Georg Friedrich Puchta (31 August 17988 January 1846) was an important
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 ...
Legal scholar
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
.
Biography
Born on 31 August 1798 at
Kadolzburg
Cadolzburg (outdated also ''Kadolzburg'', colloquially pronounced "Kalschbuʳch" or "Sporch" ) is a municipality in the Middle Franconian district of Fürth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated west of Fürth. Its name derives from its central c ...
in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, Puchta came of an old
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
family which had immigrated into Germany to avoid religious persecution. His father,
Wolfgang Heinrich Puchta
Wolfgang is a German name, German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wikt:wolf#Old High German, wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''wikt:gang#Old High Germa ...
(1769–1845), a legal writer and district judge, imbued his son with legal conceptions and principles. From 1811 to 1816 Puchta attended the ''Egidiengymnasium'' at
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, during the headmastership of
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
, an eminent German philosopher.
[
]
In 1816 Puchta began his legal studies at the
University of Erlangen
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
, where—in addition to being initiated by his father into legal practice—he fell under the influence of the writings of
Savigny and
Niebuhr. At this time the famous
Christian Friedrich von Glück
Christian Friedrich von Glück (1 July 1755 – 20 January 1831) was a German jurist.
Born at Halle in the Duchy of Magdeburg on 1 July 1755, he studied from 1770 to 1776 at the University of Halle and on the 16 April 1777 he received a Doctor ...
lectured there. Puchta said about the faculty of Erlangen: "". (Translation "Every university certainly is plagued with a thorn in the flesh, but the faculty here, when Glück dies, will have nothing but thorns.") Taking his
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
(Dissertatio de Itinere, Actu et Via
) and his
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in
Roman Law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
at Erlangen,
he established himself there in 1820 as a
Privatdozent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
.
In 1821 Puchta went on a year-long trip (''peregrinatio academica'') around Germany to visit important universities. During this trip he met some of the foremost German legal scholars of his time:
Gustav Hugo
Gustav Hugo (23 November 1764 – 15 September 1844) was a German jurist.
Biography
Hugo was born at Lörrach in Baden. From the gymnasium at Karlsruhe he passed in 1782 to the University of Göttingen, where he studied law for three years. Hav ...
,
Friedrich Carl von Savigny
Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and historian.
Early life and education
Savigny was born at Frankfurt am Main, of a family recorded in the history of Lorraine, deriving its name from the cast ...
und
Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut
Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut (4 January 1772Garratt, James. (2002) ''Palestrina and the German Romantic Imagination'', Cambridge University Press. p.40. .20 March 1840), was a German jurist and musician.
Early life
He was born at Hamelin, in Ha ...
.
One year later, Puchta was appointed Professor at University of Erlangen (), where he stated on until 1828.
Leaving Erlangen, Puchta was appointed full Professor of Roman Law at
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...
in 1828. He stated in Munich until 1835 when he went on to the
University of Marburg
The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...
, to become a professor of Roman and
Ecclesiastical Law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
() there. In 1837 he left Marburg to become a Professor for Legal Scholarship at
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...
().
When
Friedrich Carl von Savigny
Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and historian.
Early life and education
Savigny was born at Frankfurt am Main, of a family recorded in the history of Lorraine, deriving its name from the cast ...
was appointed Minister of Justice of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
() on 28 February 1842, there was some debate concerning his succession at
Berlin University
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
(then named ). Finally Puchta was chosen to succeed him in 1842.
At the pinnacle of this legal career, Puchta was in 1842 appointed to the
Prussian Supreme Tribunal (). In 1845 he became a member of the consultative Prussian Council of State () and the Prussian Legislative Commission ().
Puchta died suddenly in Berlin on 8 January 1846 due to
Miserere.
Legal thinking
His chief merit as a jurist lay in breaking with past unscientific methods in the teaching of Roman law and in making its spirit intelligible to students.
Among his writings must be especially mentioned (Leipzig, 1838, and many later editions), in which he elucidated the dogmatic essence of Roman law in a manner never before attempted; and the (Leipzig, 1841–1847, and later editions), which gives a clear picture of the organic development of law among the Romans. Among his other writings are (Erlangen, 1828–1837) and (Leipzig, 1840).
(1851), edited by
Adolph August Friedrich Rudorff
Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...
, is a collection of essays on various branches of Roman law, and the preface contains a sympathetic biographical sketch of the jurist.
Published works
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* Published posthumously.
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* Published posthumously.
* Published posthumously.
Bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puchta, Georg Friedrich
1798 births
1846 deaths
People from Fürth (district)
Jurists from Bavaria
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni
Academic staff of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Academic staff of the University of Marburg
Academic staff of Leipzig University
Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin