Johann Friedrich Boehmer by Amelie de Barrelier 1845

Johann Friedrich Böhmer (22 April 179522 October 1863) was a German

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 st ...

. His historical work was chiefly concerned with collecting and tabulating charters and other imperial documents of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. This work in turn cites: * Johannes Janssen, ''J. F. Böhmers Leben, Briefe und kleinere Schriften'' (Freiburg, 1868).

Biography

Böhmer was born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

as the son of the Palatine official Karl Ludwig Böhmer. Educated at the universities of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

, he showed an interest in art and visited

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

; but returning to Frankfurt he turned his attention to the study of history, and became secretary of the ''Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde''. He was also archivist and then librarian of the city of Frankfurt. Böhmer had a great dislike of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

and the

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 ...

faith, and a corresponding affection for

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, to which, however, he did not belong. His critical sense was, perhaps, somewhat warped; but his researches are of great value to students. He died unmarried.

Historical work

Böhmer's historical work was chiefly concerned with collecting and tabulating charters and other imperial documents of the Middle Ages. First appeared an abstract, the ''Regesta chronologico-diplomatica regum atque imperatorum Romanorum 911-1313'' (Frankfurt, 1831), which was followed by the ''Regesta chronologico-diplomatica Karolorum. Die Urkunden sämtlicher Karolinger in kurzen Auszügen'' (Frankfurt, 1833), and a series of ''Regesta imperii''. For the period 1314-1347 (Frankfurt, 1839) the ''Regesta'' was followed by three, and for the period 1246-1313 (Frankfurt, 1844) by two supplementary volumes. The remaining period of the ''Regesta'', as edited by Böhmer, is 1198-1254 ( Stuttgart, 1849). These collections contain introductions and explanatory passages by the author. Very valuable also is the ''Fontes rerum Germanicarum'' (Stuttgart, 1843–1868), a collection of original authorities for German history during the 13th and 14th centuries. The fourth and last volume of this work was edited by A. Huber after the author's death. Other collections edited by Böhmer are: ''Die Reichsgesetze 900-1400'' (Frankfurt, 1832); ''Wittelsbachische Regesten von der Erwerbung des Herzogtums Bayern 1180 bis zu dessen erster Wiedervereinigung 1340'' (Stuttgart, 1854); and ''Codex diplomaticus Moeno-Francofurtanus''. ''Urkundenbuch der Reichsstadt Frankfurt'' (Frankfurt, 1836; new edition by F Law, 1901). Other volumes and editions of the ''Regesta imperii'', edited by

Julius von Ficker Julius von Ficker, or Johann Kaspar Julius Ficker von Feldhaus (30 April 1826 – 10 June 1902) was a Roman Catholic German historian. In 1898 he was awarded the Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts.Engelbert Mühlbacher, Eduard Winkelmann and others, are largely based on Böhmer's work. Böhmer left a great amount of unpublished material, and after his death two other works were published from his papers: ''Acta imperii selecta'', edited by J. Ficker ( Innsbruck, 1870); and ''Regesta archiepiscoporum Maguntinensium'', edited by C Will (Innsbruck, 1877–1886).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohmer, Johann Friedrich 1795 births 1863 deaths 19th-century German historians German librarians Writers from Frankfurt Heidelberg University alumni University of Göttingen alumni Burials at Frankfurt Main Cemetery German male non-fiction writers Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities