Henriette Catharina von Gersdorff
Encyclopedia
Henriette Catharina, Baroness von Gersdorff (maiden name von Friesen auf Roetha, October 6, 1648, Sulzbach
, Upper Palatinate
- March 6, 1726, Grosshennersdorf, Upper Lusatia
, Saxony
), was a German Baroque religious poet, an advocate of Pietism
and also a supporter of the beginnings of the Moravian Church. She was the maternal grandmother of Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf.
Born the daughter of Karl, Baron von Friesen, she was educated in Dresden
and Leipzig
. She was a sister of Otto Heinrich von Friesen, chancellor to Saxon Elector Friedrich August I ( August der Starke or Augustus the Strong). Unlike most girls of the time she was trained in multiple disciplines and even as a youth she was recognized by her contemporaries for her German and Latin verses. She early became a correspondent with many theologians and scientists of the day.
At the age of 24 in 1672 she married Nicolas, Baron von Gersdorff, (1629–1702) governor of the Saxon Upper Lusatia. In this capacity she was able to exercize a not unimportant influence in affairs of both church and state. She supported the movement called Pietism. In this she supported the efforts of Saxon Court Preacher Philipp Jakob Spener
.
She not only encouraged the translation of the Bible
into the Lusatian Slavic language of Sorbian
but also encouraged the schooling of girls. In this connection she was engaged also in the founding of the Magdalenenstift School for girls in Altenburg
.
Following her husband's death in 1702, she withdrew to her Grosshennersdorf estate in the mountains of eastern Saxony. There she devoted herself to the education of her grandson Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf. Her home was open to many visitors including Lutheran missionaries to Tranquebar
and Greenland
. She also frequently offered refuge to religious refugees escaping persecution in neighboring Bohemia
and Moravia
. The German Pietist poet Johann Jakob Rambach considered her spiritual poetry among the best of their day. Some of her verses are still used in the German Moravian Church.
Sulzbach-Rosenberg
Sulzbach-Rosenberg is a municipality in the Amberg-Sulzbach district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated approx. 14 km northwest of Amberg, and 50 km east of Nuremberg. The town consists of two parts: Sulzbach in the west, and Rosenberg in the east. Archeological evidence tells, that...
, Upper Palatinate
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...
- March 6, 1726, Grosshennersdorf, Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia is a region a biggest part of which belongs to Saxony, a small eastern part belongs to Poland, the northern part to Brandenburg. In Saxony, Upper Lusatia comprises roughly the districts of Bautzen and Görlitz , in Brandenburg the southern part of district Oberspreewald-Lausitz...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
), was a German Baroque religious poet, an advocate of Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
and also a supporter of the beginnings of the Moravian Church. She was the maternal grandmother of Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf.
Born the daughter of Karl, Baron von Friesen, she was educated in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. She was a sister of Otto Heinrich von Friesen, chancellor to Saxon Elector Friedrich August I ( August der Starke or Augustus the Strong). Unlike most girls of the time she was trained in multiple disciplines and even as a youth she was recognized by her contemporaries for her German and Latin verses. She early became a correspondent with many theologians and scientists of the day.
At the age of 24 in 1672 she married Nicolas, Baron von Gersdorff, (1629–1702) governor of the Saxon Upper Lusatia. In this capacity she was able to exercize a not unimportant influence in affairs of both church and state. She supported the movement called Pietism. In this she supported the efforts of Saxon Court Preacher Philipp Jakob Spener
Philipp Jakob Spener
Philipp Jakob Spener was a German Christian theologian known as the "Father of Pietism."...
.
She not only encouraged the translation of the 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...
into the Lusatian Slavic language of Sorbian
Sorbian
Sorbian may refer to more than one article:* Sorbs, a Slavic people in modern day Germany* Sorbian languages, a group of closely related West Slavic languages-See also:...
but also encouraged the schooling of girls. In this connection she was engaged also in the founding of the Magdalenenstift School for girls in Altenburg
Altenburg
Altenburg is a town in the German federal state of Thuringia, 45 km south of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district.-Geography:...
.
Following her husband's death in 1702, she withdrew to her Grosshennersdorf estate in the mountains of eastern Saxony. There she devoted herself to the education of her grandson Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf. Her home was open to many visitors including Lutheran missionaries to Tranquebar
Tranquebar
Tharangambadi is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 15 km north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary of the Kaveri River. Its name means "place of the singing waves"...
and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. She also frequently offered refuge to religious refugees escaping persecution in neighboring Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. The German Pietist poet Johann Jakob Rambach considered her spiritual poetry among the best of their day. Some of her verses are still used in the German Moravian Church.
Literature
- Karl Goedeke: Grundriß zur Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung aus den Quellen. 2. bzw. 3. ganz neu bearb. Aufl. 15 Bde., Dresden 1884-1966. Neudr. Nendeln 1975. (N. F. Fortführung von 1830-1880. Bd. 1, Bln./DDR 1962.), Bd. 3, S. 328.
- Linda Maria Kolau: Frauen - Musik - Kultur. Ein Handbuch zum deutschen Sprachgebiet der Frühen Neuzeit. Köln-Weimar-Wien 2005.
- Robert Langer: Pallas und ihre Waffen. Wirkungskreise der Henriette Catharina von Gersdorff. Dresden: Neisse Verlag 2008 ISBN 978-3-940310-18-7
- Georg Christian Lehms: Teutschlands Galante Poetinnen. Frankfurt a. M. 1715.
- Norbert Weiss/ Jens Wonneberger: Dichter Denker Literaten aus sechs Jahrhunderten in Dresden. Dresden 1997. (Familienartikel)