Marquard Herrgott (9 October 1694 – 9 October 1762) was a German

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

historian and diplomat. Hergott was born at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

in the

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

. After studying humanities at Freiburg and Strasburg, he became tutor in a private family at the latter place and accompanied his two pupils to Paris, where he remained two years. Upon his return to Germany he entered the Benedictine Abbey of St. Blasien in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

, made his vows on 17 November 1715, and was sent to Rome to study theology. After being ordained priest on 17 Dec., 1718, he returned to St. Blasien. In 1721 he went to the

Abbey of St. Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot w ...

to study Oriental languages, but was soon recalled in order to accompany his abbot to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he devoted himself for a few months to the study of history. Shortly after, he was sent to the

Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

to continue his historical studies under the direction of the learned

Maurist Benedictines The Congregation of St. Maur, often known as the Maurists, were a congregation of French Benedictines, established in 1621, and known for their high level of scholarship. The congregation and its members were named after Saint Maurus (died 565), a ...

. The first fruit of these studies was a valuable work on old monastic customs,
Vetus disciplina monastica
' (Paris, 1726). Shortly after the publication of this work, Herrgott returned to St. Blasien, gathered material for a history of the

Diocese of Constance The Prince-Bishopric of Constance, (german: Hochstift Konstanz, Fürstbistum Konstanz, Bistum Konstanz) was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his dua ...

and wrote a history of St. Blasien, which is preserved in manuscript at St. Paul's Abbey in

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

. In 1728 he was sent to the imperial Court of Vienna as diplomatic representative of the Estates of Breisgau, which then belonged to Austria, and filled this position very creditably over twenty years. While at Vienna he made a thorough study of the history of the imperial

house of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

and, after eight years of research, published the first three volumes of his valuable work on the Austrian Imperial family ''Genealogia diplomatica Augusta Gentis Habsburgicæ'' (Vienna, 1737). The continuation of this work he published under the title ''Monumenta Augustæ Domus Austriacæ'', vol. I (Vienna, 1750), vol. II (Freiburg, 1753)
vol. III
(Freiburg, 1760)
second edition
(St. Blasien, 1773). As reward for his labours he had been appointed imperial councillor and historiographer in 1737. In 1749 he gave offence to the imperial Court by defending the rights of the Church and the privileges of the Estates, and, in consequence, was forced to resign his office. His abbot appointed him provost of Krozingen and governor of

Staufen Staufen refers to: *Hohenstaufen, a dynasty of German emperors *Staufen im Breisgau, a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany *Staufen, Aargau, in Switzerland *Staufen (protein), a protein found in the egg of ''Drosophila'' *Staufen, Austria The ...

and Kirchhofen, which were dependencies of the Abbey of St. Blasien. He died at Krozingen near Freiburg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hergott, Marquard 1694 births 1762 deaths 18th-century German historians German Benedictines German diplomats German male non-fiction writers