homburg * Johann von Hessen-Braubach * Ludwig VI of Hesse-Darmstadt * Ludwig VII of Hesse-Darmstadt * Friedrich of Hesse-Eschwege * Friedrich II of Hesse-Homburg * Georg Christian of Hesse-Homburg * Moritz of Hesse-Kassel * Wilhelm V of Hesse-Kassel * Wilhelm VI of Hesse-Kassel * Hermann IV of Hesse-Rotenburg *

Georg Friedrich of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim Count Georg Friedrich von Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim (September 5, 1569 – July 7, 1645) was an officer and an amateur poet. Biography Born in Neuenstein, Georg Friedrich was the son of Wolfgang, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim and his ...

Hans Christoff von Königsmarck Count Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, of Tjust (4 March 1600 – 8 March 1663), son of Conrad von Königsmarck and Beatrix von Blumenthal, was a German soldier who commanded Sweden's legendary flying column, a force which played a key role ...

* Otto Wilhelm von Königsmarck * Johann Kasimir Kolbe von Wartenberg * Christoph Christian zu Altleiningen * Johann Anton von Leiningen * Philipp II von Leiningen Westerburg * Friedrich von Logau * Adolf Friedrich I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin *

Franz von Mercy Franz Freiherr von Mercy (or Merci), Lord of Mandre and Collenburg (c. 1597 – 3 August 1645), was a German field marshal in the Thirty Years' War who fought for the Imperial side and was commander-in-chief of the Bavarian army from 1643 to 164 ...

Bernhard Meyer Bernhard Meyer (24 August 1767 – 1 January 1836) was a German physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner ( Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medic ...

* Johann Michael Moscherosch * Johann Ludwig of Nassau-Hadamar * Georg Neumark *

Adam Olearius Adam Olearius (born Adam Ölschläger or Oehlschlaeger, 24 September 159922 February 1671) was a German scholar, mathematician, geographer and librarian. He became secretary to the ambassador sent by Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, to ...

* Martin Opitz *

Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (; 1583–1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a c ...

* Christian Franz Paullini *

Ottavio Piccolomini Ottavio Piccolomini, 1st Duke of Amalfi (11 November 1599 – 11 August 1656) was an Italian nobleman whose military career included service as a Spanish general and then as a field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire. Early life Ottavio was bor ...

* Jost Andreas von Randow *

Wilhelm von Rath Wilhelm von Rath (1585 – 27 April 1641) was a German scholar and a military officer. His name, in the dative case (after "von"), may be rendered as "Rathen". Biography Rath was born in Klein-Wülknitz, Anhalt, and came from an old noble family. ...

Johann Rist Johann Rist (8 March 1607 – 31 August 1667) was a German poet and dramatist best known for his hymns, which inspired musical settings and have remained in hymnals. Life Rist was born at Ottensen in Holstein-Pinneberg (today Hamburg) on 8 Mar ...

John George II of Saxony Johann George II (31 May 1613 – 22 August 1680) was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. Biography He was the third (fourth in order of birth) but eldest surviving son of the Elector ...

* Johann Philipp of Saxe-Altenburg * Adolf Wilhelm of Saxe-Eisenach * Albrecht of Saxe-Eisenach * Johann Georg I of Saxe-Eisenach * Ernst I of Saxe-Gotha * Friedrich of Saxe-Gotha * Bernhard of Saxe-Jena *

Augustus of Saxe-Lauenburg Augustus of Saxe-Lauenburg (Ratzeburg, 17 February 1577 – 18 January 1656, Lauenburg upon Elbe) was Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg between 1619 and 1656. He was a son of Duke Francis II and his first wife Margaret of Pomerania-Wolgast, daughter of Ph ...

* Francis Erdmann of Saxe-Lauenburg *

Julius Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg Julius Henry (9 April 1586 – 20 November 1665) was duke of Saxe-Lauenburg between 1656 and 1665. Before ascending to the throne he served as Field Marshal in the imperial army. Life Before regency Born at Wolfenbüttel, he was a son of Duk ...

* Christian of Saxe-Merseburg *

Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (german: Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar; 16 August 160418 July 1639) was a German prince and general in the Thirty Years' War. Biography Born in Weimar within the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, Bernard was the eleventh son of Johann ...

* Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar * Johann Ernst the Younger of Saxe-Weimar * Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar * Wilhelm IV of Saxe-Weimar * Albrecht of Saxe-Weißenfels * August of Saxe-Weißenfels * August the Younger of Saxe-Weißenfels * Heinrich of Saxe-Weißenfels * Johann Adolph of Saxe-Weißenfels * Moritz of Saxe-Zeitz * Angelo Sala * Joachim von Sandrart * Karl Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * Ludwig Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * Anton Günther of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen * Veit Ludwig von Seckendorf *

Torsten Stålhandske Torsten Stålhandske (Porvoo, Finland, 1 September 1593 – Haderslev, 21 April 1644) – Swedish for "Torsten Steelglove", sometimes written "Stålhansch" in the Swedish of the time and referred to in German literature as ''Torsten Staalhansc ...

* Wolrad IV of Waldeck-Eisenberg * Christian of Waldeck-Wildungen * Matthäus von Wesenbeck * Anton von Wietersheim * Karl Gustav Wrangel * Julius Siegmund von Württemberg-Oels-Juliusburg * Sylvius Friedrich von Württemberg-Oels-Juliusburg *

Philipp von Zesen Philipp von Zesen, also Filip Cösius or ''Caesius'' (originally Ph. Caesien, Filip Zesen, Filip von Zesen, in Latin Philippus Caesius à Fürstenau, Philippus Caesius à Zesen) (8 October 1619 O.S. – 13 November 1689 O.S.) was a German poet, ...

* Heinrich Ziegler

Notes

References

University of California, Berkeley, News article: ''Taking pride in their language, finding uses for everything''
February 11, 2004
''die-fruchtbringende-gesellschaft.de''
(List of members)

External links

Finding aid to the Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft Collection: Manuscript and Pictorial Material, 1592–1754
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

Neue Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft zu Köthen/Anhalt
{{Authority control 1617 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire German writers' organisations History of Weimar Culture in Weimar Education in Weimar History of Anhalt 1668 disestablishments in Europe