The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. Societas Fructifera) was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility.Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, in Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon (1905) at zeno.org (in German) Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it as both a scholarly and literary language, after the pattern of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence and similar groups already thriving in Italy, followed in later years also in France (1635) and Britain.
It was also known as the Palmenorden ("Palm Order") because its emblem was the then-exotic fruitbearing date palm. (1576–1629), Hofmarschall at the court in Weimar, was the founding father of the society. As a young man he had travelled Italy and got inspired by the Italian language academies.Teutleben, Caspar von at deutsche-biographie.de (in German) During the funeral celebrations of Duchess Dorothea Maria in August 1617 which were attended by several princes he took the opportunity to propose the founding of a society following the example of the Italian Accademia della Crusca. Particularly Prince Ludwig von Anhalt-Köthen who already had joined the Accademia della Crusca in 1600 took hold of the idea and became the first president of the Palm Order.Fürst Ludwig von Anhalt-Köthen (Der Nährende) , at die-fruchtbringende-gesellschaft.de
The society counted a king (Charles X Gustav of Sweden), 153 Germanic princes, and over 60 barons, nobles, and distinguished scholars among its members. It disbanded in 1668.
The first book about the Palm Order, Der Teutsche Palmbaum, was written by Carl Gustav von Hille and published in Nuremberg in 1647.Electronic edition at diglib.hab.de: Der Teutsche Palmbaum : Das ist, Lobschrift Von der Hochlöblichen/ Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft Anfang/ Satzungen/ Vorhaben/ Namen/ Sprüchen/ Gemählen, Schriften und unverwelklichem Tugendruhm / Der Unverdrossene. – Nürnberg : Endter, 1647
Members The society had 890 members. Of these, the below list only includes those that have articles on the English Wikipedia. For a complete list, including their fruitbearing names, see this German article.
Matthias Abele von und zu Lilienberg Johann Valentin Andreae Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg Christian II of Anhalt-Bernburg Viktor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg Georg Aribert of Anhalt-Dessau Johann Georg I of Anhalt-Dessau Johann Georg II of Anhalt-Dessau Johann Kasimir of Anhalt-Dessau Friedrich of Anhalt-Harzgerode Emanuel of Anhalt-Köthen Leberecht of Anhalt-Köthen Ludwig I of Anhalt-Köthen Ludwig der Jüngere of Anhalt-Köthen Wilhelm Ludwig of Anhalt-Köthen August of Anhalt-Plötzkau Johann of Anhalt-Zerbst Karl Wilhelm of Anhalt-Zerbst Rudolf of Anhalt-Zerbst Hans Georg von Arnim Frederick V, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Johan Banér Steno Bielke Sigmund von Birken Wilhelm of Birkenfeld Frederick William of Brandenburg George William of Brandenburg John of Brandenburg Christian of Brandenburg-Bayreuth George of Brunswick-Lüneburg Christian Louis of Brunswick-Lüneburg Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg Augustus the Younger of Brunswick-Lüneburg Ferdinand Albert I of Brunswick-Lüneburg Friedrich Ulrich von Braunschweig und Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel Rudolf von Bünau Rudolf von Bünau Johann Cothmann Christoph von Dohna Robert Douglas Ernst Albrecht von Eberstein Ernst von Freyberg Andreas Gryphius Christian Gueintz Friedrich Kasimir von Hanau Philipp Moritz von Hanau-Münzenberg Georg Philipp Harsdörffer David Elias Heidenreich Wilhelm Christoph von Hesse-Bingenheim und Hesse-Homburg Johann von Hessen-Braubach Ludwig VI of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig VII of Hesse-Darmstadt Friedrich of Hesse-Eschwege Friedrich II of Hesse-Homburg Georg Christian of Hesse-Homburg Moritz of Hesse-Kassel Wilhelm V of Hesse-Kassel Wilhelm VI of Hesse-Kassel Hermann IV of Hesse-Rotenburg Georg Friedrich of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim Hans Christoff von Königsmarck Otto Wilhelm von Königsmarck Johann Kasimir Kolbe von Wartenberg Christoph Christian zu Altleiningen Johann Anton von Leiningen Philipp II von Leiningen Westerburg Friedrich von Logau Adolf Friedrich I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Franz von Mercy Bernhard Meyer Johann Michael Moscherosch Johann Ludwig of Nassau-Hadamar Georg Neumark Adam Olearius Martin Opitz Axel Oxenstierna Christian Franz Paullini Ottavio Piccolomini Jost Andreas von Randow Wilhelm von Rath Johann Rist John George II of Saxony Johann Philipp of Saxe-Altenburg Adolf Wilhelm of Saxe-Eisenach Albrecht of Saxe-Eisenach Johann Georg I of Saxe-Eisenach Ernst I of Saxe-Gotha Friedrich of Saxe-Gotha Bernhard of Saxe-Jena Augustus of Saxe-Lauenburg Francis Erdmann of Saxe-Lauenburg Julius Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg Christian of Saxe-Merseburg Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar Johann Ernst the Younger of Saxe-Weimar Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar Wilhelm IV of Saxe-Weimar Albrecht of Saxe-Weißenfels August of Saxe-Weißenfels August the Younger of Saxe-Weißenfels Heinrich of Saxe-Weißenfels Johann Adolph of Saxe-Weißenfels Moritz of Saxe-Zeitz Angelo Sala Joachim von Sandrart Karl Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Ludwig Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Anton Günther of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Veit Ludwig von Seckendorf Torsten Stålhandske Wolrad IV of Waldeck-Eisenberg Christian of Waldeck-Wildungen Matthäus von Wesenbeck Anton von Wietersheim Karl Gustav Wrangel Julius Siegmund von Württemberg-Oels-Juliusburg Sylvius Friedrich von Württemberg-Oels-Juliusburg Philipp von Zesen
Notes
References University of California, Berkeley, News article: Taking pride in their language, finding uses for everything February 11, 2004 die-fruchtbringende-gesellschaft.de (List of members)
External links
Finding aid to the Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft Collection: Manuscript and Pictorial Material, 1592–1754 at The Bancroft Library Neue Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft zu Köthen/Anhalt