Theodor Schieffer (11 June 1910 in
Bad Godesberg
Bad Godesberg ( ksh, Bad Jodesbersch) is a borough ('' Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of West Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings ar ...
– 9 April 1992 in Bad Godesberg) was a German historian. He was professor of medieval history at the
University of Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stud ...
, then at the
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...
, and since 1952 he was president of the Association for Middle Rhine Church History. He is the author of ''Winfrid-Bonifatius und die christliche Grundlegung Europas'', the authoritative biography of
Saint Boniface.
Biography
Schieffer studied history,
Romance studies
Romance studies or Romance philology ( an, filolochía romanica; ca, filologia romànica; french: romanistique; eo, latinida filologio; it, filologia romanza; pt, filologia românica; ro, romanistică; es, filología románica) is an acade ...
, and
classical philology
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
in Bonn, Berlin, and Paris. A member of the
Katholischer Studentenverein Arminia Bonn
The Katholischer Studentenverein Arminia (Catholic Students Society Arminia) is one of Germany's oldest Catholic male student societies.
History
Arminia is a student association founded on 6 November 1863 at the University of Bonn. The name w ...
, one of Germany's oldest Catholic student societies, he wrote his PhD dissertation under the direction of
Wilhelm Levison
Wilhelm Levison (27 May 1876, in Düsseldorf – 17 January 1947, in Durham) was a German medievalist.
He was well known as a contributor to ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'', especially for the vitae from the Merovingian era. He also edited Wi ...
, ''Die päpstlichen Legaten in Frankreich vom Vertrage von Meersen (870) bis zum Schisma von 1130'' (1934). In 1935 he began to work for the
Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH), where he edited the Diplomata editions on
Lothair I,
Lothair II of Lotharingia
Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga (died 875), daughter of Boso the Elder.
Reign
For politic ...
,
Zwentibold
Zwentibold (''Zventibold'', ''Zwentibald'', ''Swentiboldo'', ''Sventibaldo'', ''Sanderbald''; – 13 August 900), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was the illegitimate son of Emperor Arnulf.Collins 1999, p. 360 In 895, his father granted h ...
,
Louis the Child
Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...
, and the
Burgundian kings. In 1936, he published an essay on
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wor ...
in the Munich-based Catholic periodical ''
Hochland'', founded by
Carl Muth. The essay, in its discussion of liberty, justice, and law, was a veiled critique of Nazi Germany; in the "remarkable" essay he cites de Tocqueville, "I have always loved liberty; all my thoughts lead me to the conviction that without it there can be no moral or political greatness." During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Schieffer worked as archivist in Paris.
After the war was over, he returned to teaching and in 1946 accepted a position at the University of Mainz, where he became professor in 1951. In 1954 he left for Cologne, where he accepted an endowed chair. In that same year he published his biography of
Saint Boniface; ''Winfrid-Bonifatius und die christliche Grundlegung Europas'' is still hailed by many as the single best book on Boniface. In 1956 he became a member of the central board for the
Monumenta Germaniae Historica in Munich, in 1957 he joined the historical committee of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and in 1964 likewise for the Rheinisch-Westfällischen Academy of Sciences. He died on 9 April 1992 in his birthplace. His son,
Rudolf Schieffer, likewise a historian of the middle ages, was president of the MGH from 1994 to 2012.
[Fuchs par. 1.]
References
Bibliography
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External links
Schieffer's page at the Monumenta Germaniae Historica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schieffer, Theodor
German medievalists
Historians of the Catholic Church
Academic staff of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Academic staff of the University of Cologne
1910 births
1992 deaths
20th-century German historians
German male non-fiction writers