Nikolaus Gerbel (or Gerbellius) (c. 1485 – 1560) was a German

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 "humani ...

, jurist and

doctor of both laws A doctor of both laws, from the Latin ''doctor utriusque juris'', or ''juris utriusque doctor'', or ''doctor juris utriusque'' ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD a ...

. Nikolaus Gerbel was part of a circle of literary men living in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. He is notable for his friendship 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 ...

, his correspondence with

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

and

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 ...

and his support to

Johann Reuchlin Johann Reuchlin (; sometimes called Johannes; 29 January 1455 – 30 June 1522) was a German Catholic humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, whose work also took him to modern-day Austria, Switzerland, and Italy and France. Most of Reuchlin's ...

in the Pfefferkorn-Reuchlin Controversy. He was born in

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

and 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 histor ...

(1502–1505), at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

(1505–1506), at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

(1508–1512) and later at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

. He published several works in ancient Greek geography (''Descriptio Graeciae'') and Roman history. He also published the complete edition of

Johannes Cuspinian Johannes Cuspinianus (December 1473 – 19 April 1529), born Johan Spießhaymer (or Speißheimer), was a German-Austrian humanist, scientist, diplomat, and historian. Born in Spießheim near Schweinfurt in Franconia, of which ''Cuspinianus'' is ...

's, to which he added a not always reliable Life of Cuspinian (Commentationes Cusp., Strasburg, 1540).

References

*Bietenholz, Peter G., and Thomas B. Deutscher. ''Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation''. University of Toronto Press, 2003. Entry on Nikolaus Gerbel, vol. 1, pp. 90–91. * Auguste Frédéric Liebrich. ''Nicolas Gerbel, jurisconsulte-théologien du temps de la Réformation''. Faculté de théologie protestante de Strasbourg. Strasbourg, 1857.

External links

World Digital Library The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...

presentation o
''Nicolai Gerbelij in descriptionem Graeciae Sophiani, praefatio'', i.e. ''Preface by Nicolas Gerbelius to Nikolaos Sophianos’s Description of Greece''.

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. *

Nikolaos Sophianos Nikolaos Sophianos ( el, Νικόλαος Σοφιανός; c. 1500 – after 1551) was a Greek Renaissance humanist and cartographer chiefly noted for his '' Totius Graeciae Descriptio'' map and his grammar of Greek. He was born into the loca ...

, Gerbel's contemporary, was a noted Greek cartographer and scholar active in Italy. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerbel, Nikolaus 1485 births 1560 deaths People from Pforzheim 16th-century Latin-language writers German Renaissance humanists People from the Margraviate of Baden German male writers 16th-century German jurists