Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae - RETE (2021) 2:31–38 31 https://doi.org/10.14428/rete.v2i0/Giessen Licence CC BY-SA 4.0

Scholars and Literati at the University of Gießen (1607–1800)

David de la Croix Robert Stelter

IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain University of Basel

This note is a summary description of the set of scholars and literati who taught at the University of Gießen from its inception in 1607 to the eve of the Industrial Revolution (1800). 1 The University The University of Gießen – the Ludoviciana – is a typical example for a small state university in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Landgrave Ludwig V. of Hesse-Darmstadt initiated the foundation of a Lutheran university in Gießen as there was a need to train Lutheran pastors and civil servants, when the nearby University of Marburg became Calvinist. Soon after teaching started in October 1607, the Thirty Years War erupted, and the Ludoviciana closed temporarily. It was restored in Gießen in 1650 with the four usual faculties: Theology, Law, Medicine, and Arts. Limited nancial resources restricted reform eorts in the eighteenth century so that there was little change until the very end of the century. Still, notably a faculty of economics existed from 1777–1785. Its tradition continued in the faculties of medicine and philosophy. 2 Sources The chronicle of the University of Gießen has been published in two books: (Haupt and Lehnert 1907) includes the history of the Ludoviciana between 1607 and 1907, while (Rehmann 1957) focuses on the following 50 years. As we are interested in the pre-1800 period, we rely on the book by (Haupt and Lehnert 1907). In addition to an overview of the most important events, the second part of the book lists the scholars and literati of the university in alphabetical order. We only added very few cases from other sources to the almost 300 names. 3 Some statistics Table 1 displays some descriptive statistics for the 298 scholars and literati we link to the University of Gießen. For 254 of them, the birth year has been documented. The mean age at appointment is around 31.2 years and is highest around 1700. Surprisingly, we observe a slightly decreasing mean age of death from around 60 to less than 59 years. For more than 95%, the birth place is known, with a median distance of around 150 km to the university. The distance is highest in the period when the university was established, which attests to the attractiveness of the young university. 85% of the scholars active in Gießen left a footprint in the catalogues of the libraries of the world, Worldcat, either by having published some work, or by having been the subject of published books and articles. The share of scholars with a Wikipedia page is 40%. 4 Fields Figure 1 shows the relative importance of elds, broadly dened. The distribution of scholars across the elds of sciences at the University of Gießen reects the wide range of scientic activities. Still, we observe a dominance of the elds linked to the four traditional faculties that are humanities, law, 32 Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae - RETE (2021) 2:31–38 medicine, and theology. In addition to the well-known theologians, the natural sciences were well represented at the university.

Period nb. % birth year mean age mean age life exp. Start End obs known at nomin. at death at 30 1527 1617 43 69.8 30.9 60.1 60.4 1618 1685 72 90.3 30.5 60.9 61.3 1686 1733 81 85.2 32.3 58.6 57.6 1734 1800 102 88.2 31 58.5 60.8 1000 1800 298 85.2 31.2 59.3 60.1 % birth place median distance % with % with known birth-institution Wikipedia Worldcat 1527 1617 97.7 184 44.2 86 1618 1685 100 138 43.1 84.7 1686 1733 90.1 160 34.6 85.2 1734 1800 95.1 145 40.2 87.3 1000 1800 95.3 153 39.9 85.9

Table 1: Summary statistics by period Composition by field Ugiessen−1607 / Ludoviciana / Gießen / Tue Dec 15 16:50:23 2020

Theology

Law

Unkown

Sciences

Humanities Medicine

Figure 1: Broad elds at the University of Gießen Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae - RETE (2021) 2:31–38 33

5 Place of birth

Figure 2 displays theOrigin places of of birth birth of of members all the scholars active at the Ludoviciana. We document the Germanic nature of the university. Ugiessen−1607 / Ludoviciana / Gießen / Tue Dec 15 16:50:23 2020

0km 300km 600km 65°N

60°N

55°N

50°N Latitude 45°N

40°N

35°N

N 30°N

20°W 10°W 0° 10°E 20°E 30°E 40°E Longitude

Periods 1537−1617 1618−1685 1686−1733 1734−1800

Figure 2: Places of birth of the scholars and literati at the University of Gießen

6 Human capital of scholars and literati For each person in the database we compute a heuristic human capital index, identied by combining information from Worldcat and Wikipedia using a principal component analysis. We also compute the notability of the university at each date by averaging the human capital of the scholars active in Gießen 25 years before that date. Details are given in Appendix. Figure 3 shows the names of all the scholars with a positive human capital index. The orange line plots the notability of the university. The pattern is one of a good university over the period considered. When comparing this graph with the equivalent one for other universities, notice that the scale of the vertical axis may not be the same. Here, the range is (0,8), while for Jena another German, Lutheran university, see De la Croix and Stelter (2020), we have (0,14) to accommodate several scholars with an index between 8 and 14. 34 Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae - RETE (2021) 2:31–38 1800 Schulz F Schmidt J Nebel E von Hessertvon F Posewitz J Posewitz Danz F Snell F Schmid K von Grolman K von Schaumann J Emmerling A Palmer C Palmer Leun J Schalk K Schmidt G Thom G Walther F Walther Hezel J Hezel Bechtold G Crome A Roos J Schwabe E Schwabe Büchner J Chastel F Heyler K Heyler Baumer J Snell K Musaeus J Werner G Werner Dietz J Link J Schnaubert A von Müller K von von Langsdorff K von Piehl D Jaup H Jaup Krebs L Kempf T Kempf Schulz J Schmid C Höpfner L Bahrdt K Lobstein J Klevesahl E Klevesahl Nebel C Neubauer J Ouvrier L Koester H Koester von Gatzert von C Schwarz J Schwarz Mosebach P Rosenmüller J Rosenmüller Müller J Bechtold J Cartheuser F Koch J Koch Schlettwein J Schlettwein Alefeld G Alefeld Breidenstein J Mogen L 1750 Hoffmann J Zentgrav J Zentgrav Dietz J Preuschen G Baumer J Müller G Snell J Koch C Koch Voigt J Voigt Böhm A Wagner G Wagner Thom E Meis C Müller H Hensing F Nebel H Wlömen S Wolf P Wolf Balser J Kortholt F Jenichen G König C König Fresenius J Höpfner J Gersten C Neubauer E Benner J Rays J Rays Hilchen L Estor J Susemihl J Arnoldi E von Senckenberg H Senckenberg von Tabor G Tabor Wahl J Wahl Alefeld J Alefeld Kehr G Kehr Rambach J Valentini C Valentini Mögling J Walther H Walther Ayrmann C Ayrmann Masson S Zoller G Pfaff C Pfaff Gruber J Draudt G Draudt Roll R Kayser J Kayser Hartung J Pfister S Stockhausen B May (Majus) J May Hert J Hensing J Happel J Zorn P von Meiern von (Meier) J Liebknecht J von Wieger J von Schupart J Runckel C Runckel Frey J Frey 1700 Verdries J Verdries Ludovici J Ludovici Frantz L Frantz Kortholt M Ploennies E Becker J Becker Lange J Barthold G Rüdiger C Arnold G Bötticher A Grolmann M Geibel B Moeller G Eberwein J Eberwein Bürcklin G Mollenbeck J Hedinger J Preussmann A Gerhard J Bielenfeld J Bielenfeld Weber I Weber Nitzsch G Vagetius (Vaget) A (Vaget) Vagetius Arnoldi J Englert J Gernand G Schlosser P Hartschmidt J Rüdiger J Kulpis J Kulpis Hert J Orth S Goebbel P Goebbel Valentini M Valentini Mollenbeck B May (Majus) J May Kempfer (Kämpfer) A (Kämpfer) Kempfer Tack L Tack Hinckelmann A Hinckelmann Masius H Mentzer B Mentzer Arcularius J Stockhausen J Thilenius N Dillenius J Botsack B Petersen J Petersen Hert (Hertius) J Kahler J Dassovius T Dassovius Clodius D Mogen J Years Nitzsch F Schwarzenau C Schwarzenau Haberkorn J von Lyncker N Lyncker von Roetel H Phasian H von Haberkorn H von Malcomesius J Hanneken P Hanneken Zesch W Siricius M Rudrauff K Rudrauff Heerwart H Pistorius J 1650 Heiland M von Eyben U von Metzger G Sinolt J Scheibler J Scheibler Henckel J Henckel Tack J Tack Mollenbeck A Horst J Buncke C Buncke Winckelmann J Winckelmann Misler J von Jacobi H Jacobi von Mentzer B Mentzer Strauch J Strauch Dieterich J Le Bleu J Christiani D Tabor J Tabor Geibel H Soldan J Haberkorn P Ebel K Walther J Walther Tonsor J Tonsor Sinold J Müller J Krebs P Glaum P Reinking D Stephani S Steuber J Liebenthal C Wideburg H Wideburg Feurborn J Feurborn Hunnius H Helwig (Helvicus) M Breidenbach J Horst G Döring M Jungius J Jungius Stumpf J Frider P Garnier P Eichrodt J Gerth J Nigidius P Eckhard H Finck K Leusler J Tholde C Gisenius J Kitzel J Kitzel Nebelkrä H Nebelkrä Scheibler C Scheibler Schenckel R Schenckel Dieterich K 1600 Antonii G Münster J Figure 3: Famous scholars and university notability (orange) Bachmann K Jungermann L Helwig (Helvicus) C Lautenbach J Ugiessen−1607 − Publishing Scholars and Distribution of all Scholars (rug plot) of all Scholars and Distribution Scholars Ugiessen−1607 − Publishing Oliva M Oliva Mentzer B Mentzer Winckelmann J Winckelmann

1550

8 6 4 2 0 Human capital index capital Human Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae - RETE (2021) 2:31–38 35

7 Top 5 professors We now provide a brief overview of the ve professors with the highest human capital index.

Gottfried Arnold (Annaberg 1666 – Perleberg 1714) was a theologian and a historian. His journey through life reects drastic shifts. He studied at the Lutheran University of Wittenberg. His conversion to radical pietism characterized the next years and led to his appointment at the University of Gießen in 1697. Turning to radical spiritualism, he left the university in spring 1698. Finally, he turned to a less radical attitude, married and took a position as a clergyman. Even if his academic career was short, he is well-known for his contributions to pietism.

Karl Friedrich Bahrdt (Bischofswerda 1740 – Nietleben 1792) was a German enlightener and the- ologian who was involved in a variety of theological movements. He studied at Leipzig and received his doctoral degree from Erlangen. His professorships at Leipzig, Erfurt, and Gießen did not last long due to his dissolute lifestyle. He was then hired as a private lecturer at Halle, where he aimed to explain the miraculous passages of the Bible in a rational way. He established the Deutsche Union, a German secret society similar to the Illuminati and the Freemasons.

Johann Georg Rosenmüller (Ummerstadt 1736 – Leipzig 1815) was a German Protestant theolo- gian. After studies in philosophy, philology, and theology at Altdorf, he was appointed as an ordinary professor at the universities of Erlangen, Gießen, and Leipzig. His history of Biblical interpretation is among his key scientic contributions.

Joachim Jungius (Lübeck 1587 – Hamburg 1657) was a mathematician, physicist, physician, and philosopher, who proved that a catenary curve is not a parabola. He studied at Rostock and since 1608 at the young Ludoviciana. The latter appointed him as a professor of mathematics one year later, at the age of 22. Later on, he was hired at the universities of Rostock and Helmstedt, and nally at the Gymnasium Academicum in Hamburg. In 1622, he founded the Societas ereunetica sive zetetica – the rst scientic society north of the Alps.

Carl Christian von Langsdorf (Nauheim 1757 – Heidelberg 1834) studied law and mathematics at Göttingen and Gießen, where he also lectured in mathematics in the summer of 1781. He interrupted his academic career for some years before he was appointed at Erlangen, Vilnius, and Heidelberg as a professor in mathematics and technology. Practical applications of tech- nology were some of his strengths, as illustrated by the number of publications on technology and his contribution to the discovery of the salt spring in Baden. He was interested in theo- logical questions and published on this topic as well.

8 Families of scholars We counted 14 father-son pairs among the professors at the University of Gießen. Figure 4 shows the genealogical tree of the Mentzer family, drawn from Geneanet, who contributed three professors in theology. The person at the root of this tree, Justus, was “Sodenmeister,” which probably means he had a managing position at salt works. The rst professor at the university, Balthasar I, has 1,079 publications on Worldcat, while his son has 134, and his grandson 62. This declining pattern might indicate some degree of favoritism in the appointments (De la Croix and Goñi 2020). The last Balthasar of the family, Balthasar V, was a pastor in Hattorf. 36 Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae - RETE (2021) 2:31–38

Justus 1535 ?

Balthasar I 1565 1627

Margarethe Ludwig Balthasar II 1604 1608 1614 ? ? 1679

Sophie Elisabeth Balthasar III 1637 1651 ? 1727

Balthasar IV 1679 1741

Balthasar V 1718 1753

Figure 4: The Mentzer family. Professors at the University of Gießen in yellow squares

Network of institutions Ugiessen−1607 / Ludoviciana / Gießen / Tue Dec 15 16:50:23 2020

0km 300km 600km 65°N

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55°N

50°N Latitude 45°N

40°N

35°N

N 30°N

20°W 10°W 0° 10°E 20°E 30°E 40°E Longitude

Periods 1537−1617 1618−1685 1686−1733 1734−1800

Figure 5: Links between the Ludoviciana and other universities through scholars’ mobility, by period Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae - RETE (2021) 2:31–38 37

9 University network Here we assume that when a professor occupied a position at more than one university over his/her life, this established a link between those universities. The universities with which the Ludoviciana is linked are displayed in Figure 5. This picture complements what we saw before in terms of quality. The professors at Gießen moved in a local academic market, occupying positions at other Germanic universities, but not elsewhere. This lack of mobility might also be related to the strong Lutheran nature of the university. 10 Anecdotes Initially, Gottfried Arnold considered his appointment as a professor at the University of Gießen without any eort as a sign from god. Yet with his conversion to radical spiritualism, this position was impossible to keep. He then considered his appointment as a mistake and left the university, a decision that caused a sensation. In 1777, the economist Johann August Schlettwein (1731 –1802) moved from the University of Basel to the Ludoviciana to become a professor at the newly established economic faculty. He was appointed as the rst dean of an economic faculty at a German university. Although his physiocratic disposition already led to disputes in opinions with the territorial lord, he kept the position until 1785. Then, a new conict regarding his pro-imperial reading of the constitution led him to quit, which triggered the dissolution of the faculty (Gerteis 1990). Appendix

The individual human capital index qi of an individual i is given by:

qi = −1.76 + 0.43 ln(nb. characters of the longest Wikipedia page) +0.40 ln(nb. wikipedia pages in dierent languages) + 0.47 ln(nb. works in Worldcat) +0.46 ln(nb. publication languages in Worldcat) + 0.47 ln(nb. library holdings in Worldcat)

We assume that having no Wikipedia page is similar to having one page with a length of 60 char- acters and that having no Worldcat page is similar to having a page with one work in one language held by one library. The constant −1.76 normalizes qi at 0 when there is neither a Wikipedia page, nor a Worldcat page. The weights (0.43, 0.40, etc) are obtained from the rst principal component of the ve indicators (De la Croix et al. 2020). The notability Q of a university aggregates the q of the top 5 persons who were active in the preceding 25 years using the following formula: { 5 1 q 2 Q = É i 0 1 i=1 5 si where si is the number of universities in which i had an appointment. Acknowledgments This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 883033 “Did elite human capital trigger the rise of the West? Insights from a new database of European scholars.” Robert Stelter acknowledges nancial support from the Max Geldner Foundation.

First version February 5, 2021. Updated February 21, 2021 38 Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae - RETE (2021) 2:31–38

References De la Croix, David, Frédéric Docquier, Alice Fabre, and Robert Stelter. 2020. “The Academic Mar- ket and the Rise of Universities in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (1000-1800).” CEPR Discussion Paper 14509. De la Croix, David, and Marc Goñi. 2020. “Nepotism vs. Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital in Academia (1088–1800).” CEPR Discussion Paper No. 15159. De la Croix, David, and Robert Stelter. 2020. “Scholars and Literati at the University of Jena (1558– 1800).” Repertorium eruditorum totius Europae 1:25–32. Gerteis, Klaus. 1990. “Johann August Schlettwein (1731—1802).” Aufklärung 4 (1): 105–107. Haupt, Herman, and Georg Lehnert. 1907. Chronik der Universität Gießen von 1607–1907. Gießen: Universitätsbibliothek. Rehmann, Wilhelm. 1957. Chronik der Ludwigs-Universität Gießen 1907-1945 und der Justus Liebig- Hochschule Gießen 1946-1957. Gießen: Universitätsbibliothek.