Caspar Creuziger, also known as Caspar Cruciger the Elder (1 January 1504 – 16 November 1548), was a German
Renaissance humanist
Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
and
Protestant reformer
Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...
.
He was professor of Theology at the
University of Wittenberg
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...
,
preacher at the
Castle Church (Wittenberg, Germany), secretary to and worked with
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 ...
to revise
Luther's German Bible translation.
["Cruciger,"](_blank)
Christian Cyclopedia
''Christian Cyclopedia'' (originally ''Lutheran Cyclopedia'') is a one-volume compendium of theological data, ranging from ancient figures to contemporary events. It is published by Concordia Publishing House as an update to the Concordia Cyclope ...
, eds. Erwin L. Lueker, Luther Poellot, Paul Jackson.(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2000)
Life
Born in
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 ...
, Creuziger entered the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
at age 12, where he studied under
Peter Mosellanus. The outbreak of the plague drove him to Wittenberg in 1521, where he completed his studies in the Hebrew language.
[Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, 456.]
In 1525, he became Rector at
Magdeburg's Johannisschule. He was called to the faculties of Philosophy and Theology at
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...
in 1528, where he lectured in both disciplines, preached at the Castle Church and wrote faculty opinions. He received his doctorate from Wittenberg in 1533. He continued to teach
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...
,
dogmatics and edited instructional materials. During these years,
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 ...
included him in the reformer's circle of translators, who assisted him in revising the German Bible version.
[Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, 457.]
In 1539, Creuziger assisted Leipzig in introducing reforms. He served as a delegate to theological convocations at
Hagenau
Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture.
It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the n ...
,
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
and
Regensburg
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 ...
. When other theologians fled the
Schmalkald War
The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the D ...
, he remained at his post.
Creuziger also edited the Wittenberg edition of ''Luther's Works''
and helped to draft the
Leipzig Interim
The Leipzig Interim was one of several temporary settlements between the Emperor Charles V and German Lutherans following the Schmalkaldic War. It was presented to an assembly of Saxon political estates in December 1548. Though not adopted by the a ...
.
He died at Wittenberg in 1548.
Family
In 1524 he married the former nun
Elisabeth von Meseritz - they had one daughter (Elisabeth, who married rector Kegel and then, on his death, Luther's son Hans in Eisleben) and one son (
Caspar Cruciger the Younger Caspar Cruciger the Younger (19 March 1525 – 16 April 1597) was a German theologian and Protestant reformer.
Born in Wittenberg, he was the son of Caspar Cruciger the Elder and his wife, the hymnwriter and former nun Elisabeth von Meseritz. He ...
).
Notes
Bibliography
* ''In epistolam Pauli ad Timotheum priorem Commentarius''
* ''Enarratio Psalmi 116–118''
* ''Der XX. Psalm für christliche Herrschaft zu beten''
* ''In Evangelium Johannis Apostoli Enarratio''
* ''Enarratio Psalmi: Dixit Dominus
10et aliquot sequentium''
* ''Comment. in Matthaeum''
* ''In Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos Commentarius''
* ''De iudiciis piarum Synodorum sententia''
* ''Enarrationis Symboli Nicaeni articuli duo, de Synodis et tribus personis Divinitatis.''
1504 births
1548 deaths
16th-century German Lutheran clergy
German Lutheran theologians
German Protestant Reformers
German Renaissance humanists
German scholars
Linguists from Germany
Lutheran biblical scholars
Clergy from Leipzig
Translators of the Bible into German
University of Wittenberg faculty
Cruciger family
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