Samuel von Pufendorf (1632 - 1694) was a German jurist, political philosopher, economist and historian. He was born Samuel Pufendorf and ennobled in 1694; he was made a baron by Charles XI of Sweden a few months before his death at age 62. Among his achievements are his commentaries and revisions of the natural law theories of Thomas Hobbes and Hugo Grotius. His political concepts are part of the cultural background of the American Revolution. Pufendorf is seen as an important precursor of the German Enlightenment. He was involved in constant quarrels with clerical circles and frequently had to defend himself against accusations of heresy, despite holding largely traditional Christian views on matters of dogma and doctrine. ***** Samuel von Pufendorf (1632 - 1694) tait un juriste, philosophe politique, conomiste et historien allemand. N sous le nom de Samuel Pufendorf, il fut anobli en 1694 ; Charles XI de Su de lui conf ra le titre de baron quelques mois avant sa mort, l' ge de 62 ans. Parmi ses r alisations figurent ses commentaires et ses r visions des th ories du droit naturel de Thomas Hobbes et d'Hugo Grotius. Ses concepts politiques s'inscrivent dans le contexte culturel de la R volution am ricaine. Pufendorf est consid r comme un pr curseur important des Lumi res allemandes. Il tait en conflit permanent avec les milieux eccl siastiques et devait fr quemment se d fendre contre des accusations d'h r sie, bien qu'il e t des opinions largement traditionnelles sur les questions de dogme et de doctrine.