Konrad von Maurer
Encyclopedia
Konrad Maurer, since 1876 Konrad von Maurer (April 29, 1823 - September 16, 1902) was a German legal historian
Legal history
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and is set in the wider context of social history...
. He was the son of legal historian and statesman Georg Ludwig von Maurer
Georg Ludwig von Maurer
Georg Ludwig Maurer, since 1831 Georg Ludwig von Maurer was a German statesman and legal historian.-Biography:Maurer was born at Erpolzheim, near Dürkheim as the son of a Protestant pastor....
(1790-1872). Maurer is considered one of the most significant researchers of Nordic legal and constitutional history.
Biography
Konrad Heinrich Maurer was born in 1823 in FrankenthalFrankenthal
Frankenthal is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the Erkenbertruine — still stand today in the town...
(Palatinate), as the only son of Georg Ludwig von Maurer und Friederike Maurer née Heydweiller. In 1826 the family moved to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
), where his father was appointed professor of German legal history. Here, Konrad Maurer's mother died when he was seven. His father never remarried. Konrad Maurer spent two years of his childhood in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
where his father was appointed a member of the council of regency of king Otto of Greece
Otto of Greece
Otto, Prince of Bavaria, then Othon, King of Greece was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers .The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended...
. Afterwards the familily returned to Munich.
Bowing to his father's wish, Konrad Maurer studied law at the Universities of Munich, Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
and Berlin, earning his doctorate in 1845. In 1847 he became an associate professor, and in 1855 a full professor of legal history at the University of Munich.
Maurer was a leading authority of Germanic/Nordic legal and constitutional history. He had a special interest in Icelandic literature
Icelandic literature
Icelandic literature refers to literature written in Iceland or by Icelandic people. It is best known for the sagas written in medieval times, starting in the 13th century. As Icelandic and Old Norse are almost the same, and because Icelandic works constitute most of Old Norse literature, Old Norse...
, history, language
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
and culture and was an outspoken advocate for Icelandic political independence from Danish rule, supporting Jón Sigurðsson
Jón Sigurðsson
Jón Sigurðsson was the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement.Born at Hrafnseyri, near Arnarfjörður in the Westfjords area of Iceland, he was the son of a pastor, Sigurður Jónsson. He moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1833 to study grammar and history at the university there...
in his cause.
In 1858, Maurer undertook a personal travel to Iceland. Inspired by his contacts to Jakob Grimm (from the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
), he used the opportunity to collect Icelandic folk tales and published them after his return under the title Isländische Volkssagen der Gegenwart. This was the first detailed publication of Icelandic folk tales in German.
Maurer read lectures in Munich, Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, and Kopenhagen. In 1865, he was appointed a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject...
, and in 1876 he was awarded (nonhereditary) knighthood of the Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown
Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown
The Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown was an order of merit of the Kingdom of Bavaria established by King Maximilian Joseph I on 19 March 1808. The motto of the order is Virtus et Honos . The order first was awarded in three grades: Grand Cross, Commander, and Knight, however in 1855 the grade...
. By this he was officially given the title "(Ritter) von Maurer"; however he did not like the title and always preferred to be called just Maurer. In the same year, Maurer was offered his own chair at the University of Christiania
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
, which he declined.
Throughout his life Maurer was a good friend to Norwegian folklorist Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore...
, playwright Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
und writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland...
. He retired in 1888 and died 1902 in Munich, where he was buried in Alter Südfriedhof
Alter Südfriedhof
The Alter Südfriedhof is a cemetery in Munich, Germany. It was founded by Duke Albrecht V as a plague cemetery in 1563 about half a kilometer south of the Sendlinger Gate between Thalkirchner and Pestalozzistraße.-History:...
. His considerable library, which he had inherited from his father and expanded to over 9000 volumes, was sold in 1904, for the major part to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and the rest to the bar association
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. A part of it is today in the libraries of Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
and George Washington University Law School.
Maurer had eight children. His eldest son Ludwig Maurer
Ludwig Maurer
Ludwig Maurer was a German mathematician professor on the Tübingen University. He was the eldest son of Konrad von Maurer and Valerie von Faulhaber . His 1887 dissertation at the University of Strassburg was on the theory of linear substitutions, known today as matrix groups...
became a mathematician.
Awards
- 1865 member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesBavarian Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesThe Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject...
- 1876 knight of the Merit Order of the Bavarian CrownMerit Order of the Bavarian CrownThe Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown was an order of merit of the Kingdom of Bavaria established by King Maximilian Joseph I on 19 March 1808. The motto of the order is Virtus et Honos . The order first was awarded in three grades: Grand Cross, Commander, and Knight, however in 1855 the grade...
- 1876 honorary doctor of University of ChristianiaUniversity of OsloThe University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
- 1882 honorary doctor of University of EdinburghUniversity of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
- 1882 honorary doctor of University of WürzburgUniversity of WürzburgThe University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...
- Knight 1st Class of the Order of St. MichaelOrder of St. Michael (Bavaria)The Order of St. Michael was founded in 1693 by Joseph Clemens of Bavaria, then Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, as a Military order. Initially, this order was only open to the Catholic nobility....
- Knight of the Bayerischer Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst
- Honorary Cross of the Ludwigsorden (Bavaria)
- Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (Norway)
- Commander First Class of the Order of the Polar StarOrder of the Polar StarThe Order of the Polar Star is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim....
(Sweden) - Commander First Class of the Order of the DannebrogOrder of the DannebrogThe 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...
(Denmark)
Selected publications
- Ueber das Wesen des ältesten Adels der deutschen Stämme in seinem Verhältniß zur gemeinen Freiheit 1846.
- Die Bekehrung des Norwegischen Stammes zum Christenthume, in ihrem geschichtlichen Verlaufe quellenmäßig geschildert 1855/56.
- Die Gull-Þóris Saga oder Þorskfirðínga Saga 1858
- Isländische Volkssagen der Gegenwart. Vorwiegend nach mündlicher Überlieferung gesammelt und verdeutscht ((Icelandic Folk Tales of the Present, Chiefly Collected through Oral Tradition), 1860
- Island, von seiner ersten Entdeckung bis zum Untergange des Freistaats, 1874.
- Vorlesungen über altnordische Rechtsgeschichte (Old Norse Lectures on Legal History), 5 volumes- 1907-1910. (posthumous)