Johann Nepomuk Sepp
Encyclopedia
Johann Nepomuk Sepp was a German historian, and politician.
After he had traveled to Syria, Palestine and Egypt in 1845 and 1846, in 1846 he was appointed assistant professor in Munich, but was dismissed in 1847, along with seven of his colleagues as a result of involvement in opposition to Lola Montez
, mistress of Ludwig I of Bavaria
, being elected to the nobility. Sepp had his teaching qualification withdrawn was banished from the Bavarian capital. In 1848 he was elected to the Frankfurt National Assembly, and in 1849 to the Bavarian Chamber. In 1850, after the resignation of King Ludwig I of Bavaria
Sepp was rehabilitated in 1850-1864 and from 1864-1867 was Associate Professor of History in Munich. In 1861 he bought the partially destroyed Wessobrunn Monastery, which was then being used as a quarry to preserve it for posterity.
Sepp retired suddenly in December 1867 "For personal reasons" . He was appointed to the Zollparlament in 1868, and in 1869 again elected to the Bavarian Chamber, where he was one of the most influential representatives of the German national cause during the critical period between 1870 and 1871, and in 1872 undertook a new journey to Palestine on behalf of the new German Empire.
Sepp was highly literate and a capable publicist. He sometimes was prone to original and idiosyncratic interpretations of history, so was respectfully nicknamed by colleagues "Die umgestürzte Bücherkiste" (the overturned bookcase). His final major work, his contribution to German folklore, appeared in 1890: "The religion of the ancient Germans. Their continued existence in folk tales, processions and festivities to the present". This was a kind of view in hindsight, a compressed, comparative survey of a lifetime of accumulated and processed historical anthropological and religious knowledge, and a book that has experienced, like most of his works, no new edition. Still frequently cited today is his study of the myths, legends, customs and manners of Bavaria, the "Altbayerischer Sagenschatz" of 1876. This work, although heavily compressed, and eclectic, attempted an overview of the mythology of Bavaria, with literary references. Sepp also published under the pseudonym "Eusebius Amort der Jüngere".
Since the 1830s Sepp belonged to the circle of Joseph Görres in Munich, and in 1847 Sepp was also founder of the Akademischen Tafelrunde in Munich. While in the Frankfurt National Assembly, he belonged to the Catholic Club, and from 1849-1856 to the Society for constitutional monarchy and religious freedom in Munich, whose spokesman he was at times.
Johann Nepomuk Sepp was buried in the Old South Cemetery in Munich. His tombstone has been preserved.
His son, Bernhard Sepp was also a historian.
Life
Johann Nepomuk Sepp was born the son of a tanner and dyer. He studied philosophy and Catholic theology, law, philology and history in Munich, 1834-1836 and 1837-1839. In 1836, he interrupted his university studies for a trip to Switzerland and Italy, after which he entered the seminary Gregorianum in Munich. In 1839 he graduated Phd., and established himself as a private scholar in Bad Tölz. From 1844-1846 he taught as lecturer at the University of Munich.After he had traveled to Syria, Palestine and Egypt in 1845 and 1846, in 1846 he was appointed assistant professor in Munich, but was dismissed in 1847, along with seven of his colleagues as a result of involvement in opposition to Lola Montez
Lola Montez
Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld , better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a "Spanish dancer", courtesan and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Countess of Landsfeld. She used her influence to institute liberal...
, mistress of Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
, being elected to the nobility. Sepp had his teaching qualification withdrawn was banished from the Bavarian capital. In 1848 he was elected to the Frankfurt National Assembly, and in 1849 to the Bavarian Chamber. In 1850, after the resignation of King Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
Sepp was rehabilitated in 1850-1864 and from 1864-1867 was Associate Professor of History in Munich. In 1861 he bought the partially destroyed Wessobrunn Monastery, which was then being used as a quarry to preserve it for posterity.
Sepp retired suddenly in December 1867 "For personal reasons" . He was appointed to the Zollparlament in 1868, and in 1869 again elected to the Bavarian Chamber, where he was one of the most influential representatives of the German national cause during the critical period between 1870 and 1871, and in 1872 undertook a new journey to Palestine on behalf of the new German Empire.
Sepp was highly literate and a capable publicist. He sometimes was prone to original and idiosyncratic interpretations of history, so was respectfully nicknamed by colleagues "Die umgestürzte Bücherkiste" (the overturned bookcase). His final major work, his contribution to German folklore, appeared in 1890: "The religion of the ancient Germans. Their continued existence in folk tales, processions and festivities to the present". This was a kind of view in hindsight, a compressed, comparative survey of a lifetime of accumulated and processed historical anthropological and religious knowledge, and a book that has experienced, like most of his works, no new edition. Still frequently cited today is his study of the myths, legends, customs and manners of Bavaria, the "Altbayerischer Sagenschatz" of 1876. This work, although heavily compressed, and eclectic, attempted an overview of the mythology of Bavaria, with literary references. Sepp also published under the pseudonym "Eusebius Amort der Jüngere".
Since the 1830s Sepp belonged to the circle of Joseph Görres in Munich, and in 1847 Sepp was also founder of the Akademischen Tafelrunde in Munich. While in the Frankfurt National Assembly, he belonged to the Catholic Club, and from 1849-1856 to the Society for constitutional monarchy and religious freedom in Munich, whose spokesman he was at times.
Johann Nepomuk Sepp was buried in the Old South Cemetery in Munich. His tombstone has been preserved.
His son, Bernhard Sepp was also a historian.