Franz Burchart (Hymn-Writer)

Born: born July 3, 1503 - Weimar, Thuringia, Germany
Died: January 15, 1560 - Weimar, Thuringia, Germany

Franz Burchart [Burckhardt, Burkhart] was a German scholar and politician and hymn-writer. He was born the son of an official at the court of Johann von Sachsen in Weimar. On May 15, 1520 he enrolled at the University of Wittenberg (Leucorea) and was accepted into the house of Philipp Melanchthon. After he had received the Magister on February 4, 1524, Melanchthon Georg Spalatin recommended him for the Quintilian Professorship at the Faculty of Arts, and as a favorite student of Melanchthon in 1530 he was appointed Professor of Greek language. In the winter semester 1527 and 1535 he took over the Dekan office of the Faculty of Arts and led in the winter semester of 1532 the Rektorat of Leucorea.

In 1535 Franz Burchart was drawn to the court of the Kurfürsten (Elector) to replace the late Christian Beyer as Vizekanzler (Vice Chancellor). So he accompanied Johann Friedrich von Sachsen in November 1535 to Vienna, was present at the interview of the Elector with Pier Paolo Vergerio and accompanied in December Gregor Brück on the Convention in Schmalkalden to conduct with him negotiations with the English negotiators.

From then on Franz Burchart was found in many negotiations as a representative of the Electoral Court in questions of the Reformation. He also worked several times in England at the court of Henry VIII, traveled to France, was appointed in 1542 as administrative chancellor of the Braunschweig country and was appointed on November 2, 1544 Electoral and Schmalkaldic Council of the House of Weimar. After the Battle of Mühlberg and the defeat in the Schmalkaldic War, he followed his Ernestine man to Weimar. Here he participated significantly in the founding of the University of Jena and tried to win Melanchthon for this.

Franz Burchart was, next to his political teacher Gregor Brück, one of the most influential Electoral Saxon politicians during the Reformation. His daughter Barbara was married to the Leipzig Professor of theology Victorin Striegel and his daughter Katharina married the Professor of Rights in Jena and Wittenberg Matthäus Wesenbeck.

Source: German Wikipedia Website (Seprtember 2018), English translation by Aryeh Oron (September 2018)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (September 2018)

Texts of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

BWV 349

Chorale Texts used in Bach’s Vocal Works

Ich dank dir schon durch deinen Sohn (1586, NLGB 195; KGEL 301)

Links to other Sites

Franz Burchart (Wikipedia) [German]
Burchart, Franz (Deutsche Biographie) [German]
Biografie von Franz Burchart (1503-1560) (Sächsische Biografie) [Gerrman]

Bibliography

Theodor Muther: Burchart, Franz. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 3 (Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876), S. 569 f.
Ekkehart Fabian: Burchart, Franz. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 3 (Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957), ISBN 3-428-00184-2, S. 33 (Digitalisat).
Heinz Scheible: Melanchthons Briefwechsel. Personen. Band 11