Hector Gottfried Masius
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Hector Gottfried Masius (13 April 1653 – 20 September 1709) was a German Lutheran theologian serving as vice-chancellor of the University of Copenhagen from 1691 to 1692 and, again, from 1700 to 1701. He acquired wealth through marriages and owned a number of estates. His children were ennobled in 1712 with the surname von der Maase. [1]
Masius was born in Schlagsdorf in Mecklenburg. He went to school in Lübeck. In c. 1668, he came to Giessen where he obtained a theology degree in 1675. He later continued his studies in Strasbourg, Tübingen and Basel where he studied Hebrew under Johannes Buxtorf. He then went on to Leiden and Utrecht.[2]
Career in Danish service
Moving to Copenhagen, he won the favour of Grand Chancellor Frederik Ahlefeldt who arranged for him to give private lectures at the University of Copenhagen. In 1682, he was promised the next vacant professorship in theology. In 1682, Masius accompanied diplomat Henning Meyercrone to France where he served as chaplain to the Danish embassy in Paris until 1687. He published Defense de la religion luthérienne in 1685. After a short visit to Oxford, he was called back to Copenhagen and was made a professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen. [3]
