Georges Bernard Depping (11 May 17845 September 1853), also known as Georg Bernhard Depping, was a
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
**Ger ...
-
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
and writer.
Biography
Depping was born in
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
,
Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
, and moved to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1803, where he lived as a teacher and writer. He wrote books on a variety of subjects and prepared articles for various periodicals and encyclopedias.
Works
''History of the Jews during the Middle Ages''
Depping wrote ''Les Juifs dans le moyen âge, essai historique sur leur état civil, commercial et littéraire'' (Paris, 1834; 2d ed., 1844; German transl., Stuttgart, 1834). He was especially attracted to the
history of the Jews in Europe during the Middle Ages by “its wealth of instruction for us; one can see from this history how fanaticism has been able to root out kindness and neighborly love, . . . and what misfortunes met those exiles who in barbaric times wished to preserve their national customs and a religion offensive to those among whom they lived.”
The book owed its origin to the offer of a prize, in 1821, by the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
for a work describing the condition of the Jews in France during the medieval period. Depping's work was given honorable mention, but did not win the prize.
He later enlarged the work, extending its scope to the general history of the Jews in Europe. The medieval Christian sources—documents, letters, chronicles, and histories, especially those dealing with the history of the Jews in France—were studied by Depping with great diligence and not without critical acumen. This fact gives importance to the book.
It is to be regretted that those rabbinical sources which were not accessible in the form of translations were but seldom consulted. As a consequence the few passages relating to the literature of the Jews are of no value (compare, especially on Rashi, pp. 113 et seq.; Zunz, “Z. G.” pp. 151, 446). The introduction (pp. v.-xxiv.) contains a short but valueless review of the history of the Jews up to their appearance in Europe. Depping's style is pleasing.
Bibliography
* ''Histoire générale de l'Espagne'' (“A general history of Spain,” 2 vols., 1811)
* ''Histoire des expéditions maritimes des Normands et de leur etablissement en France au dixième siècle'' (“History of the sea voyages of the Normans and their settlement in France during the 10th century,” 1826)
* ''Les soirées d'hiver, ou entretiens d'un père avec ses enfants sur le génie, les mœurs et l'industrie des divers peuples de la terre'', a work for children which was popular and widely translated (“Winter evenings, or the instructions of a father to his children on the character, morals and activities of diverse peoples of the earth,” 2 vols., 3rd ed., 1832)
* ''Merveilles et beautés de la nature en France'', another popular work for children (“Marvels and beauty of nature in France,” 2 vols., 1835)
* ''Histoire de la Normandie sous le regne de Guillaume le Conquérant et de ses successeurs'' (“History of
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
during the reign of William the Conqueror and his successors,” 2 vols., 1835)
* ''Histoire du commerce entre le Levant et l'Europe, depuis les croisades jusqu'à la fondation des colonies d'Amérique'' (“Trade of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
with the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
from the Crusades up to the founding of the American colonies,” 2 vols., 1832)
* ''Erinnerungen aus dem Leben eines Deutschen in Paris'', Leipzig (“Recollections from the life of a German in Paris,” 1832)
* ''La Grande Encyclopédie'', xiv.179
* ''Encyc. Brit. New American Supplement'', ii.1030
* ''Meyers Konversations-Lexikon'', iv.746; Geiger
* ''Wiss. Zeit. Jüd. Theol''. i.170, 182, 378; ii.504, 517.
He assisted
Malte-Brun in his geographical works, and wrote descriptive sketches of Switzerland, Greece, England, and other countries. He contributed to French and German periodicals.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Depping, Georges
19th-century French historians
1784 births
1853 deaths
German emigrants to France
French male non-fiction writers