Wolf Wilhelm Friedrich Graf von Baudissin (26 September 1847 – 6 February 1926) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

who was a native of Sophienhof, near

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern 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 Jutland ...

Education

Baudissin studied theology and Oriental studies at

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inhab ...

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 ...

and

, earning his doctorate in 1870 at Leipzig.

Academic work

In Leipzig, Baudissin worked as

privatdocent ''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 ...

from 1874 to 1876. In 1876 he was appointed associate professor of theology at the

University of Strassburg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

, where four years later he gained a full professorship. In 1881 he became a professor of Old Testament

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

at 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 ...

, where he remained until 1900. From 1900 to 1921, he was a professor 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 ...

. He was rector of the university in 1912–1913. Theologian

Franz Delitzsch Franz Delitzsch (23 February 1813, in Leipzig – 4 March 1890, in Leipzig) was a German Lutheran theologian and Hebraist. Delitzsch wrote many commentaries on books of the Bible, Jewish antiquities, Biblical psychology, as well as a history of ...

(1813–1890) and Orientalist

Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer (21 February 1801 – 10 February 1888) was a German Orientalist. Biography He was born at Schandau, Saxony. From 1819 to 1824, he studied theology and Oriental languages at Leipzig, subsequently continuing his stud ...

(1801–1888) were major influences in his career.

Field of work

Baudissin was a prominent figure in the ''Religionsgeschichtliche Schule'' (School of Religious History). He is largely remembered for his work involving analysis of various ancient Semitic faiths in order to clarify the religious meaning of the Biblical Old Testament. Baudissin is referenced in Harold Frederic's novel

The Damnation of Theron Ware ''The Damnation of Theron Ware'' (first published in England as ''Illumination'') is an 1896 novel by American author Harold Frederic. Set in upstate New York, the novel presents a portrait of 19th-century provincial United States, the religious ...

Selected publications

* ''Translationis antiquæ arabicæ libri Jobi quæ supersunt nunc primum edita'' (Leipzig, 1870). * ''Eulogius und Alvar, ein Abschnitt spanischer Kirchengeschichte aus der Zeit der Maurenherrschaft'' (1872). * ''Jahve et Moloch, sive de ratione inter deum Israelitarum et Molochum intercedente'' (1874). * ''Studien zur semitischen Religionsgeschichte'' (two volumes, 1876–1878). * ''Die Geschichte des alttestamentlichen Priesterthums untersucht'' (1889). * ''August Dillmann'' (1895) – biography of

August Dillmann Christian Friedrich August Dillmann (25 April 18237 July 1894) was a German orientalist and biblical scholar. Life The son of a Württemberg schoolmaster, he was born at Illingen. He was educated at the University of Tübingen, where he became ...

. * ''Einleitung in die Bücher des Alten Testaments'' (1901). * ''Esmun-Asklepios'' (

Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...

, 1906).

Notes

References

New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Biography
*
English translation
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baudissin, Wolf Wilhelm Friedrich Von 19th-century German Protestant theologians 20th-century German Protestant theologians Writers from Kiel Old Testament scholars Leipzig University alumni University of Kiel alumni Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg Academic staff of the University of Marburg Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Presidents of the Humboldt University of Berlin 1847 births 1926 deaths Burials at the Invalids' Cemetery 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers German male non-fiction writers Wolf Wilhelm Fridrich