Researchers on the history of the early enlightenment in the 17th century generally assume that, first, the nobility played only a minor role in this context, and, second, that among the social elite the religious denomination was not particularly important any more. Four children of the "Winter King" - Frederick V, the Elector Palatine who in 1620 failed so dramatically as King of Bohemia - and his wife Elisabeth Stuart, paint a different picture, however. Growing up and educated in the Dutch exile, Calvinism for them was a central legacy of their father, which also carried part of their political legitimation and was a mark of their personal identity. Personal experiences and their exposure to neo-stoicism (which was dominant at the University of Leiden), however, induced them to adopt a reflective attitude towards their Calvinist denomination, fostering a tolerant stance towards dissenters. Their individual biographies varied greatly. Charles Louis became Elector Palatine and reconstructed the devastated Palatinate in the spirit of enlightened absolutism. His brother Rupert, an admiral serving under the English crown, was renowned as a talented natural scientist and member of the Royal Society. Elisabeth, Princess-Abbess of Herford Abbey, is well known for having been a philosophical correspondent of Descartes, Huygens, Malbranche and Leibniz. At the same time she was open to separatist Reformed currents and the Quaker movement. And finally, Sophia cultivated a long and intensive friendship with Leibniz. During their entire lives the siblings kept up their close personal contact and correspondence, demonstrating how open-minded they were in reacting to the new spiritual challenges of their time, which they fostered across regional and denominational barriers.

Enthalten in:
Theologische Literaturzeitung; 2011/6 Monatsschrift für das gesamte Gebiet der Theologie und Religionswissenschaft (2011)

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Serie / Reihe: Theologische Literaturzeitung

Personen: Schröder, Tilman Matthias

Schlagwörter: Bekenntnis Aufklärung 17. Jahrhundert