Holger Zaunstöck, Andreas Gestrich, Thomas J. Müller-Bahlke, eds. London und das Hallesche Waisenhaus: Eine Kommunikationsgeschichte im 18. Jahrhundert. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014. viii + 182 pp. $44.00 (paper), ISBN 978-3-447-10259-9.
Reviewed by Nikolas Schröder (Franckesche Stiftungen)
Published on H-Pietism (January, 2016)
Commissioned by Peter James Yoder (Montreat College)
A History of 18th Century Communication between Halle and England
This volume presents the results of an interdisciplinary symposium on the history of communication held in 2011 at the Franckesche Stiftungen (Francke Foundations) in cooperation with the German Historical Institute London (GHIL). As Holger Zaunstöck states in his introduction, the nine essays deal with London either as the coordinating point for Pietist missionary affairs or as a place embedded in an international Pietist network. Therefore, the editors take an open approach to the history of communication, which provides room for the analysis of differing but related aspects of Pietism in light of a broader spectrum of scholarship. The editors also hope this book contributes to the history of culture (Kulturgeschichte) and the history of mentality (Mentalitätsgeschichte). The Hallische Correspondentz and the Privilegirten Hallischen Zeitungen, two early eighteenth-century periodicals, are highlighted as important Pietist sources, which show that Halle Pietists were interested in religious and sociopolitical developments in England. London is regarded as the aim of an image policy initiated by Halle, to which the Charity School Movement in England responded and acted as a focal point and competing model for August Hermann Francke’s Glauchasche Anstalten (Glaucha Institutes).
In the first essay, Andreas Gestrich deals primarily with the influences of Pietism on German-English relations around 1700. Gestrich states that the inherent non-confessional impetus of Pietism, its usefulness for expatriate potentates, and its interest in academic fields of study allowed Pietism to hold a prestigious position in London, a position that eventually eroded in the first third of the eighteenth century.
Jan van de Kamp describes the seventeenth-century English Puritan influence in German thought, especially as it is seen in the work of A. H. Francke. Van de Kamp outlines the early exchange of religious and theological topics between German territories and England, exemplified in the peregrinatio academica (traveling student/scholar), the economic trade, and the book trade.
Alexander Schunka depicts the work of Heinrich Wilhelm Ludolf. He characterizes Ludolf, who was born in Erfurt and later became the secretary of the Prince Consort George of Denmark, as the most important initiator of relations between Halle and London. Labeled a “Christian wanderer” (christlichen Wanderer), Ludolf dedicated his life to building contacts with other ecumenical-minded Christians. Furthermore, Ludolf’s membership in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) allowed him to operate as a cultural agent. Schunka proves that by using the available infrastructure—despite confessional contrasts—for the promotion of the “Kingdom of God” (das Reich Gottes) and the unification of the true believers (Vereinigung der wahren Gläubigen), Ludolf provided valuable political and social strategies for Francke.
Michael Schaich offers new insight into the multi-confessional topography of London around 1700, a time when the Pietists had to arrange themselves in an unclear social, confessional, and urban area at the Royal Chapel in St. James’s Palace and St. Mary-le Savoy. This led to a wide range of network possibilities. Pietists formed alliances as well as entered into religiously competitive situations, which were made apparent by increasing limitations to collected donations. According to Schaich, it was necessary for the Pietists, who desired to position themselves well in London, to develop strategies to attract sufficient attention to their causes and interests.
In her brief English-language essay, Kelly J. Whitmer points out the relation of Halle to the Royal Society via mediators like Frederick Slare. The Royal Society was regarded by Halle Pietists as an archetype, which could be used to generate its own forum for natural scientific knowledge. The aim was to create a “locus publicus,” which would unite and advance academic and scientific knowledge in the eighteenth century.
Juliane Jacobi reflects on the mutual influences between the Charity School Movement initiated by the SPCK and the schools of the Hallensian Orphan House. She focuses on the early eighteenth-century actors who attended the respective partnering schools, whether in Halle or London. She proves that each school’s self-contained dynamics in education policy, which aimed at institutional patterns, were exchanged between Halle and England.
Christina Jetter-Staib presents an extract from her doctoral thesis on Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen, who was the chaplain of the Royal Chapel and a point person for Halle in the middle of the eighteenth century. Ziegenhagen was the intermediary of the joint mission work of Halle and the SPCK. His work expressed a special concern for the welfare of the missionaries sent from Halle. He was responsible for the arrangements of those missionaries stopping in London on their way to India, and he cared, as well, for the Salzburgers on their way to Georgia. Through political maneuvering and compromises, Ziegenhagen helped to establish Halle as an institutional partner that was equal to, and wooed by, the SPCK.
Jürgen Gröschl’s contribution to the volume is a result of his research of Halle-London correspondence during the last decade of the eighteenth century. Gröschl reveals that he uncovered several unpublished papers by Ziegenhagen. The collection, as he describes it, consists of sermons and theological writings by Ziegenhagen, which beg for further research.
Finally, Alexander Pyrges uses a new methodological perspective to highlight the relations between Halle and London. He shows that communication should be described by non-individual patterns of relationship, which can be seen in the joint colonial project of the Ebenezer settlement in Georgia. In these situations, transgressing boundaries were ordinary and necessary processes. This is seen particularly in the continuous exchange, which occurred while organizing the postal and financial services in Ebenezer.
All the contributions offer excellent analysis of various aspects in the history of communication between Halle and London. Although short in overall length, the volume brings together important research on network and cultural exchange processes. It is noteworthy that most of the insights gained only cover the first half of the eighteenth century. Six of nine essays deal with the early history of Halle Pietism, while the three others are related to the middle of the eighteenth century. Gröschl’s contribution is the only one that extends into the latter half of the century. Although Zaunstöck mentions the late eighteenth-century figure Johann Christian Christoph Uebele as a desiderum of research, Uebele was only selectively mentioned in the volume. Other important names of the second half of the eighteenth century like Samuel Theodor Albinus, Johann Gustav Burgmann, Sebastian Andreas Fabricius, or Friedrich Wilhelm Pasche are also passed over. The reason for this may be found in the focus of the volume. Its locus is the first years of the Glauchasche Anstalten. Future research should turn to the trends and changes of cooperation and conflict between predominantly Pietist and Anglican settings. Altogether, this volume offers a glimpse into numerous new trends in research and will help to further the state of scholarship on this period of Pietism.
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Citation:
Nikolas Schröder. Review of Zaunstöck, Holger; Gestrich, Andreas; Müller-Bahlke, Thomas J., eds., London und das Hallesche Waisenhaus: Eine Kommunikationsgeschichte im 18. Jahrhundert.
H-Pietism, H-Net Reviews.
January, 2016.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=44894
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