Biography
Charles Schmidt was the son of Charles Frédéric Schmidt,managing partner of the Arcades bookstore,and of Marguerite Salomée Pfaehler,who was the daughter of the founder of the same bookstore. [1] He completed his secondary studies at the Protestant Gymnasium,followed by preparatory studies at the Protestant seminary in Strasbourg. [2] In 1830,he entered the Protestant Faculty of Theology in Strasbourg,where he obtained the degrees of Bachelor (1833),Licentiate (1835) and Doctor of Theology (1836). He completed his studies with study trips to Geneva,Paris,and Göttingen. [3] He married Julie Pauline Strohl in Strasbourg in 1840. [1]
Charles Schmidt was a lecturer in history at the Protestant Seminary in 1837. He obtained his first chair,a chair of homiletics,in 1839 at the University of Strasbourg and at the Seminary. Between 1849 and 1859 he was also director of the Protestant Gymnasium. Then again between 1865 and 1868. With a rather liberal tendency,he set up classes for the newly instituted baccalaureate in science and transformed the industrial classes so that they could benefit from a more comprehensive education. [4] However,his successor,Édouard Reuss,criticized him for his poor management of the school's funds. [5]
In 1864,Charles Schmidt changed his chair to that of Ecclesiastical History,left vacant after the death of AndréJung. [3] His teaching is notably summarized in his Précis de l'histoire de l'Église d'Occident pendant le Moyen Âge,published in 1885.
When Alsace was annexed by Germany in 1871,Schmidt initially considered joining the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Paris,but finally decided to stay in Strasbourg. [6] He retired in 1877.
Perfectly bilingual,Charles Schmidt wrote equally well in French and German. His study of the Cathars,whom he nevertheless considered pagans,was decisive in the beginnings of methodical criticism in history. [7] He was also passionate about bibliography and libraries. When he left his teaching career,he retired to his house on Rue Saltzmann,which had formerly been the home of Johannes Sturm. [6]
Schmidt devoted himself to the history of Alsace until his death in 1895. [3]
Charles Schmidt (1872-1956),historian and archivist,is his grandson. [8] [9]
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