Daniel Gotthilf Moldenhawer
Encyclopedia
Daniel Gotthilf Moldenhawer (December 11, 1753 – November 21, 1823), was a German
-Danish
philologist
, theologian
, librarian
, bibliophile
, palaeographer
, diplomat
, and Bible
translator.
, East Prussia
to Johann Heinrich Daniel Moldenhawer, a professor of theology at the University of Königsberg
, and Lydia Charlotte née Trummer. He was educated at the royal Collegium Fridericianum under Johann Gottfried Herder
in Königsberg, the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums
in Hamburg
, and the University of Göttingen (with Christian Gottlob Heyne
, Johann David Michaelis
, Christian Wilhelm Franz Walch
).
. On the recommendation of Johann Andreas Cramer he received a three-year scholarship from the Danish king's court. Moldenhawer and Tychsen were sent into Spain in 1783-1784 to examine and collate manuscripts. In 1784 he became a professor of church history and dogma in Copenhagen
and contributed to the progression of Rationalism
in Denmark. In 1784 he visited Alcalá
with hope of finding Greek manuscript of the New Testament used in Complutensian Polyglot
. According to his relation he did not find any manuscript.
In 1786 Moldenhawer was sent again to Spain, this time on a confidential diplomatic mission.
s from the former private collection of Otto Thott
(1703–1785). 6159 books of this collection were printed before 1530. He made a second major acquisition in 1796 when he acquired the book collection of Peter Frederik Suhm
. Moldenhawer purchased this collection on the condition that the payment would continue in the form of an annuity for Suhm and his wife, but both died shortly after the purchase was completed. In 1797 he purchased the collection of Müllerske Pinakothek (with annual payments to the collector's daughter). In 1803 Uldallske donated his manuscript collection to the library.
Under the management of Moldenhawer the library's book collection reached 250 000 volumes, and on Moldenhawer's death the library acquired a part of his 12,000 volume private library. Moldenhawer received numerous honors for his work. In 1809 he became a knight of the royal Danish Order of the Dannebrog
.
Besides administrative talents Moldenhawer was also an author. He brought from his travels numerous excerpts and collations, including political history, church and literary history, theology and oriental philology. He was always heavily occupied with his work and duties, especially library work, which was his favorite duty.
Moldenhawer robbed several libraries in Paris, particularly the library at Saint-Germain-des-Prés
, from which Moldenhawer had stolen several manuscripts.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
philologist
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
, theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
, bibliophile
Bibliophilia
Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Accordingly a bibliophile is an individual who loves books. A bookworm is someone who loves books for their content, or who otherwise loves reading. The -ia-suffixed form "bibliophilia" is sometimes considered to be an incorrect usage; the older...
, palaeographer
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
, diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, and Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
translator.
Early life and education
Moldenhawer was born in KönigsbergKönigsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
to Johann Heinrich Daniel Moldenhawer, a professor of theology at the University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
, and Lydia Charlotte née Trummer. He was educated at the royal Collegium Fridericianum under Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.-Biography:...
in Königsberg, the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums
Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums
The Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums is a Gymnasium in Hamburg, Germany. It is Hamburg's oldest school and was founded in 1529 by Johannes Bugenhagen. The school's motto is The Future needs a Heritage...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and the University of Göttingen (with Christian Gottlob Heyne
Christian Gottlob Heyne
Christian Gottlob Heyne was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library.-Biography:He was born in Chemnitz, Electorate of Saxony...
, Johann David Michaelis
Johann David Michaelis
Johann David Michaelis , a famous and eloquent German biblical scholar and teacher, was a member of a family which had the chief part in maintaining that solid discipline in Hebrew and the cognate languages which distinguished the University of Halle in the period of Pietism.-Life and work:J. D...
, Christian Wilhelm Franz Walch
Christian Wilhelm Franz Walch
Christian Wilhelm Franz Walch was a protestant German theologian and professor of theology from Göttingen. He authored numerous books.- Life :...
).
Academic career
In 1777 he became a professor of theology and oriental languages at the University of KielUniversity of Kiel
The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...
. On the recommendation of Johann Andreas Cramer he received a three-year scholarship from the Danish king's court. Moldenhawer and Tychsen were sent into Spain in 1783-1784 to examine and collate manuscripts. In 1784 he became a professor of church history and dogma in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and contributed to the progression of Rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
in Denmark. In 1784 he visited Alcalá
University of Alcalá
The University of Alcalá is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km northeast of Madrid in Spain. Founded in 1499, it was moved in 1836 to Madrid. In 1977, the University was reopened in its same historical buildings...
with hope of finding Greek manuscript of the New Testament used in Complutensian Polyglot
Complutensian Polyglot Bible
The Complutensian Polyglot Bible is the name given to the first printed polyglot of the entire Bible, initiated and financed by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros . It includes the first printed editions of the Greek New Testament, the complete Septuagint, and the Targum Onkelos...
. According to his relation he did not find any manuscript.
In 1786 Moldenhawer was sent again to Spain, this time on a confidential diplomatic mission.
Royal Danish Library
From 1788 Moldenhawer was the chief librarian of the Royal Danish Library. His main interest was to provide increase the library's collection of recent scientific literature. At auction for the printed books he bought over 50,000 volumes for 10,000 thalerThaler
The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
s from the former private collection of Otto Thott
Otto Thott
Otto Thott , was a Danish Count, minister of state, bibliophile, and collector of books. He was one of the greatest private book collectors of his time in Denmark.- Early life and education:...
(1703–1785). 6159 books of this collection were printed before 1530. He made a second major acquisition in 1796 when he acquired the book collection of Peter Frederik Suhm
Peter Frederik Suhm
Peter Frederik Suhm , was a Danish-Norwegian historian and Councillor of State.Suhm studied at the University of Copenhagen in 1746-1751, and one of his teacher was Ludvig Holberg...
. Moldenhawer purchased this collection on the condition that the payment would continue in the form of an annuity for Suhm and his wife, but both died shortly after the purchase was completed. In 1797 he purchased the collection of Müllerske Pinakothek (with annual payments to the collector's daughter). In 1803 Uldallske donated his manuscript collection to the library.
Under the management of Moldenhawer the library's book collection reached 250 000 volumes, and on Moldenhawer's death the library acquired a part of his 12,000 volume private library. Moldenhawer received numerous honors for his work. In 1809 he became a knight of the royal Danish Order of the Dannebrog
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
.
Besides administrative talents Moldenhawer was also an author. He brought from his travels numerous excerpts and collations, including political history, church and literary history, theology and oriental philology. He was always heavily occupied with his work and duties, especially library work, which was his favorite duty.
Book thief
Moldenhawer was a notorious for his book thefts. During his 35 years as the chief librarian the Royal Library flourished and the number of volumes increased through purchases and valuable donations. Moldenhawer himself donated many valuable manuscripts, letters and printed books, many of which he had acquired illegitimately during his travels in Germany, France, England, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, and many of which came from the libraries of old monasteries. Many of books purchased by Moldenhawer were stolen. According to Ada AdlerAda Adler
Ada Sara Adler was a Danish classical scholar and librarian.She is best known for her critical, standard edition of the Suda, which she published in 5 volumes...
Moldenhawer robbed several libraries in Paris, particularly the library at Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Saint-Germain-des-Prés is an area of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés....
, from which Moldenhawer had stolen several manuscripts.
Works
- Versuche über das erste Buch Mosis, 1780
- Das Buch Hiob übersetzt und erklärt, 2 Vol., Leipzig, 1780/81
- Die Bibel in ihrer wahren Gestalt, für ihre Freunde und Feinde, 3 Vol., Halle, 1786/87 (anonym; Hartmut Hövelmann schreibt es in Kernstellen der Lutherbibel Moldenhawer zu)
- Prozeß gegen den Orden der Tempelherren. Aus den Originalacten der päpstlichen Commission in Frankreich, Hamburg, 1792.
- Über den Ursprung und Fortgang der spanischen Inquisition, 1794
- Oratio, qua Andreae Petro Comiti de Bernstorff in Auditorio regiae Universitatis Havniensis superiori die 25 Martii 1798 parentavit D. G. M., 1798
- Über den Ursprung der Bücherzensur und die Censurverordnungen, 1802
- Über den Einfluß, welche die den Juden in Spanien eingeräumten Rechte im Mittelalter auf die Staatsverfassung und das öffentliche Wohl hatten, 1806
- Hannibal Schestecks erste Ambassade in Frankreich, 1806–1808
- Catalogue supplementaire des manuscrits grecs de la Bibliothèque Royale de Copenhague. Par A. Adler. Avec un extrait du catalogue des manuscrits grecs de l'Escorial redige par D.G. Moldenhawer, 1916.
See also
- Lectionary 42Lectionary 42Lectionary 42, designated by siglum ℓ 42 . It is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 10th century.- Description :...
— one leaf of it is still housed at the Royal Danish Library - Andreas Birch
Further reading
- Ada AdlerAda AdlerAda Sara Adler was a Danish classical scholar and librarian.She is best known for her critical, standard edition of the Suda, which she published in 5 volumes...
: D. G. Moldenhawer og hans haandskriftsamling, Kopenhagen, 1917 - E. Gigas & Fr. Nielsens Daniel Gotthilf Moldenhawer i 1. at the Dansk biografisk leksikonDansk biografisk leksikonDansk biografisk leksikon is a Danish biographical dictionary that has been published in three editions...
, pp. 363–368.