Matthias Hoë von Hoënegg (24 February 1580,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 4 March 1645,

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

) was a German Lutheran pastor.

Life

Matthias's father was Leonhard Höe von Höenegg, a Lutheran imperial councillor and doctor of law descended from old Austrian nobility. Matthias was born prematurely and so his health was weak during his early years, meaning he only started speaking when he was seven. His father initially had him taught by a private tutor until, once he was almost fully educated, he was allowed to visit Vienna's St Stephan's Stadtschule, where he developed remarkably and began talking to the city's scholars. Due to the imminent capture of Vienna in 1594 by the Ottomans, Matthias, his father and his brother moved to

Steyr Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd l ...

, where they spent three years and where Matthias attended the local gymnasium. His father then returned to Vienna and recalled Matthias, giving him a chance to attend 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 ...

, where he initially studied philosophy. On the recommendation of an envoy from Saxony, on 16 June 1597 he moved to 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 i ...

, where he studied philosophy and gained his master's degree, toying with going into law but in the end deciding to study theology. After several disputations and lectures in Wittenberg, his father's death in 1599 brought him back to Vienna for a short time, before returning to Wittenberg, where he gained his licentiate in theology in 1601. In 1602 he travelled to Dresden, where he aimed to become court-preacher to the Prince Elector. After a trial sermon on 17 February 1602 he gained the post and also graduated on 6 March 1604 as a doctor of theology in Wittenberg.

Christian II of Saxony Christian II of Saxony (23 September 1583 – 23 June 1611) was Elector of Saxony from 1591 to 1611. He was born in Dresden, the eldest son of Christian I of Saxony and Sophie of Brandenburg. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wet ...

then sent him to

Plauen Plauen (; Czech language, Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the larges ...

as superintendent, where on 20 April he was introduced to

Polykarp Leyser the Elder Polykarp (von) Leyser the Elder or Polykarp Leyser I (18 March 1552 – 22 February 1610) was a Lutheran theologian, superintendent of Braunschweig, superintendent-general of the Saxon church-circle, professor of theology at the University of Wit ...

. Despite several offers of other posts, he remained in the service of Saxony and in 1611, at the request of the elector of Saxony, moved to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

as director of Protestant schools and churches in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. He then moved back to Dresden on the death of Paul Jenisch and replaced him as chief court preacher of Saxony. His most notable work is his two-volume ''Commentarii in Joannis Apocalypsin'' (Leipzig 1610/40). His sermons and writings were strong Lutheran polemics against the

Reformed churches Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the Christian theology, theological tradition and forms of Christianity, Christ ...

, whose beliefs he loathed more than

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

Catholicism. Older literature on the topic has overestimated his influence on

John George I of Saxony John George I (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45 year reign. Biography Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector Chr ...

and Saxon policy at the start of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, though he was on John George's privy council when it approved siding with the Emperor against

Frederick V Frederick V or Friedrich V may refer to: * Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (1164–1170) *Frederick V, Count of Zollern (d.1289) *Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (c. 1333–1398), German noble *Frederick V of Austria (1415–1493), or Frederick III ...

and wrote propaganda to support that decision.

References

Bibliography

* Frank Müller: ''Kursachsen und der böhmische Aufstand 1618–1622.'' Münster 1997, . *

Christian Gottlieb Jöcher Christian Gottlieb Jöcher (20 July 1694 – 10 May 1758) was a German academic, librarian and lexicographer. Jöcher was born in Leipzig, and became professor of history at the University of Leipzig in 1732. From 1742, he was university librar ...

: ''Gelehrtenlexikon.'' Vol 2 p. 1638 * Wolfgang Sommer: ''Die lutherischen Hofprediger in Dresden: Grundzüge ihrer Geschichte und …'' Franz Steiner, 2006, * Adolf Brecher
Hoë von Hoënegg, Matthias.
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 ...

(ADB). Vol 12, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1880, S. 541–549. * *

External links

*
Church history of Saxony
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoe Von Hoenegg, Matthias 1580 births 1645 deaths 17th-century German Lutheran clergy German people of Austrian descent University of Wittenberg alumni University of Vienna alumni Clergy from Vienna