Peter Erasmus Müller (29 May 1776 – 4 September 1834), was a Danish

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 species; as well as the ...

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

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 ...

, and bishop of the Diocese of Zealand from 1830 until his death.

Career

Müller studied at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

, where he passed his theological examination in 1791. After spending some time at various German universities, he visited

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and

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. Returning to Denmark, he wrote numerous works and was appointed professor of theology at the

in 1801. During his time as a professor, he produced a large number of essays and books about theology, history, and linguistics. As a result of the fame these works earned him, he was appointed a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 1811 and joined the Arnamagnæan Institute in 1815. Following the death of Friedrich Münter in 1830, he was appointed the Bishop of Zealand, the highest ecclesiastical dignity in Denmark at the time. He held the position for only four years, as Müller died in 1834 after a long period of illness.

Works

In his time as a professor of theology, Müller wrote a variety of essays which, though many were intended as instructional materials for his students, gained him acclaim as a theologian. He also wrote academically about history and linguistics. The most notable of these works include: * ''De hierarchia et studio vitæ asceticæ in sacris et mysteriis Græcorum Romanorumqve latentibus'' (1803) * ''Kristeligt Moralsystem'' (1808) * ''Kristelig Apologetik'' (1810) * ''Om Kilderne til Saxos 9 første bøger og deres Troværdighed'' (1823) * ''System i den kristelige Dogmatik'' (1826) * ''Dansk Synonymik eller forklaring af enstydige danske Ord'' (1829) In the academic world, Müller was perhaps best known for his study of the nordic sagas. His works concerning nordic mythology include: * ''Antikvarisk Undersøgelse over de ved Gallehus fundne Guldhorn'' (1806) * ''Sagabibliothek'' (three volumes, 1810–1818) * ''Om Avthentien af Snorres Edda og beviset derfra kan hentes for Asalærens Ægthed'' (1812). * ''Om det islandske Sprogs Vigtighed'' (1813) * ''Undersøgelse om Kilderne til Snorros Heimskringla og disses Troværdighed'' (1820) * ''Kritisk Undersögelse af Danmarks og Norges Sagnhistorie'' (1823–1830) Müller also authored two biographies: * ''Vita Andreæ Sunonis, archiepiscopi Lundensis'' (1830) * ''Vita Lagonis Urne, episcopi Roskildensis'' (1831)

Personal life and family

Müller was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

to Frederik Adam Müller (1725–1795) and Marthe Sophie Garboe. His mother died in 1780, when Peter Erasmus was only four years old. Because his father was a renowned collector of copper engravings,

chalcography Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an inta ...

, and books, Münter had access to a wide breath of knowledge. He had been taught by private tutors and had a relatively isolated childhood as a result. His brother, Adam Gottlob Müller (1769–1833), was a member of the Danish Supreme Court. In 1805, he married Louise Augusta Stub (1778–1852), the granddaughter of Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein. The couple had three sons and a daughter. Their first son, Otto Frederik Müller (1807–1882) became a member of the Supreme Court and was the father of Peter Lange-Müller. Their second son, Carl Ludvig Müller (1809–1891), was a

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...

and the father of Sophus Müller. The couple's youngest son, Adam August Müller, was a renowned painter.

References

Notes

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Peter Erasmus 1776 births 1834 deaths 19th-century Danish Lutheran bishops Danish Lutheran theologians Linguists from Denmark 19th-century Danish historians University of Copenhagen alumni Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen People from Copenhagen 19th-century Protestant theologians Members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters