Santes (or Xantes) Pagnino (Latin: Xanthus Pagninus) (1470–1541), also called Sante Pagnini or Santi Pagnini, was an Italian Dominican friar, and one of the leading

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

s and Biblical scholars of his day.

Biography

Pagnino was born 1470 at Lucca, in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, central Italy. At sixteen he took the religious habit at San Domenico in Fiesole, where he studied under the direction of

Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...

and other eminent professors. In acquiring the Oriental languages, then cultivated at

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, he displayed unwonted quicksightedness, ease and penetration. His genius, industry and erudition won him influential friends, among them the Cardinals de'Medici, subsequently popes Leo X and Clement VII. As a

sacred orator Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

his zeal and eloquence kept abreast with his erudition and were as fruitful. Summoned to Rome by Leo X, he taught at the recently-opened free school for Oriental languages until his patron's death (1521). He then spent three years at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

and the last seven years of his life at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. Here he was instrumental in establishing a hospital for the plague-stricken, and by his zeal and eloquence, diverted an irruption of Waldensianism and

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

from the city, receiving in acknowledgement the much coveted rights and privileges of citizenship. Here he also was in contact with the polymath and Hebraist Michael Servetus, whom he gave his notes to, and designated him as his heir to the scholarly study of the bible after he would have died. The epitaph of Pagnino, originally adorning his tomb in the Dominican church at Lyon, fixes the date of his death on 24 August 1541, at Lyon, beyond dispute.

Writings

The merit of his ''Veteris et Novi Testamenti nova translatio'' (Lyon, 1527) is said to lie in its literal adherence to the Hebrew, which won for it the preference of contemporary

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

s and induced Leo X to assume the expenses of publication until his death. This version is also notable for introducing verse numbering in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, although the numbering system used there is not the same as the system used in modern bibles. Several editions of it, as well as of the monumental ''Thesaurus linguæ sanctæ'' (Lyon, 1529), were brought out by

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

s as well as Catholics. His other works all deal with scripture, Greek or Hebrew language. Among them were: * ''Isagoges seu introductiones ad sacras literas liber unus'' (Lyon, 1528, etc.) * ''אוֹצַר לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ, Thesaurus Linguae Sanctae sive Lexicon Hebraicum'' ("Treasury of the sacred language, or Hebrew lexicon") (1529) * ''Catena argentea in

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...

um'' in six volumes (Lyon, 1536).

Sources

Catholic Encyclopedia article

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pagnino, Santes 1470 births 1541 deaths Italian Dominicans Christian Hebraists