Sámuel Reuss (8 September 1783 – 2 December 1852) was a Lutheran pastor and ethnographer.

Early life and career

Sámuel Reuss was born in Zólyomlipcse. He married Rozália Schulek on 21 November 1810. They had six children, five of whom reached adulthood. Reuss began his studies in Osgyán, continued in the upper classes at Késmárk, and completed a course in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

at the Lutheran High School in

Pozsony Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

between 1802 and 1805. He then continued his studies at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

on 16 October 1805. Abroad he learned from teachers

Johann Jakob Griesbach Johann Jakob Griesbach (4 January 1745 – 24 March 1812) was a German biblical textual critic. Griesbach's fame rests upon his work in New Testament criticism, in which he inaugurated a new epoch. His solution to the synoptic problem bears his na ...

and Heinrich Karl Eichstädt,

Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, '' Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. Biography Born in Moh ...

and

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

and became the Secretary of the Mineralogical Society and a full member of the Latin Society. On 14 October 1806, he was present on the side of the Prussians in the

Battle of Jena A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. He was elected as the Hungarian member of the Mineralogical Society at Jena in 1806. Returning from Germany, he was appointed as a replacement teacher in Besztercebánya on 1 November 1806. He was a principal and assistant pastor (chaplain) in Tiszolc from 10 September 1807 to December 1809. From 1 January 1810 he worked as a pastor for three years in Karaszkó. From 19 April 1812 until 1842, he was the Lutheran pastor of Nagyrőce. He climbed the hierarchy of the diocese of Gömör, becoming an archdeacon in 1824, from which position he resigned around 1836. He was also a public notary for some time, but also worked as an archaeologist. He did research in Kőjankó, which is part of a spectacular natural formation of the Pokorágy Hills in present-day Slovakia. The Bronze Age urn tombs found here, covered with stone slabs, were discovered and researched at the beginning of the 19th century; Reuss excavated further tombs in 1813. In 1822 he founded the Slovak Library in Revúca. As a result of his studies in Jena, he carried out extensive research in the fields of history, archeology, ethnography, Slovak folk tales, mineralogy and ornithology in addition to ecclesiastical topics. His publications were published in Slovak, German and Hungarian. Together with his three sons, Gusztáv (Gustáv), Adolf, and Lajos (Ludevít), he started a collection of Slovak folk tales, revised them and wrote about the theoretics of the stories. He tried to explain the prehistoric history of the Slovaks with the help of folk tales, and was the first to do so in the territory of present-day Slovakia. At the time of the

revolution in 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Euro ...

he became a lieutenant. On 14 February 1850, he was appointed administrator of the Tisza district by decree of Haynau by the Royal Imperial Government of Austria, a position he held until his death. When he fell ill, he was cared for by his son, Gusztáv Reuss – who was invited to Nagyrőce in 1851 as a city doctor. He died in

Revúca Revúca (; formerly ''Veľká Revúca'' in Slovak; german: Groß-Rauschenbach; hu, Nagyrőce) is a town in Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia. Revúca is the seat of Revúca District. Etymology The name is of Slovak origin and was initially th ...

in 1852.

Notable works

* . * (1838) * (1841–1842)

Sources

* Hörk József: Az Ev. Tisza-Kerület püspökei. (superintendensek) Kassa. 1888. * Abel-Mokos: Magyarországi tanulók a jenai egyetemen. Budapest, 1890. 92. l. * Béla Sipos: Terray-Reuss-Schulek and related upland family trees. The Terray family. www.terray.hu family history page. *József Szinnyei: Hungarian writers and their works. Budapest, 1791. Reuss Sámuel. *Opinion on the works of Sámuel Reuss: Robert Hammel’s study examines Reuss’s citations in terms of their critical edition and distinguishes three categories: 1.the sources are listed correctly; 2. the references to the sources are incorrect and are therefore corrected: 3. a free revision of the original text, which aims at clarity. The article discusses the possibilities of identifying the sources cited by Reuss and suggests possible solutions to the citations in the critical edition.Robert Hammel: Samuel Reuss ako encyklopedista. O problematike citátov v jeho komentároch ku Codexom revúckym
Slovenská literatúra, 2018. 65(4), 264-277 p. *The ancestors of Samuel Reuss: :hu:Reuss család (felvidéki)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reuss, Sámuel 1783 births 1852 deaths People from Banská Bystrica District Hungarian ethnographers Slovak Lutherans People from Revúca Hungarian Lutheran clergy