Johann Daniel Schöpflin (6 September 1694,

Sulzburg Sulzburg () is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the western slope of the Black Forest, 20 km southwest of Freiburg. Sulzburg had a long tradition of continuous Jewish settle ...

– 7 August 1771,

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

) was a professor of history, rhetoric and law at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

. He was one of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

’s teachers.

Biography

Schöpflin was well known in Europe and had a sphere of influence that went far beyond

. His correspondence provides not only a revealing look at university and academic life of the time, but also at culture and diplomacy in the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

. His comments on his contemporaries and current events are now an important source for this era. Schöpflin’s correspondents included the scholars of the

Sankt Blasien Abbey in the Black Forest Saint Blaise Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery in the village of St. Blasien in the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History 9th–12th centuries The early history of the abbey is obscure. Its predecessor in the 9th century is ...

, Martin Gerbert and Rustenus Heer. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1728. In 1760

Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden Charles Frederick (22 November 1728 – 10 June 1811) was Margrave, Elector and later Grand Duke of Baden (initially only Margrave of Baden-Durlach) from 1738 until his death. Biography Born at Karlsruhe, he was the son of Hereditary Prince Fr ...

asked Schöpflin to write the von Baden family history. From 1763, Schöpflin was a member of the Palatine Academy of Sciences in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

and was its first honorary president. Schöpflin taught Goethe in 1770 and 1771, imparting to his student a love of history and especially medieval poetry. The Palatine historian Andreas Lamey (1726-1802) was also one of Schöpflin’s students.Franz Xaver von Wegele
''Andreas Lamey''
in ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

'' Volume 17, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1883, p. 568.

Writings

* ''Alsatia diplomatica'', two volumes, Strasbourg 1772-1775

. * ''Alsatia Illustrata'', two volumes, Colmar 1751-1761. * ''Historia Zaringo-Badensis'', seven volumes, Karlsruhe 1763-1766

. * ''Vindiciae Celticae'', Strasbourg 1754

.

Bibliography

* Johann Daniel Schöpflin: ''Wissenschaftliche und diplomatische Korrespondenz'' (= ''Beihefte der Francia'' 54). Edited by Jürgen Voss. Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2002,
Online
. * Jürgen Voss: ''Universität, Geschichtswissenschaft und Diplomatie im Zeitalter der Aufklärung. Johann Daniel Schöpflin (1694–1771)'' (= ''Veröffentlichungen des Historischen Instituts der Universität Mannheim.'' Bd. 4). Fink, München 1979, (Also: Mannheim Universität, Habilitations-Magazine, 1976).

References

External links

* Wilhelm Wiegan
''Johann Daniel Schöpflin''
in ''

'' Volume 32, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1891, p. 359–368. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schopflin, Johann Daniel 1694 births 1771 deaths People from Sulzburg 18th-century German historians Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg French bibliophiles French historiographers Fellows of the Royal Society