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GOTTFRIED
WILHELM VON
LEIBNIZ
(1 July 1646, Leipzig, Electorate of
Saxony, Holy Roman Empire -
14 November 1716, Hannover, Electorate of Hannover, Holy
Roman Empire)
Leibniz was a philosopher,
mathematician, physicist, historian, and librarian; and
he was genealogist to Georg Ludwig [Guelph] (28 May 1660,
Leineschloss, Osnabruck, Electorate of Hannover, Holy
Roman Empire [Heiliges Römisches Reich] - 11
June 1727, near Osnabruck, Electorate of Hannover, Holy
Roman Empire [Heiliges Römisches Reich]), Elector of
Brunswick - Lüneburg (Hannover) and, from 20
October 1714, as George I, King of Great Britain and
Ireland.
It was Leibniz who
furnished genealogical support for the ascension of Georg
Ludwig to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. In the
United Kingdom, the House of Hannover has continued to
reign, since World War I, as the House of Windsor.
| . . .
Dieu ayant choisi le plus parfait de tous les
mondes possibles . . . . |
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Leibniz, Essais de
théodicée (1710) |
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This is the heraldic
device of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, reproduced by
Johannes Baptist Rietstap (1828 - 1891) [Armorial
général (Gouda, G. B. van Goor: 1861)] from the
frontispiece of Leibniz's Theodicea (Amsterdam:
1723): quarterly a stock (chicot) and a lion rampant.
When Charles VI became emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (Heiliges
Römisches Reich) in 1711, Anton Ulrich, the Duke of
Wolfenbüttel, nominated Leibniz for the rank of Baron of
the Empire. Charles VI, accordingly, conferred the barony
on Leibniz and designated him imperial court councillor,
the highest honour possible — in the Holy Roman Empire —
for a Protestant. Rietstap says
that the tinctures of the heraldic device are unknown.
It was Anton Ulrich and
his brother, Rudolf August, Herzog von
Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (16 May 1627, Hitzacker an der
Elbe, Hannover - 26 January 1704, Hedwigsburg,
Braunschweig), who - in 1691 - appointed Leibniz as the
director of the library at Wolfenbüttel.
ANTON ULRICH
About Anton Ulrich, the
following is from The Catholic Encyclopedia
(1914):
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"Anton
Ulrich, DUKE OF BRUNSWICK — LÜNEBURG — WOLFENBÜTTEL: A convert to the Catholic faith, born
4 October, 1633 at Hitzacker an der Elbe; died 27
March, 1714 at Salzdahlum near Wolfenbüttel. In
1685, with his brother August Rudolph, he became
co-regent of the duchy, and on the latter's death
(1704) succeeded to the throne. He was a very
gifted and well educated man, the most scholarly
prince of his time, and, in the history of German
literature, ranks as pioneer in the department of
historical romance. He was also an accomplished
dramatist and hymnwriter. His bent, however, was
toward the study of the Fathers, and the points
of variance between Catholics and Lutherans. He
often conversed on such subjects with theologians
of both sides, among them the Hildesheim canon,
Rudolph May, and Amadeus Hamilton, a Theatine. He
entered the Church secretly 10 January, 1710, but
soon, in deference to the advice of Clement XI,
made public his conversion in the presence of the
Archbishop of Mainz. While he safeguarded
officially the actual ecclesiastical and
political conditions in his duchy, he devoted
himself earnestly to the interests of
Catholicism. Among other works, he published, in
Latin and German, a learned apology for his
conversion entitled Fifty Motives for
Preferring the Catholic Religion to All Others.
It was soon suppressed, and is therefore a very
rare book; an Italian translation of it was sent
to Clement XI. The Duke built Catholic churches
in Brunswick and Wolfenbuettel, and obtained
papal approval for their administration by the
Bishops of Hildesheim. In a document signed 3
February, 1714, by his sons August and Ludwig, he
provided that in the future the exercise of the
Catholic religion should be free in his State.
Two of his daughters, Henrietta and Augusta
Dorothea, followed his example, and returned to
the mother church." |
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SOME
ALPHABETIC CHARACTERS
FOUND IN ENGLISH MANUSCRIPTS
AND IN EARLY PRINTED BOOKS
AESH - The ligature of a
and e, borrowed by Insular scribes from Latin.
_____________________
OEGULE - The
ligature of o and e.
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 and
THORN -
Borrowed by Insular scribes from the runic alphabet
for a non-Roman, Germanic sound, now written th.
The th was introduced by Norman scribes in
the Middle English period. The þ later
became similar to a Y in handwriting (though
not phonetically) and in this form it continued to be
used by printers as an abbreviation for th
in early printed books, usually printed in
superscript. Hence, ye
and yt were commonly put
for the and that.
_____________________
ETH - Another
way of representing the Germanic th sound,
invented by Insular scribes. The eth and thorn
were used interchangeably in Old English manuscripts.
The eth fell out of use by the Middle
English period, while the thorn survived to
the end of the fourteenth century.
_____________________
WYNN - Borrowed
by Insular scribes from the runic alphabet for the
Germanic w sound. The w (originally
written as a double u) was introduced into
English manuscripts by Norman scribes in the Middle
English period.
_____________________
YOGH - The form of the
letter g in the Insular script commonly used
in Old English manuscripts. In Old English, yogh
is used for the sound of g. In Middle
English manuscripts, Norman scribes introduced the
character g but continued to use yogh
for gutteral y and the ch of Scots loch.
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