Denis Godefroy
Dionysius Gothofredus (actually Denis Godefroy, * October 17, 1549 in Paris, † September 7, 1622 in Strasbourg ) was a French jurist.
Gothofredus was a professor at the Universities of Geneva, Strasbourg and Heidelberg and editor of the first critical edition of the " Corpus Juris Civilis " ( Geneva, 1583 ). This designation for the late Roman laws collection comes from him.
Life
Denis Godefroy - or with his scholarly name Dionysius Gothofredus - the son of Leon Godefroy, Seigneur de Guigneccourt, studied law in Leuven (Belgium ), Cologne and Heidelberg. After his studies he worked from 1576-1577 in Paris on Cour de Parlement (Court of Justice ). He received his Ph.D. in 1579 in Orléans and even joined a teaching post at the Academy in Geneva in the same year. Surely he would have made in Paris on a brilliant career, but with his Calvinist faith he was in Geneva on safe ground. He was in 1580 appointed professor of law, received the rights of citizenship and married Denise de Saint -Yon. 1581-85 he was exempted from teaching and was able to devote himself entirely to the " Corpus Juris Civilis ". 1587 was chosen Godefroy in the Council of the City of Geneva.
1589 succeeded to the French king to take him to France. Godefroy was associate counsel at the court of parliament in Paris, and " Grand Bailli " ( bailiff or district judge ) in the Pays de Gex ( in Franche Comté located ). Barely six months after he had settled there, the location of the troops of the Duke of Savoy was taken. Godefroy's house and his library went up in flames. He and his family fled to Basel and remained there until 1591 he was given a teaching post at the University of the Free Imperial City of Strasbourg.
His reputation as a legal scholar had spread through several publications and particularly the Corpus Juris Civilis ( Geneva, 1583 ), so that wanted him the Elector Palatine Frederick IV have at Heidelberg University. The working conditions seemed Godefroy first to have not quite agreed, for already in 1601 he was back in Strasbourg. Heidelberger took him in 1604 again, this time for the long term. He was professor of law school and from 1606 also the dean.
A further increase learned his considerable reputation in 1607 by the election of the Rector of the University and by the appointment to the Electoral Council. The Elector sent him several times in diplomatic missions to Paris. Attempts by the French king to bring him back to France, he refused because of his commitment to Calvinism.
The outbreak of the Thirty Years' War (in which the Elector Palatine Frederick V played such an unfortunate part ), Godefroy forced to flee in 1620 to friends to Strasbourg - the following year ( 1621) the Palatine residence Heidelberg was destroyed by imperial troops.
After a long illness Denis Godefroy died in Strasbourg on 7 September in 1622.