Heinrich Steinhöwel (also ''Steinhäuel'' or ''Steinheil''; 1412 – 1482) was a Swabian author,

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

, and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

who was much inspired by the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. His translations of medical treatises and fiction were an important contribution to early

Renaissance Humanism 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 ...

in Germany.

Biography

Steinhöwel studied 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 hist ...

in 1429, where he earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree on July 13, 1432, and eventually his

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1436. He moved to

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

in 1438 and studied

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, but later devoted himself to

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

. He graduated in 1440. In 1442 he was an academic rector in Padua, and in 1444 he taught at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

as ''rector magnificus''. In 1449 Steinhöwel was a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

in Esslingen and a year later in

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

. Sometime after 1460 he became the personal physician of

Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg Eberhard I of Württemberg (11 December 144524 February 1496) was known as Count ''Eberhard V'' from 1459 to 1495, and from July 1495 he was the first Duke of Württemberg. He is also known as ''Eberhard im Bart'' (Eberhard the Bearded). Ear ...

. Steinhöwel's fame comes from translating a legendary biography description of the life of

Aesop Aesop ( or ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE) was a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence remains unclear and no writings by him survive, numerous tales c ...

and

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

which he put into a Latin-German encyclopedic version called "Ulmer Aesop" first published in Ulm in 1476. In 1477-78 he published in

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 ...

from

Günther Zainer Günther Zainer (or Zeyner or Zeiner) (died 1 October 1478) was the first printer in Augsburg, where he worked from 1468 until his death; he produced about 80 books including two German editions of the Bible and the first printed calendar. He ...

a large edition of Aesop's Fables with many woodcuts. In 1480 he published a German translation of Aesop's Fables based on fables of

Avianus Avianus (or possibly Avienus;Alan Cameron, "Avienus or Avienius?", ''ZPE'' 108 (1995), p. 260 c. AD 400) a Latin writer of fables,"Avianus" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 5. identified as a pagan. The ...

Babrius Babrius ( grc-gre, Βάβριος, ''Bábrios''; century),"Babrius" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 21. also known as Babrias () or Gabrias (), was the author of a collection of Greek fables, many of whic ...

, Romulus, and Alfred which inspired other translations of later centuries in various languages worldwide. Steinhöwel also translated many works of

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

and Giovanni Boccaccio. In 1473 he published a translated version of Boccaccio's ''

De mulieribus claris ''De Mulieribus Claris'' or ''De Claris Mulieribus'' (Latin for "Concerning Famous Women") is a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in Latin prose in 1361–1362. ...

'' printed by Johann Zainer in Ulm. He also translated stories based on material of the works of

Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini (11 February 1380 – 30 October 1459), usually referred to simply as Poggio Bracciolini, was an Italian scholar and an early Renaissance humanist. He was responsible for rediscovering and recovering many class ...

and

Petrus Alphonsi Petrus Alphonsi (died after 1116) was a Jewish Spanish physician, writer, astronomer and polemicist who converted to Christianity in 1106. He is also known just as Alphonsi, and as Peter Alfonsi or Peter Alphonso, and was born Moses Sephardi. ...

. His material was popular not only in Germany but in England, France, and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Steinhöwel was the center of a circle of German

humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

Footnotes

References

Primary sources

* ''Apollonius of Tire'', 1471 * ''German Chronicle'', 1473 * ''Mirror of human life'' (Rodriguez Sanchez de Arevalo), 1472 * ''Booklet from the pestilence'', ("regimes Pestilentiae"), 1473 * ''Guiscardo and Sigismunda'' (translation of Boccaccio), 1473 * ''Griseldis'' (translation of the Latin of Boccaccio after Petrarch), 1473 * ''History of the cruise Gottfried Duke'' (translation of R. Monachus), 1461 * ''Of the sinnrychen erluchten Wyben'' (after Boccaccio's ''

''), 1473 * ''Esopus'' (fables of Aesop and Petrus Alfonsi and Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini), 1476–80

Biography

Footnotes

References

Primary sources

Further reading