Anton Margaritha (also known as Antony Margaritha, Anthony Margaritha, Antonius Margarita, Antonius Margaritha) (born ca. 1500) was a sixteenth-century

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

and

convert to Christianity Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of believe ...

. He was a possible source for some of Martin Luther's conception of Judaism.

Biography

Anton Margaritha's father, Jacob Margolioth, was a

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Ratisbon Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, Germany. Anton converted in 1522, being baptized at

Wasserburg am Inn Wasserburg am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Wassabuag am Inn'') is a town in Rosenheim district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The historic centre is a peninsula formed by the meandering river Inn. Many Medieval structures remain intact, giving the city a ...

, and later became a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

. He suffered imprisonment and then expulsion from

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

due to complaints from the Jewish community there and action by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

. Anton Margaritha was a teacher of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

at Augsburg,

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

, Zell,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and from 1537 until his death at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

. He published the ''

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

'' and Matthew 1:1 through 3:6 in Hebrew in Leipzig (1533). He is best known for the 1530 book ''Der gantze Jüdisch Glaub'' (''The Whole Jewish Belief''). The 1906 ''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

'' commented: :The author ridicules Jewish ceremonies, accuses the Jews of

usury Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is ch ...

and of having sentiments hostile to Christians and Christianity and argues against their Messianic hopes. He also denounces the Aleinu prayer as anti-Christian in tendency. Declaiming against the usury and idleness of the Jews, he appeals to the magistrates to remedy the evil and to force the Jews to perform manual labor. He charges the Jewish physicians with ignorance and greediness and asserts that, despite their minuteness in ritual, the Jews are neither pious nor charitable, and that, notwithstanding their apparent aversion to proselytism, they are eager to gain adherents to their faith. This libelous book had a great influence upon

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

who made use of it in writing his ''

On the Jews and Their Lies ''On the Jews and Their Lies'' (german: Von den Jüden und iren Lügen; in modern spelling ) is a 65,000-word anti-Judaic and antisemitic treatise written in 1543 by the German Reformation leader Martin Luther (1483–1546). Luther's attitude t ...

'' ("''Von den Juden und Ihren Lügen''"). It was praised by

Hoornbeck Johannes Hoornbeek (4 November 1617, Haarlem – 23 August 1666, Leiden), was a Dutch Reformed theologian. He was a student and a follower of Gisbertus Voetius, writing with him on spiritual desertion. Like his teacher Voetieus, he was also later ...

, B. Lutberus and Joseph Müller; but

Wagenseil Wagenseil is a surname that may refer to: * (1756–1839), German writer * Georg Christoph Wagenseil (1715–1777), 18th-century Austrian composer * Johann Christoph Wagenseil (1633–1705), 17th-18th century German Christian scholar of Hebrew ...

speaks of it less favorably. He had a public debate in the same year with

Josel of Rosheim Josel of Rosheim (alternatively: Joselin, Joselmann, Yoselmann, german: Josel von Rosheim, he, יוסף בן גרשון מרוסהים ''Joseph ben Gershon mi-Rosheim'', or ''Joseph ben Gershon Loanz''; c. 1480 – March, 1554) was the great advoca ...

before

and his court at

br>
The dispute terminated in a decisive victory for Josel who obtained Margaritha's expulsion from the realm. Despite this legal decision, this work would be repeatedly reprinted and cited by anti-semitism, anti-semites over the coming centuries.

read ''Der Gantze Jüdische Glaube'' in 153

ref>p.18. before writing his own anti-semitic tract ''

'' in 1543. The book was reprinted in 170

and was cited in '' Synagoga Judaica'' (1603) by

Johannes Buxtorf Johannes Buxtorf ( la, Johannes Buxtorfius) (December 25, 1564September 13, 1629) was a celebrated Hebraist, member of a family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for thirty-nine years at Basel and was known by the title, "Master of the Rabbis" ...

br>

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Margaritha, Anton Year of birth missing Year of death missing Academic staff of the University of Vienna Christian Hebraists Converts to Lutheranism from Judaism 16th-century German Jews German Lutherans Antisemitism in Germany Antisemitic publications German male writers

Biography

Further reading

References