Justus Georg Schottelius
Justus Georg Schottelius was a prominent 17th-century philologist and scholar of the German language, hailing from a family with a strong Lutheran background. Born to a pastor and his second wife, Schottelius faced early adversity, including the death of his father during the Thirty Years' War. This compelled him to pursue education independently, initially by tutoring other students while attending school. His academic journey took him from Germany to the University of Helmstedt and later to the University of Leiden, where he studied under notable philologists.
Schottelius eventually settled in Brunswick, where he became associated with Duke August of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, who greatly influenced his work and provided access to a vast library. He published significant works, including the influential grammar text "Teutsche Sprachkunst" and a comprehensive study titled "Ausführliche Arbeit von der Teutschen HaubtSprache," which established foundational principles of German poetics and linguistics. Alongside his scholarly contributions, he was also a poet and playwright, with his most celebrated work being the play "Friedens Sieg." Schottelius's legacy lies in his efforts to elevate the German language and literature during a tumultuous period in European history.
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Justus Georg Schottelius
Writer
- Born: June 23, 1612
- Birthplace: Einbeck, Germany
- Died: October 25, 1676
- Place of death: Wolfenbüttel, Germany
Biography
Justus Georg Schottelius, the foremost seventeenth century philologist of German language, was the son of Johannes Schottelius, a Lutheran pastor, and the pastor’s second wife, Margarete (Ilsen) Schottelius, both from prominent families. He began attending the local school in Einbeck, Germany, around 1617. The effects of the Thirty Years’ War impacted the Schottelius family in 1629, when a surge of refugees came to Einbeck, bringing a plague to the town; Schottelius’s father contracted the disease and died. Without the financial support of a husband, Schottelius’s mother wanted her son to secure an apprenticeship, but he left home in 1627 to attend the Gymnasium Andreanum in Hildesheim, financing his education by tutoring other students.
Schottelius enrolled at the University of Helmstedt in 1628 and moved in 1630 to Hamburg, where he attended the Gymnasium Academicum, most likely after starting studies at the Latin school in Johanneum. At the Gymnasium Academicum, Schottelius met and was inspired by philosopher Joachim Jungius, the school’s rector. In 1635, Schottelius began law studies at the University of Leiden, where he studied under philologists Petrus Cunaeus and Daniel Heinsius, the latter of whom was also a respected poet. After further studies in Leipzig and Wittenberg, Schottelius moved to Brunswick in 1638 when the Swedish army threatened Wittenberg. In Brunswick. Schottelius struck up a friendship with Duke August of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, whose children Schottelius tutored after joining the duke’s court, where he remained for the rest of his life. The duke, a scholar himself, allowed Schottelius access to his expansive library, in which Schottelius continued his philological studies.
One of Schottelius’s first publications, the poem Die hertzliche Anschawunge unsers gecreutzigten Heylandes, appeared in 1640 and was followed one year later by his grammar text, Teutsche Sprachkunst. In this prolific period, Schottelius also published his praised work on German poetry, Teutsche Vers: Oder, ReimKunst, which sought to establish a truly German poetics. Schottelius finished his doctorate of law in 1646 and became a member of the ducal council of Brunswick- Wolfenbüttel, having been appointed to the ducal court in 1642. He married Margarete Cleve in September, 1646, and she died one year later, following the birth of the couple’s first and only child, Sophia Elisabeth. When his daughter was two years old, Schottelius married Anna Maria Sobbe, with whom he had a son, Anton Albrecht, in 1651. Son Andreas Joachim and daughter Hedwig Elisbaeth died as infants, and daughter Juliane Marie was born in 1657, with son Christoph arriving in 1659.
Schottelius published Ausführliche Arbeit von der Teutschen HaubtSprache, a study of the German language, in 1663, revising and expanding his writings of the 1640’s. The 1,500-page study was divided into five books: Lobreden (eulogies) praising the German language; Teutsche Sprachkunst, the second and third books; Vers: Oder, ReimKunst; and a final book of seven essays. Schottelius became known not only for his grammar and language texts but also for his poetry and drama; his most remembered play, Friedens Sieg, was first produced in 1642, in celebration of the Peace of Goslar.