Search

[German Version] (Apr 19, 1501, Annaberg – Nov 28, 1559, Magdeburg), a prolific writer and successful Reformer of an independent bent. After 1513 he spent years of study and travel in Freiberg, Erfurt, Leipzig, Wittenberg, Lübeck, Nuremberg, Augsburg, Basel, Vienna, Graz, and Rostock. His most important teacher was P. Mosellanus. In 1531 he was appointed deputy headmaster of the Katharineum, the Gymnasium in Lübeck founded by J. Bugenhagen. On Jun 15, 1536, he was appointed headmaster of the new L…

[German Version] I. Life – II. Work – III. Influence (born Schwartzerdt, in 1509 grecized by Reuchlin, from 1531 simplified by Melanchthon as Melanthon; Feb 16, 1497, Bretten – Apr 19, 1560, Wittenberg). I. Life Son of an arms technician in the service of the Palatinate court and the daughter of a prosperous merchant, Melanchthon was well educated, after his father's death in 1508 at Pforzheim under Georg Simler (fellow students: M. Erb, S. Grynaeus, B. Haller, K. Hedior, Franciscus Irenicus [1494–1553]), promoted by his relat…

[German Version] (Huisman) (Feb 17, 1444, Baflo – Oct 27, 1487, Heidelberg) was schooled in Groningen and undertook studies in Erfurt, Cologne, Louvain, Pavia and Ferrara (Huisman). He translated rhetorical and dialectical works from Greek. In 1480 he was a lawyer for the city of Groningen. In 1484 he taught in Heidelberg and maintained frequent contact with humanists and journeyed to Rome. His writings, published posthumously, have had enduring influence. Heinz Scheible Bibliography Works include: Opuscula Orationes Epistolae, 1539, repr. 1975 De inventione dialectica libri…

[German Version] (Buschius, Sylvius; c. 1468, Sassenberg – Apr 1534, Dülmen) was educated in Münster, Deventer and Heidelberg, after which he traveled to Italy. From 1495 to 1500 he studied law in Cologne and lectured in the humanities, later also in Rostock, Greifswald and Leipzig. In 1502, he held the ceremonial speech on the occasion of the opening of the University of Wittenberg, and became professor of poetry in Leipzig in 1503. From 1507 onward, he was a man of letters in Cologne. He sided with J. Reuchlin in the Jewish books dispute and contributed to the Dunkelmännerbriefe ( …

[German Version] (Enzinas, Francisco de; Nov 1, 1518, Burgos – Dec 30, 1552, Straßburg) moved from Leuven (1539) to Wittenberg in 1541, where he lived with Melanchthon. The latter inspired him to translate the NT into Spanish. In 1543, Dryander presented the Antwerp impression (Bible translations: II, 2.a) to the emperor in Brussels, whereupon he was imprisoned. In 1545, he fled to Wittenberg, where he recorded his experiences. He then traveled throughout Upper Germany and Switzerland, and stayed in England from 1548 to 1549. Heinz Scheible Bibliography F.W. Bautz, BBKL I, 1975, 151…

[German Version] (Hoeck; 1499, Ziesar – May 13, 1553, Hamburg). In 1517 Aepinus was premonstratensian in Belbuck (near Treptow on the Rega). He studied in Wittenberg from 1518 to 1520, after which he taught in Ziesar, was imprisoned and fled, taught in Greifswald, and in 1524 in Stralsund, where he composed a church order on the commission of the Council in 15…

[German Version] (Trolmann) (1503, Wemding – Sep 13, 1557, Ingolstadt). Amerbach studied at Ingolstadt in 1517, Freiburg in 1521, and Wittenberg in 1522. In 1526, he began teaching in Eisleben under J. Agricola. In 1529, he received his Master's degree and married. In 1530, he began teaching rhetoric and physics at Wittenberg, and in 1541 became a member of the consistory. After several years of criticizing Melanchthon and Luther philosophically and theologically, he became professor of rhetoric at Ingolstadt in 1543. In 1542, he published De anima, an attack on Melanchthon's …

[German Version] (1486/1488, Erfurt – Apr 2, 1548, Erfurt). From 1500, Lang studied in his home town ¶ (B.A. 1503), where he joined the Augustinian Hermits in 1505/1506 and was ordained priest in 1508. With like-minded Luther, he was transferred to Wittenberg in 1551 (M.A. 1512, Bacc. biblicus 1515). From 1512 to 1516, he was professor of ethics. Having been recalled to Erfurt in 1516, Lang became prior and continued his studies of theology (Bacc. sententiarus 1516, Lic. theol. 1517, Dr. theol. 1519). He belonged…

[German Version] (1490/1495, Billigheim – Aug 8/9, 1554, Marburg). In 1510 Billicanus began his studies at Heidelberg (forming a friendship with Melanchthon), and became a priest in Weil in 1518. He was expelled from the town because of his criticism of the church and served as a Luther-influenced preacher from 1522 to 1535 in Nördlingen, where in 1525 he authored a Kirchenordnung (document on church order), by which time he was married. At the Augsburg Parliament, he made approaches to the Roman par…

[German Version] (Oct 1, 1507, Schleiden, Eifel – Mar 3, 1589, Straßburg [Strasbourg]). After an education by the Brothers of the Common Life (Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life) in Liège and (along with J. Sleidanus) at the Collegium trilingue in Leuven, he came to Paris in 1529, where he studied medicine and lectured on Humanistic subjects. In 1533 he joined the Reformed group at the court of Francis I of France. In 1536 he fled to Straßburg, where M. Bucer and Jakob Sturm entrusted him wit…

[German Version] (pseud. Palaeosphyra; before 1500, Brenz – 1539, Ansbach). Following studies at Leipzig and Tübingen from 1516, Althamer taught in Halle and Reutlingen from 1521 to 1523. In 1524, he was appointed curate in Schwäbisch Gmünd. After losing his position in 1525 because he had married, he studied at Wittenberg. In 1527, he became pastor in Eltersdorf near Nürnberg. As pastor in Ansbach from 1528, he played a decisive role in the reformation of the margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach. In 1537, he became a reformer in Brandenburg-Küstrin. Heinz Scheible Bibliography T. Kold…

[German Version] (Aug 29, 1510, Koszalin [Ger. Köslin], Poland – Jan 25, 1562, Wismar). After studying in Wittenberg (from 1524, M.A. in 1533; Wittenberg, University of), Freder was appointed co-rector of the Johanneum in Hamburg in 1537, where he also became preacher in 1539. Without ordination, through the laying-on-of-hands he officiated as pastor and lector secundarius of the cathedral from 1540 to 1547. When Freder became superintendent of Stralsund in 1547, the general superintendent of Wolgast, J. Knipstro, was in favor of ordaining him, but …

[German Version] (c. 1490, Pforzheim – May 19, 1540, Zweibrücken). After studying at Tübingen and Leipzig, Schwebel joined the Hospitalers of the Holy Spirit. In 1511 he began studying at Heidelberg, receiving his B.A. in 1513. In 1514 he was ordained to the priesthood in Straßburg (Strasbourg) and appointed preacher at the Heilig-Geist-Spital in Pforzheim. In 1519 he began to preach in the spirit of the Reformation; in 1521 he left the order and had to leave the city, taking refuge with F. v. Sic…

[German Version] (c. 1500, Windecken [in modern Nidderau] or Bruchenbrücken [in modern Friedberg] – May 5, 1553, Neubrandenburg). After attending school in Nidda and Weilburg, Alber studied at Wittenberg in 1520, then (1522–1528) taught in Büdingen, Oberursel, and Eisenach. From 1528 to 1540, he served as pastor in Sprendlingen (modern Dreieich); in 1537, he i…

[German Version] (c. 1514, Wittenberg – 1556, Weimar), editor of the Jena edition of Luther’s works. He came to Wittenberg in 1532 and went through the usual course of instruction, receiving his M.A. in 1539. There was a brief interruption when he was ordained as a deacon in Jessen in 1539 and served as court tutor in Freiberg and Dresden in 1539/1540. In 1544 he was appointed to a professorship at the Wittenberg Pädagogium and the theological faculty. In 1547 he was appointed court chaplain in We…

[German Version] (Poliander; Dec 26, 1486 or Jul 5, 1487, Neustadt/Aisch – Apr 29, 1541, Królewiec [Ger. Königsberg], Poland). After studying in Leipzig (1503–1516), Gramann stayed on to become a lecturer at the St. Thomas School and served as secretary to J. Eck during the Leipzig Disputation of 1519, whereupon he then joined Luther in Wittenberg, although he was awarded the degree of Bacc.theol. from Leipzig in 1520. He was rector of the St. Thomas School from 1520 to 1522, and cathedral preache…

[German Version] (Jan 14, 1477, Wied – Aug 15, 1552, Wied). The younger son of a count who was orphaned early in life received his first benefice as early as 1483 in Cologne, became canon in 1490, and was appointed archbishop and thus also elector in 1515. He delayed his ordination until 1518 and his entry into Cologne until 1522. He supported the Edict of Worms (1521) against Luther and his adherents out of convic-¶ tion. He saw the church's need for reform chiefly in the involvement of the curia in the filling of positions. His theological adviser was J. Gropper, who…

[German Version] (1486, Obersimtshausen [near Marburg] – Dec 24, 1535, Bremen), physician and poet. A teacher in Kassel about 1509–1511, in 1513 he went to Erfurt, where he gained his M.A. and became rector of St. Marien foundation school in 1516. He traveled to Italy, and became a doctor of medicine at Ferrara in 1521. He became municipal physician in Braunschweig in 1523, and i…

[German Version] (1501, Vacha – Feb 16, 1573, Mainz). In 1516 he matriculated at Erfurt and became a schoolteacher in Vacha in 1518. He studied at Wittenberg in 1520 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1521, being appointed vicar and town clerk in Vacha. In 1524 he was married in Eisenach and became an assistant to J. Strauß. In 1524 he was appointed pastor in Wenigenlupnitz and in 1526 in Niemegk. He was an observer at the Marburg Colloquy in 1529 (Disputations, Religious). His critical corresp…

[German Version] (Jan 25, 1521, Hamburg – Feb 25, 1598, Schleswig) began studies in Wittenberg in 1539 (1543 M.A., 1556 Dr.theol.) and became school rector in Cölln/Spree (Berlin) in 1544. In 1547, he became professor of logic in Rostock. In 1548, he became preacher and lector at the cathedral in Hamburg, in 1555 also superintendent. In 1562, he became the general superintendent …