The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 41, October 10, 2004, Article 8

EZECHIEL SPANHEIM, NUMISMATIST?

  According to an article in the Daily Collegian of New
  England, a history professor is in Europe doing research,
  and he is looking for information on a man named
  Ezechiel Spanheim, whom he believes was a numismatist.

  "Brian W. Ogilvie, Associate Professor of History, has been
   conducting research in Europe on a $40,000 Fellowship for
   University Teachers from the National Endowment for the
   Humanities and a fellowship at the Columbia University
   Institute for Scholars at Reid Hall in Paris.

  His work centers on his hypothesis that the culture of
  17th-century diplomacy encouraged reconciliation between
  erudition and polite society.

  "In a nutshell, diplomats were not professionals in the 17th
  century. That is, there were no schools that trained diplomats,
  no civil service in the modern sense, and the like. They were
  often recruited from the ranks of scholars, because Latin was
  still the language of international law and it was also still used
  for negotiation. So there were a lot of diplomats who were
  scholars."

  More specifically, Ogilvie is gathering information on Ezechiel
  Spanheim, a numismatist (coin studier), scholar and diplomat.
  Ogilvie believes that Spanheim's unique role in European culture
  will offer a glimpse into the changing nature of the era (and
  validate his hypothesis). An obstacle in this is the fact that
  although he was famous in his day, he is now almost forgotten.

  "I have asked a few dozen historians who are specialists on
  early modern European history whether they have heard of
  Ezechiel Spanheim and almost always, the answer is no."

  To read the full article, see: " target="_blank">Full Story

  [So ... can any of our readers help?  -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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