GFRORER

gfrorer, august friedrich (1803-1861), german historian, was born at calw, wurttemberg, on the 5th of march 1803, and at the close of his preliminary studies at the seminary of blaubeuren entered the university of tubingen in 1821 as a student of evangelical theology. after passing his final examinations in 1825, he spent a year in switzerland, during part of the time acting as companion and secretary to c. von bonstetten (1745-1832); the year 1827 was spent chiefly in rome. returning to wurttemberg in 1828, he first undertook the duties of repetent or theological tutor in tubingen, and afterwards accepted a curacy in stuttgart; but having in 1830 received an appointment in the royal public library at stuttgart, he thenceforth gave himself exclusively to literature and historical science. his first work on philo (_philo u. die judisch-alexandrinische theosophie_, stuttgart, 1831) was rapidly followed by an elaborate biography, in two volumes, of gustavus adolphus (_gustav adolf, konig von schweden, und seine zeit_, stuttgart, 1835-1837), and by a critical history of primitive christianity (_kritische geschichte des urchristenthums_, 3 vols., stuttgart, 1838). here gfrorer had manifested opinions unfavourable to protestantism, which, however, were not openly avowed until fully developed in his church history (_allgemeine kirchengeschichte bis beginn des 14ten jahrhunderts_, stuttgart, 1841-1846). in the autumn of 1846 he was appointed to the chair of history in the university of freiburg, where he continued to teach until his death at carlsbad on the 6th of july 1861. in 1848 he sat as a representative in the frankfort parliament, where he supported the "high german" party, and in 1853 he publicly went over to the church of rome. he was a bitter opponent of prussia and an ardent controversialist. among his later historical works the most important is the _geschichte der ost- u. westfrankischen karolinger_ (freiburg, 1848); but those on the pseudo-isidorian decretals (_untersuchung uber alter, ursprung, u. werth der decretalen des falschen isidorus_, 1848), on the primitive history of mankind (_urgeschichte des menschlichen geschlechts_, 1855), on hildebrand (_papst gregorius vii. u. sein zeitalter_, 7 vols., 1859-1861), on the history of the 18th century (_geschichte des 18ten jahrhunderts_, 1862-1873), on german popular rights (_zur geschichte deutscher volksrechte im mittelalter_, basel, 1865-1866) and on byzantine history (_byzantinische geschichten_, 1872-1874), are also of real value.