Peder Hansen Resen

Peder Hansen Resen, Peter also resenius, ( born June 17, 1625 Copenhagen, † June 1, 1688 ) was a Danish lawyer and historian.

Life

Peder Hansen Resen was the son of Bishop Hans Hansen Resen. After training by private tutors, he came in 1641 to the pre - Our Lady's School and in 1643 at the University of Copenhagen. 1645 he passed his theological examination. In 1647 he went abroad. He spent four years at Leiden, where he studied law and philology. 1651, he went to Paris for a few months, then to Orléans. From there he traveled through France and Spain. Only the fear of being kidnapped by the " Turks", stopped him cross over to Africa at Gibraltar. The return route led through southern France Genoa to Padua, where he studied law one year. There he earned an excellent reputation among his fellow students, so they named him consiliarius Nationis Germanicae jurisconsultorum and Vice Counsel of the University. He also came to an audience with the Doge and Council of Venice. The news of the illness of his father caused him to return home. In Rome, he learned of his death and in Florence of his mother's death. He went to Padua, resigned his honorary positions and received in September 1653 the legal doctoral degrees. About Trent, Augsburg, Regensburg, through Saxony, Brunswick and Lüneburg, via Hamburg and Lübeck he came in November 1653 in Copenhagen. On July 8, 1655, he married the twice widowed Anna Meier from Itzehoe, daughter of a prominent merchant there. The marriage remained childless. She died on the night of the 5th to the December 6, 1689 in Copenhagen. He fell ill with gout and died on 1 June 1688.

Career

As a member of a highly regarded in the local academic world family him access to a professorship at the University was open. When in 1657 a chair was free, he was first professor of ethics, then in 1662 of Law. 1664 appointed him the King for Mayor of Copenhagen, in 1669 he was assessor of the Supreme Court, where he participated as a judge on judgment in 1676 against Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld what should have him very depressed because he had very encouraged him. In 1672, he became president at the seat of government. 1672-1676 he was a member of the State College. In 1677 he was Justice, 1680 he received a patent of nobility, and in 1684 he became Privy Councillor. He took 1680-1681 as a member of the third revision committee participated in the preparatory work for the Danske Lov ( Danish Act). In 1683 he was exempted from all duties outside of the Consistory

Scientific effectiveness

He was the first one held at the University lectures on Danish law. As an area his Vorlegungen he called himself " Chronologie Juris Civilis et ecclesiastici ", " Fundamenta Juris Civilis et Canonici " and " Jurisprudentia Romano - Danica " or The Law right knowledge, both according to the Roman as well as in accordance with Danish law books, and he thought to publish his lectures on Danish law as text. His interest was especially the old Danish laws, of which he published a few, so in 1675 the Norwegian Hirðskrá and the corresponding Danish followers law with Latin and Danish translation 1683 different old town rights in 1684 a German translation of the Jutland law of Hans crab and the law of Christian II He was also the first to Hávamál, and Snorri's Edda Völuspá, all with a Latin translation, which was also in Danish, print Edda and made so accessible. He also helped foreign works for printing, so the issue was the Völuspá and the " Lexicon islandicum " essentially the work Gudmund Andréssons. Even in his historical work on Christian II, which he published in 1680, most comes from the legacy of Lyksander. But the financing of these works was quite an accomplishment. Great importance has yet to be published in 1668 collection " Inscriptiones Hafnienses ". It also news about Tycho Brahe are included.

His major work, in which he sat most of the energy is his " Atlas danicus ". This should be a description of all the places in Denmark with its history and its monuments are recorded. Already in 1666 had been issued to all the clergy of the country a request to provide relevant information. Initially it was indeed essentially the story, but in further calls he asked also gives information about the physical conditions of the different landscapes, fauna and flora. Based on these reports, some of which are still preserved, he worked from this atlas, which he included many letters and sources in Danish. The material included at the end of 30 folios. On this basis, he also created many maps and illustrations, which were designed as copper or wood engravings. Such a voluminous work had never been created, and others printed in his last years, extracts from it in Latin. 1675 and 1677 did he create as proof the descriptions of Samsø and Copenhagen. More is never published, although he received some support for the work. After his death his widow entrusted the task master Christians Aarsleb. But as they soon died and Aarsleb in 1692 pastor in the country, nothing came of the project. This major work, including the engravings in 1728 during the fire of the University Library destroyed by fire. There are only obtain copies of some chapters.

He was an avid collector of books. At his death he bequeathed his extensive library, which included many manuscripts, some of them collected by his grandfather, the university library, where it burned in 1728. In 1686 he gave a list of books, supplements out to many biographies. But he also wrote a handwritten collection of documents from the history of Copenhagen, which are now in the Copenhagen City Hall archive and Vartovs archive.