Johann Carion (22 March 1499 – 2 February 1537) was a German astrologer, known also for historical writings. Johann-Carion

Life

He was court astrologer to Elector Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg. A prognostication he published in 1521 gained him a later reputation of having predicted the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, as well as a major flood in 1525 and some apocalyptic dates. For 15 July 1524 he predicted another flood so that Joachim I Nestor and his entourage fled to the

Runder Berg Runder Berg is a mountain of Baden-Württemberg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous me ...

, then the highest of the Tempelhofer Berge range south of the residential city of

Cölln Cölln () was the twin city of Old Berlin (Altberlin) from the 13th century to the 18th century. Cölln was located on the Fisher Island section of Spree Island, opposite Altberlin on the western bank of the River Spree, until the cities we ...

.Klaus-Dieter Wille, ''Spaziergänge in Kreuzberg'', Berlin: Haude & Spener, 1986, (=Berliner Kaleidoskop: Schriften zur Berliner Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte; vol. 32), p. 21. .Ilse Nicolas, ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (¹1969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, ²1979, (=Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), p. 10. . At about 16:00 h, after spending much of the day on the hill in vain, Electress Elizabeth of Denmark urged her husband to return.''Die Tempelhofer Berge nebst ihrer höchsten Erhebung dem Kreuzberge anno 1286 bis 1986'', Geschichtskreis im Wasserturm auf dem Tempelhofer Berg (ed.), Berlin: Bloch & Partner, 1986, p. 3. No ISBN.Ilse Nicolas, ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (¹1969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, ²1979, (=Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), p. 11. . They returned to town, where a thunderstorm started and a lightning killed four horses and the coachmen. According to another source the news of their frightful flight had spread among the Cöllners and Berliners, many of whom had tried to get as well onto the hill, but were kept out by electoral guards. On their return the crowd awaited the elector and his entourage and welcoming him laughing. Subsequently from 1531

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lu ...

took an interest in his work. Andreas Perlach in a work on the comet of 1531 questioned whether his methods were purely astrological or involved magic. His death is fixed as 1537, when Melanchthon communicated the news in a letter to

Jacob Milich Jacob (or Jakob) Milich (also Mühlich; January 24, 1501 – November 10, 1559) was a German mathematician, physician and astronomer. He was born in Freiburg im Breisgau, where he received his education starting in 1513. He studied at Albert-Lu ...

''Chronicles''

''Carion's Chronicles'' became an important work in

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 ...

and more generally Protestant

millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenariani ...

thought. From an original that was indeed by Carion, it was completely rewritten in its Latin version at the hands of Melanchthon, and others. With

Joachim Camerarius Joachim Camerarius (12 April 150017 April 1574), the Elder, was a Germans, German classical scholar. Life He was born in Bamberg, in the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg. His family name was Liebhard, but he was generally called Kammermeister, previo ...

, Melanchthon and other Lutheran humanist scholars changed what was a traditional chronicle into a Reformation narrative of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. After Melanchthon's death,

Caspar Peucer Caspar Peucer ( , ; June 1, 1525 – September 25, 1602) was a German reformer, physician, and scholar of Sorbian origin. Personal life Early life Caspar Peucer was born on June 1, 1525, in Bautzen, (Sachsen, Germany) and died on Septembe ...

continued to edit it. Major features were the scheme of

four monarchies The four kingdoms of Daniel are four kingdoms which, according to the Book of Daniel, precede the " end-times" and the "Kingdom of God". The four kingdoms Historical background The Book of Daniel originated from a collection of legends cir ...

taken from the ''

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...

'', extended by the medieval idea of ''

translatio imperii ''Translatio imperii'' (Latin for "transfer of rule") is a historiographical concept that originated from the Middle Ages, in which history is viewed as a linear succession of transfers of an ''imperium'' that invests supreme power in a singular r ...

''; further there is a second

Three Eras The Three Eras is a Judeo-Christian scheme of periodization in historiography, called also ''Vaticinium Eliae'' (prophecy of Elijah or Elias). A three-period division of time appears in the Babylonian Talmud: the period before the giving of the l ...

schematic, the third period of which will be co-extensive with the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

extended by the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

(the fourth monarchy) which will last to 2000 AD. Initially, Carion published a short

universal history A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to t ...

in German, 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 ...

(1532). It was then translated into Latin by Herman Bonnus (Halle, 1537); there were numerous subsequent editions and translations. In England there were translations by Walter Lynne, and also by

Thomas Lanquet Thomas Lanquet (also Lanket or Lanquette) (1521–1545) was an English chronicler. He studied at Oxford, and devoted himself to historical research. He died in London in 1545 while engaged on a general history; it was a translation of the ''Chroni ...

(unfinished) which was completed by Thomas Cooper (with Robert Crowley) and became known as ''Cooper's Chronicle''. In 1567,

Peter Canisius Peter Canisius ( nl, Pieter Kanis; 8 May 1521 – 21 December 1597) was a Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest. He became known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Swit ...

, the most important

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in Germany, wrote to the Catholic historian

Onofrio Panvinio The erudite Augustinian Onofrio Panvinio or Onuphrius Panvinius (23 February 1529 – 27 April 1568) was an Italian historian and antiquary, who was librarian to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Life and work Panvinio was born in Verona. At the ...

to inquire about the chronicle he was preparing to counter Carion's ''Chronicles''.''Beati Petri Canisii, Societatis Iesu, epistulae et acta collegit et adnotationibus illustravit Otto Braunsberger'', Vol. 6, ''1567–1571'' (Freiburg i.B.: Herder, 1913), 70 r. 1504 The Jesuits hoped to use the book in Germany, but despite Canisius's high expectations, Panvinio's work remained only in

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

. As a result, it was not until the end of the sixteenth century that Orazio Torsellino's ''Epitome Historiarum'' (1598) gave the Jesuits a Catholic counterpart to Carion's ''Chronicles''.

References

Lynn Thorndike Lynn Thorndike (24 July 1882, in Lynn, Massachusetts, USA – 28 December 1965, Columbia University Club, New York City) was an American historian of medieval science and alchemy. He was the son of a clergyman, Edward R. Thorndike, and the younge ...

(2003 reprint), ''History of Magic and Experimental Science'', Part 9

Notes

External links

* Entry in ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (1876) at German Wikisource {{DEFAULTSORT:Carion, Johann 1499 births 1537 deaths German astrologers 16th-century astrologers German chroniclers German male non-fiction writers 16th-century German writers 16th-century German male writers