Carpzov is the name of a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, many of whose members attained distinction in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

in the 17th and 18th centuries as

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

s and statesmen.

Origins

They were said to be descended from a Spanish family named Carpezano, who were driven from their country by religious persecution at the beginning of the 16th century. The family traced its origin to Simon Carpzov, who was

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

in the middle of the 16th century.

Members

Simon left two sons, Joachim Carpzov (d. 1628), master-general of the ordnance in the service of the

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

, and Benedikt Carpzov (1565–1626), an eminent jurist who was professor of jurisprudence at

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

, chancellor of the dowager electress Sophie, and again professor. Of Benedikt's five sons, his son Benedikt Jr. (1595–1666) is considered the founder of criminal jurisprudence in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, whose ''Practica nova Rerum Criminalium'' (Wittenberg, 1635; new ed. by Böhmer, 5 vols., Frankfurt am Main, 1758) and other works exerted great influence on the judiciary in Saxony and other countries; and his son Johann Benedikt (1607-1657) was professor of theology and preacher at Leipzig, and the author of ''Systema Theologiae'' (2 vols., Leipzig, 1653) and other works. Of Johann Benedikt's children, his son Johann Benedikt (1639-1699) was a Christian

and Hebraist, who published ''De Pontificum Hebraeorum Vestitu'' and other critical works; his son Friedrich Benedikt (1649-1699) was a collaborator in Mencke's ''Acta Eruditorum''; and his son Samuel Benedikt (1647-1707) was professor of poetry and chief chaplain of the court of Saxony. Samuel Benedikt's son Johann Gottlob Carpzov (1679-1767) was an eminent theologian and professor of oriental languages. Among the later members of the family, Johann Benedikt Carpzov (1720-1803) was successively professor of philosophy at Leipzig and of poetry and Greek philology at Helmstedt, and ended his life as an abbot after having taught theology. He occupied himself with philological labors, especially with grammatical commentaries on the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

Notes

References

* *{{AmCyc, wstitle=Carpzov German families Lutheran families People from the Electorate of Saxony Families of Spanish ancestry