#emdiplomat of the day: Ezekiel Spanheim (1629-1710)
With Ezekiel Spanheim we want to highlight another group of #earlymodern diplomatic actors and a field within #NewDiplomaticHistory that both require more research: the connections between #emdiplomacy and the #RepublicOfLetters. (1/7)
Ezekiel Spanheim was born into a calvinist refugee family in #Geneva. In 1642 the family moved to #Leiden where Spanheim’s father had been appointed professor in #theology. At the very same university Spanheim junior studied oriental and ancient languages as well as theology. In 1650 he received a doctorate. And only one year later he received a professorship in rhetoric in Geneva. The following year, Spanheim was appointed to the city's Grand Council. After five years in Geneva, Spanheim left the city and his position at the university to move to #Heidelberg where he became tutor of Charles, the son of Charles I Louis, elector of #Palatine (2/7)
#emdiplomacy #NewDiplomaticHistory #RepulicOfLetters #earlymodern #histodons #history #courtStudies #AdventCalendar #adventCalendar2024
Spanhein stayed in the service of the #Palatine dynasty until 1680. During this time, he worked not only as a tutor but also as councillor and from the 1660s even as #emdiplomat. In this capacity he was dispatched to #Rome in the early 1660s where he not only established diplomatic relations between the Elecotrate of Palatine and the Vatican but also met Christina, the abdicated queen of #Sweden, and her literary and scientific circles. Thereafter he represented the interests of the elector Palatine in #Paris and worked as Palatine resident in #Cologne during the #FrancoDutchWar. In 1675 and again in 1678 he was appointed #ambassador of the elector of Palatine in #London. However, he did not only represent the interests of his master but also those of #Brandenburg. As #emdiplomat he participated in the #peace congresses of #Aachen and #Nijmegen. (3/7)
#emdiplomacy #AdventCalendar #adventCalendar2024 #history #earlymodern
In 1680, he became an #envoy extraordinaire of the elector of #Brandenburg in #Paris. He left that position in 1688 and returned first in 1701. With the outbreak of the #WarOfTheSpanishSucession Spanheim moved to #London again as a representative of the young kingdom #Prussia. (4/7)
#emdiplomacy #emdiplomat #NewDiplomaticHistory #earlymodern #Histodons #History #AdventCalendar #adventCalendar2024
During all this time, he was extremely productive as a #scientist and enjoyed a Europe-wide reputation. His oeuvre includes theological treatises, extensive editions and commentaries on ancient writers as well as a commentary on Roman civil law. However, his main work on ancient numismatics brought him lasting fame. Spanheim became the ‘founder of modern #numismatics’, as Sven Externbrink explains. (5/7)
#emdiplomacy #RepulicOfLetters #NewDiplomaticHistory #earlymodern #history #histodons #AdventCalendar #adventCalendar2024
Parallel to the network of diplomatic correspondence, which served to inform the ruling #courts, Spanheim established a network of scholarly correspondence that encompassed the whole of Europe. The world in which Spanheim moved was characterised by the internationality of a common European culture. There existed a nobility, also known as the society of princes (Lucien Bély) which was concentrated at the princely courts. Particularly in the era of Louis XIV, scholarly culture was one integral part of this aristocratic society. Scholarship characterised courtly culture, and the monarchs competed to found scientific academies and courted renowned scholars. However, it should be noted that Spanheim was one of the last ‘learned diplomats’ so typical of the of the 16th and 17th centuries. This type was increasingly replaced by the ‘professional diplomat’ in the 18th century. (6/7)
#emdiplomacy #RepublicOfLetters #adventCalendar2024 #history
For more information on Ekeziel Spanheim see:
Sven Externbrink, Diplomatie und République des Lettres. Ezechiel Spanheim (1629–1710). In: Francia. Forschungen zur Westeuropäischen Geschichte. 34/2, 2007, S. 25–59. (7/7)
#emdiplomacy #RepublicOfLetters #NewDiplomaticHistory #earlymodern #history #histodons #adventCalendar2024 #AdventCalendar
Early Modern Diplomacy