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Christopher Besoldus Edit Profile

legal historian university professor

Christopher Besoldus was a German jurist and publicist whose writing is seen as important for the history of the causes of the Thirty Years" War.

Background

He was born of Protestant parents in 1577 at Tübingen, Württemberg.

Education

He studied jurisprudence, and in the early 1590s was a close friend of Johannes Kepler. He graduated as Doctor of Law in 1598. And in 1610 became professor of law at Tübingen.

Career

Among his pupils was Johannes Valentinus Andreae. His advice was frequently sought in juridical questions by the civil administration. He read the Scriptures, the writings of the Church Fathers, and of the medieval mystics.

Two years later, he accepted the chair of Roman Law at the University of Ingolstadt.

He was considering the offer of a professorship at the University of Bologna, tendered him by Pope Urban VIII, when he died at Ingolstadt.

Views

Besold asked permission of the classical scholar Vitus Müller (Veit Müller, 1561–1626) to defend theses based on Kepler"s dissertation (on astronomical topics). He was denied the chance.