CARPZOV, BENEDIKT. — Protestant jurist, born in Wittenberg on 25 May 1595, died in Leipzig on 30 August 1666. He completed his studies in his homeland, in Leipzig, and in Jena, and furthered them during travels in Rome, England, and Belgium. Appointed Schöffe in Leipzig in 1620, he had the opportunity to deepen his study of criminal law, leaving interesting works on the subject; in 1636 he was elected assessor of the Curia provincialis suprema; in 1645, professor in Leipzig. He may be regarded as one of the founders of scientific law in Germany.
He wrote: Practica nova imperialis savonica rerum criminalium (Wittenberg 1635, placed on the Index in 1635); Iurisprudentia forensis (Leipzig 1638); Iurisprudentia ecclesiastica seu consistorialis (there 1649, placed on the Index in 1714), which is a systematic exposition of canon law according to the episcopal system.