Otto von Gierke
Otto Friedrich von Gierke (11 January 1841 – October 10, 1921) was a German historian. He was born in Stettin (Szczecin), Pomerania, and died in Berlin.
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[edit] Scholar
He specialised in the study of the German antecedents of German law. His view of the Rechtsstaat (state on a legal basis), and his emphasis on the federal nature of medieval states, became important and debated. In fact, he said the society grows up because people form groups and groups of groups, from families to the State. He stood as an opponent of the trend of civil law interpretation and theorising. His theory took up some older ideas from Thomas Aquinas and Dante Alighieri (De Monarchia).
Abroad he was a major influence on the British historian of law F. W. Maitland, who translated as Political Theories of the Middle Ages some of Gierke's major works, and on John Neville Figgis.
[edit] Works
- Das deutsche Genossenschaftsrecht, Berlin 4 volumes, 1868, 1873, 1881
- Deutsches Privatrecht, 3 volumes, Leipzig 1895
- Naturrrecht und Deutsches Recht, Frankfurt 1883
[edit] References
[edit] Secondary
- Scruton, Roger,"Gierke and the corporate person" in The Philosopher on Dover Beach, Manchester, Carcanet Press, 1990. ISBN 0-85635-857-6
