Gottfried Lengnich
Encyclopedia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
and for teaching Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland.
Life
Gottfried Lengnich was born to the family of a wealthy merchant in DanzigHistory of Gdansk
This article is about the History of Gdańsk , a Polish city located on the Baltic Sea.- Early times :The area around the Vistula delta was inhabited by populations belonging to the various archaeological cultures of the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age...
(Gdańsk). Initially studying at the local college of the St. Mary's church
St. Mary's Church, Gdansk
St. Mary's Church or, properly, Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Roman Catholic church in Gdańsk, Poland, which is the largest brick church in the world. It was begun in 1379. St. Mary's Church (Polish: Bazylika Mariacka, German: Marienkirche) or, properly, Basilica of...
, he was sent to Mewe
Gniew
Gniew is a town situated on the left bank of the Vistula River, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is located at around .-History:The first recorded mentions of Gniew appear in written documents from the first half of the 13th century, one of which refers to the region as Terra Gymeu...
(Gniew) to study Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
at the age of 13 before returning to Danzig to study at the Academic Gymnasium. In 1710 he went to Halle in Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, where in 1713 he received a doctorate in Law. Following a brief career at the Hallische Bibliothek digest, he returned to Danzig to study the history of Danzig law and of the law of Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
and Poland, to find out whether us Prussians ... are the Poles ' equal brothers or their servants.
In 1718 he started the Polonische Bibliothek issued in German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, the first historical journal about Poland. However, the following year the journal faced financial difficulties and had to be closed down. In 1720 Lengnich also founded one of the first scientific societies in his home town, the Societas Literaria (see also Danzig Research Society
Danzig Research Society
The Danzig Research Society was founded in 1743 in the city of Danzig . The Societas Physicae Experimentalis , later renamed to Naturforschende Gesellschaft , is thus considered as one of the oldest research societies in Central and Eastern Europe.Already in 1670, the physician Israel Conradi...
). As perhaps the only specialist in the history of Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
and Pomerelia
Pomerelia
Pomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia lay in eastern Pomerania: on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and west of the Vistula and its delta. The area centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...
, in 1721 he was chosen by the City Council as the official historian of the city, entitled with continuation of Kasper Schütz's monumental Historia Rerum Prussicarum. His History of Royal Prussia, published in 9 volumes, covered the period between 1526 and 1733.
In 1729 Lengnich also became the professor of rhetorics and poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
at the Academic Gymnasium, a Protestant Latin language college located in Danzig. The following year he got married. In 1733, during the Siege of Danzig and the War of the Polish Succession
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
, Lengnich was introduced to General Stanisław Poniatowski, the voivode of Masovia
Masovian Voivodeship
-Administrative division:Masovian Voivodeship is divided into 42 counties : 5 city counties and 37 "land counties"...
and a prominent Polish politician. The latter hired Lengnich as a teacher for two of his sons, one of them being Stanisław August Poniatowski, who later became the last king of Poland. It was for the future king that Lengnich wrote a guidebook to the history of Poland
History of Poland
The History of Poland is rooted in the arrival of the Slavs, who gave rise to permanent settlement and historic development on Polish lands. During the Piast dynasty Christianity was adopted in 966 and medieval monarchy established...
, published in 1740 under the title of Historia Polona a Lecho ad Augusti II mortem (Polish history from Lech
Lech, Czech and Rus
Lech, Čech, and Rus is a legend of three brothers – Lech, Čech, and Rus – who founded three Slavic nations: Poland , Bohemia, and Ruthenia...
to the death of Augustus II
Augustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....
). In 1737 he became an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
.
During the period of interregnum
Interregnum
An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...
following the death of Augustus II the Strong
Augustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....
, Lengnich became involved in local politics and was initially a partisan of Stanisław Leszczyński. However, later he changed sides and went on to support Augustus III
Augustus III of Poland
Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...
, who rewarded Lengnich with the title of Royal Legislative Minister in 1740. Thanks to the king's support in 1750 he also became a syndic of Danzig.
As a politician, Lengnich promoted the rights of dissidents, that is non-Catholic gentry. Like Daniel Gralath
Daniel Gralath
Daniel Gralath was a German physicist and Bürgermeister of Danzig.Gralath was born in Danzig in Poland of a well-to-do trade family. He had studied law and philosophy in Halle, then in Leyden and Marburg from 1728 to 1734. Later he became Ratsherr and, in 1763, Bürgermeister of Danzig...
he was a strong proponent of the autonomy of Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
and opposed the forces that wanted to involve Danzig into internal Polish affairs, among them being the Confederation of Bar. As a historian he is best known for his 9-volume Geschichte der preußischen Lande Königlich-Polnischen Antheils (History of Prussian Lands), as well as several codices on law. Among the latter was the first edition of the Ius publicum Regni Poloniae (Public Law of the Kingdom of Poland) inspired by bishop Andrzej Stanisław Załuski and the Ius publicum civitatis Gedanensis oder der Stadt Danzig Verfassung und Rechte (Public law of the city of Danzig, or the city's constitution and rights, 1769). He was also the editor of the first edition of Polish Chronicle by Gallus Anonymous (whom he falsely considered to be a Pole) and the Chronicle by Wincenty Kadłubek.
Work
- Des Syndicus der Stadt Danzig Gottfried Lengnich ius publicum civitatis Gedanensis oder der Stadt Danzig Verfassung und Rechte, 1769, published by Otto Günther, Danzig 1900 (initially only intended for internal use within city administration) http://books.google.com/books?id=l8gpGwAACAAJ&
- Geschichte der preußischen Lande / königlich=polnischen Antheils / seit dem Jahre 1526, Danzig 1722-1725http://books.google.com/books?id=YC8OHQAACAAJ
- Historia Polona A Lecho In Annum 1748, Danzig 1750 http://www.pbi.edu.pl/show.php?pub=40990&page=1
- Jus Publicum Prussiae Polonae, Danzig 1758
Biography
- Włodzimierz Zientara, Gottfried Lengnich. Ein Danziger Historiker in der Zeit der Aufklärung, Toruń 1995 (Diss.)