Johannes Rhagius Aesticampianus (also Johannes Rak von Sommerfeld or Hans Rack) (1457 - 31 May 1520) was a German theologian and
humanist.
Life
Johannes Rak was born in 1457 in Sommerfeld (now Lubsko, Poland). His father, Matthias Rak, died young, and Johannes' grandfather Martin Rak, a mayor of Sommerfeld, saw to his education. Johannes matriculated at the University of Kraków on 19 May 1491, when he studied
natural history and
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
. In Kraków, he came under the influence of
Conrad Celtes
Conrad Celtes (german: Konrad Celtes; la, Conradus Celtis (Protucius); 1 February 1459 – 4 February 1508) was a German Renaissance humanist scholar and poet of the German Renaissance born in Franconia (nowadays part of Bavaria). He led the ...
.
On Celtes' advice, Johannes undertook a study tour in 1499. He travelled to Vienna, Venice, Padua, Ferrara, Rome, and finally to Bologna, where he studied Greek. In Bologna he studied under
Filippo Beroaldo
Filippo Beroaldo, sometimes called "the Elder" to distinguish him from his cousin Filippo Beroaldo the Younger, and also known as Philip or Philippus Beroaldus (7 November 1453 – 17 July 1505) was an Italian humanist active as a professor at the ...
and befriended
Jakob Questenberg (1460–1527).
In 1506, he took a position at the newly founded
University of Frankfurt as the Professor of Poetry and Rhetoric, alongside
Gregor Schmerlin. He counted
Ulrich von Hutten
Ulrich von Hutten (21 April 1488 – 29 August 1523) was a German knight, scholar, poet and satirist, who later became a follower of Martin Luther and a Protestant reformer.
By 1519, he was an outspoken critic of the Roman Catholic Church. Hutte ...
as one of his students; they had met in Frankfurt an der Oder, and Hutten followed him to Frankfurt.
He earned a doctorate in theology in Rome. In 1512 he lecture on Greek at Paris, and in 1513 he lectured at the University of Cologne. In 1514 he opened a Latin school in
Cottbus and a year later in
Saxon Freiburg, which was headed by
Ulrich Rülein von Calw
Ulrich Rülein von Calw (1465–1523) was a physician, doctor, mathematician and well-known mining engineer. He was also active as a surveying, surveyor, Urban planner, town planner and astrologer and was the mayor () of the mining town of Freiberg ...
. Aesticampanius continued his university work and lectured on Pliny at the University of Wittenberg in the winter semester of 1517.
In winter 1519, Aesticampianus fell ill and afterwards suffered from shortness of breath. He died not long after on May 31 in Wittenberg, and was buried in the
Stadtkirche Wittenberg
The Stadt- und Pfarrkirche St. Marien zu Wittenberg (Town and Parish Church of St. Mary's) is the civic church of the German town of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. The reformers Martin Luther and Johannes Bugenhagen preached there and the building a ...
.
Works
* ''Petri Heliae grammatica c. comment Joh. Sommerfelt Argent''. 1499.
* ''Carmina Aesticampiani mit dem Versiculi Theodorici Gresmundi''. Straßburg, 1502.
* ''Epigrammata Johannis Aesticampiani'' mit ''Carmen Huttens''. Leipzig, 1507.
* ''Grammatica Martiani foelicis Capelle''.
Frankfurt an der Oder, 1507.
* ''
Tabula Cebetis Philosophi Socratici, cum Jo. Aesticampiani Epistola, Impr.'' Frankfurt an der Oder, 1507.
* ''Septem divi Hieronymi epistolae… cum Johanni Aesticampiani carmine'' Leipzig 1508;
* ''C. Plinii Secundi Veronensis ad Titum Vespasianum in Libros naturalis historiae Epistola cum praefatione J. A. Rhetoris et poetae Laureati''. Leipzig, 1508.
* ''Germania des Tacitus''. Leipzig, 1509.
* ''Marciani Capellae Rhetorica, cum Jo. Rhagii verbosa praefatione''. Leipzig, 1509.
* ''M. Tullii Ciceronis de Oratrore libri III. Etc. Praefatus est Jo. Rhagius Aesticampianus Theologus, ad Vitum Werlerum Sulzfeldensem, editorem''. Leipzig, 1515.
* ''Modus epistolandi Magistri Johannis Aesticampiani''.
Wien
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, 1515.
* ''Aurelii Augustini libellus de Vita christiana''. Leipzig, 1518.
* ''Augustini libellus de vita Christiana'' Leipzig, 1518.
* ''Carmen de Lusatia, quod Melanchthon Basileam, ut excuderetur, miserat, nescio quo fato periit, et nondum repertum est''. n.p., n.d.
* ''Hymnus in laudem Barbarae''. n.p., n.d.
* ''Commentarius in Grammaticam Marciani Capellae, et Donati figuras''.
* ''Libanii graeci declamatoris disertismi, beati Johannis Chrysostomi praeceptoris, Epistolae, cum adjectis Johannis Summerfelt argumentis et emendatione et castigatione clarissimis''.
References
* Geiger, Ludwig. "Aesticampianus, Joh. Rhagius." In ''
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language.
It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...
'', vol. 1, pp. 133 f. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1875.
* Grimm, Heinrich. "Aesticampianus, Johannes Rhagius." In ''
Neue Deutsche Biographie
''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...
'', vol. 1, p. 92 f. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1953.
* Koch, Wans Theodor. "Die Wittenberger Medizinische Fakultät (1502-1652) - Ein biobibliographischer Überblick." In Stefan Oehmig: ''Medizin und Sozialwesen in Mitteldeutschland zur Reformationszeit'', edited by Stefah Oehmig. Leipzig:
Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2007.
* Lachmann, Erhard. ''Johann Rhagius Aesticampianus – eine erzählende Nachbetrachtung zur Lebensgeschichte des Humanisten.'' 1981.
* Walter, Peter. "Rhagius, Johannes." In ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'', vol. 8, pp. 116–19. Herzberg: Bautz, 1994.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aesticampianus, Johannes
German Renaissance humanists
German Lutheran theologians
German Roman Catholic theologians
1457 births
1520 deaths