Johann Gustav Bernhard Droysen (; ; 6 July 180819 June 1884) 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 ...
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 ...
. His history of
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
was the first work representing a new school of German historical thought that idealized power held by so-called
"great" men.
Early life and education
Droysen was born at
Treptow
Treptow () was a former Boroughs of Berlin, borough in the southeast of Berlin. It merged with Köpenick to form Treptow-Köpenick in 2001.
Geography
The district was composed by the localities of Alt-Treptow, Plänterwald, Baumschulenweg, Nie ...
in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
(now Trzebiatów in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
) on 6 July 1808. His father,
Johann Christoph Droysen Johann Christoph Droysen (1773, Treptow an der Tollense (modern-day Altentreptow) – 1816, Treptow an der Rega (modern-day Trzebiatów, Poland)) was a German field and garrison preacher. He was the father of the 19th-century historian Johann Gustav ...
, was an army chaplain who had been present at the celebrated siege of
Kolberg in 1806–1807. As a child, Droysen witnessed some of the military operations during the
War of Liberation
Wars of national liberation or national liberation revolutions are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) to establish separat ...
, his father by then being pastor at
Greifenhagen
Greifenhagen is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it has been part of the town of Arnstein
Arnstein () is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regieru ...
, in the immediate neighbourhood of
Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
, which was held by the
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 ...
for most of 1813. These youthful impressions laid the foundation of his ardent attachment to the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
. He was educated at the
gymnasium of Stettin and at the
University of Berlin
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 ...
; from 1827 to 1829 he was the private tutor of
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
, who set several of his poems in his Op. 9 ''12 Songs''. In 1829 he became a master at the
Graues Kloster
The Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, located in suburban Schmargendorf, Berlin, is an independent school with a humanistic profile, known as one of the most prestigious schools in Germany. Founded by the Evangelical Church in West Berli ...
, one of the oldest schools in Berlin; in addition, he gave lectures at the University of Berlin, from 1833 as ''
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 ...
'', and from 1835 as professor, without a salary.
The famed historian
Jacob Burckhardt
Carl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt (25 May 1818 – 8 August 1897) was a Swiss historian of art and culture and an influential figure in the historiography of both fields. He is known as one of the major progenitors of cultural history. Sigfri ...
visited his class in his last semester (1839–40).
During these years Droysen studied classical antiquity; he published a translation of
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
in 1832 and a paraphrase of
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
(1835–1838), but the work by which he made himself known as a historian was his ''Geschichte Alexanders des Grossen'' (''History of Alexander the Great''; Berlin, 1833 and other editions), a book that long remained the best work on
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
. It was in some ways the herald of a new school of German historical thought, for it idealized power and success, a conceptual framework Droysen had learned from the teaching of
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 a ...
. Droysen followed the biography of Alexander with other works dealing with Alexander's
Greek successors, published under the title of ''Geschichte des Hellenismus'' (
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, 1836–1843), in which he created the term "
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
" to refer to the period between Alexander's conquests and the emergence of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
.
A new and revised edition of the whole work was published in 1885, and translated into French, but not at the time into English.
His ''Vorlesung des Freiheits Krieg'' (in English: ''Lectures of the War of Liberation'') appeared in 1846 and his ''Outlines of the Principles of History'', published 1858, translated 1893, was widely read throughout German universities. He followed this with ''Erhebung der Geschichte zum Rang einer Wissenschaft'' (1863), a methodological study that reflected his new approach to research and writing.
History meets politics
In 1840, Droysen was appointed professor of history at the
University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
. There, the political movement for the defense of the rights of the
Elbe duchies, of which
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
was the center, attracted his interest. Like
Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann
Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann (13 May 1785, Wismar5 December 1860, Bonn) was a German historian and politician.
Biography
He came of an old Hanseatic family of Wismar, then controlled by Sweden. His father, who was burgomaster of the town, int ...
, he placed his historical learning at the service of the estates of
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
and
Holstein
Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
and composed the address of 1844, in which the estates protested against the claim of King
Christian VIII of Denmark
Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814.
Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederic ...
to alter the law of succession in the duchies.
The issue was diplomatically negotiated through the
London Protocol of 1852, and ultimately resolved in a war between Denmark and allied forces from Austria and Prussia in the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...
.
Droysen's first great political appearance occurred in 1843, on the one thousand year anniversary of the
Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
agreement between
Karl the Bald and
Ludwig the German
Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the Pi ...
, grandsons of Charlemagne. The patrimony of Charlemagne, and his son, Louis the Pius; Droysen found in this event the evidence of the German nation. Later, Droysen gave a lecture to a crowded audience in Berlin entitled the Agreement at Verdun, which was greeted with enthusiasm not only by the listeners but also the German Kaiser himself.
Support of Prussian hegemony
In 1848, Droysen was elected a member of the revolutionary
Frankfurt parliament
The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...
and acted as secretary to the committee for drawing up a proposed constitution.
He was a determined supporter of Prussian ascendancy, seeing this as the only feasible route to
German unification
The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...
.
"We cannot conceal the fact that the whole German question is a simple alternative between Prussia and Austria. In these states, German life has its positive and negative poles — in the former, all the interests which are national and reformative, in the latter, all that are dynastic and destructive. The German question is not a constitutional question, but a question of power; and the Prussian monarchy is now wholly German, while that of Austria cannot be."
Droysen was one of the first members to retire from the
Frankfurt Parliament
The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...
after King
Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...
refused the imperial crown in 1849. In the following two years, Droysen continued to support the cause of the duchies, and in 1850, with Carl Samwer, he published a history of the dealings of Denmark with Schleswig and Holstein, ''Die Herzogthümer Schleswig-Holstein und das Königreich Dänemark seit dem Jahre 1800'' (Hamburg, 1850). A translation was published in London in the same year under the title ''The Policy of Denmark towards the Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein''. The work was one of great political importance and contributed to the formation of German public opinion on the rights of the duchies in their struggle with
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
Legacy to Prussian historiography
In his later years, Droysen was almost entirely occupied with Prussian history. After 1851, he was appointed to a professorship at
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
; in 1859, he was called to Berlin, where he remained until his death. In 1851, he brought out a life of
Count Yorck von Wartenburg (Berlin, 1851–1852), generally considered one of the best biographies in the German language and then began his great work on the ''Geschichte der preussischen Politik'', or, in English, ''The History of Prussian Politics'' (Berlin, 1855–1886). Seven volumes were published, the last posthumously; in total the work consumed 32 volumes. It forms a complete history of the growth of the Prussian monarchy to the year 1756. This, like all Droysen's work, shows a strongly marked individuality, and a penchant of tracing the manner in which important dynamic forces worked themselves out in history.
Personal life
Droysen was twice married, and died in Berlin. His eldest son,
Gustav
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
, wrote several well-known historical works, namely, ''Gustav Adolf'' (Leipzig, 1869–1870), a study of the
Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
, the King of Sweden during the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
, and ''Herzog Bernhard von Weimar'' (
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
, 1885), a study of
Duke Bernhard, another able Protestant General during the Thirty Years War;
Gustav Droysen (son), ''Bernhard von Weimar''. Duncker & Humblot, 1885
/ref> an ''Historischer Handatlas'' (Leipzig, 1886), a geographic analysis of historical and territorial changes, and several writings on various events of the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
. Another son, Hans Droysen, was the author of some works on Greek history and antiquities.
See also
* Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...
* Verstehen
''Verstehen'' (, ), in the context of German philosophy and social sciences in general, has been used since the late 19th century – in English as in German – with the particular sense of the "interpretive or participatory" examination of socia ...
Notes
References
* "Johann Gustav Droysen." ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', Sixth Edition. 2008
Encyclopedia.com
Accessed 11 June 2009.
* Frederick C. Beiser
Frederick Charles Beiser (; born November 27, 1949) is an American philosopher who is professor of philosophy at Syracuse University. He is one of the leading English-language scholars of German idealism. In addition to his writings on German idea ...
, ''The German Historicist Tradition'', Oxford University Press, 2011.
* Wilfried Nippel. ''Johann Gustav Droysen: Ein Leben zwischen Wissenschaft und Politik''. C.H. Beck, 2008. .
Further reading
* Assis, Arthur Alfaix.
What Is History For? Johan Gustav Droysen and the Functions of Historiography
'. Berghahn Books, 2014, ); focus on his theory of historiography.
* Burger, Thomas.
Droysen's Defense of Historiography: A Note
" ''History and Theory'' (1977): 16#2 168–173.
* Gilbert, Felix. "The New Edition of Johann Gustav Droysen's Historik." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' (1983): 327-336
online
* Maclean, Michael J.
Johann Gustav Droysen and the Development of Historical Hermeneutics
" ''History and Theory'' (1982): 347–365.
* Momigliano, Arnaldo. "J.G. Droysen between Greeks and Jews", ''History and Theory'', Vol. 9, No. 2. (1970), pp. 139–153.
* Southard, Robert. ''Droysen and the Prussian School of History''. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1995
* Southard, Robert.
Theology in Droysen's Early Political Historiography: Free Will, Necessity, and the Historian
" ''History and Theory'' (1979): 378–396.
External links
*
*
Complete German text of Droysen's ''Geschichte des Hellenismus'' ("History of Hellenistic civilization"), including the volume on Alexander the Great
Complete German text of Droysen's ''Die Herzogthümer Schleswig-holstein und das Königreich Danemark: Aktenmässige Geschichte der dänischen Politik seit dem Jahre 1806.'' Perthes-Besser und Mauke, 1850, second edition.
Complete translated text of Droysen's ''Grundriss der Historik'' (''Outline of the principles of history''), translated by Elisha Benjamin Andrews. Ginn & Company, 1897.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Droysen, Johann Gustav
1808 births
1884 deaths
People from Trzebiatów
People from the Province of Pomerania
University of Kiel faculty
University of Jena faculty
Humboldt University of Berlin faculty
Members of the Frankfurt Parliament
19th-century German historians
19th-century German writers
19th-century German male writers
German male non-fiction writers
Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities