Simon Grynaeus (born Simon Griner; 1493 – 1 August 1541) was a German scholar and
theologian of the
Protestant Reformation.
Biography
Grynaeus was the son of Jacob Gryner, a
Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
n peasant, and was born at
Veringendorf, in
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He adopted the name "Grynaeus" from the epithet of
Apollo in
Virgil. He was a schoolmate of
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 ...
at
Pforzheim, whence he went to the
University of Vienna, distinguishing himself there as a
Latinist and
Hellenist.
His appointment as rector of a school at
Buda
Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
was of no long continuance: his views excited the zeal of the
Dominicans, and he was thrown into prison. He gained his freedom at the instance of Hungarian magnates, visited Melanchthon at
Wittenberg, and in 1524 became professor of Greek at the
University of Heidelberg, being in addition professor of Latin from 1526. His Zwinglian view of the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
disturbed his relations with his
Catholic colleagues. From 1526, he had corresponded with
John Oecolampadius
Johannes Oecolampadius (also ''Œcolampadius'', in German also Oekolampadius, Oekolampad; 1482 – 24 November 1531) was a German Protestant reformer in the Calvinist tradition from the Electoral Palatinate. He was the leader of the Protestant f ...
, who in 1529 invited him to Basel, which
Erasmus had just left. The university being disorganized, Grynaeus pursued his studies, and in 1531 visited England for research in libraries.
A commendatory letter from Erasmus gained him the good offices of
Sir Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
. He returned to Basel charged with the task of collecting the opinions of continental reformers on the subject of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
's divorce, and was present at the death of Oecolampadius (24 November 1531). He now, while holding the chair of Greek, was appointed extraordinary professor of theology, and gave
exegetical
Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
lectures on the
New Testament.
In 1534,
Duke Ulrich called him to
Württemberg in aid of the Reformation there, as well as for the reconstitution of the
University of Tübingen, which he carried out in concert with
Ambrosius Blarer of
Constance
Constance may refer to:
Places
*Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English
*Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada
* Constance, Kentucky
* Constance, Minnesota
* Constance (Portugal)
* Mount Constance, Washington State
People
* Consta ...
. Two years later, he had an active hand in the so-called
First Helvetic Confession (the work of Swiss divines at Basel in January 1536); also in the conferences which urged the Swiss acceptance of the
Wittenberg Concord (1536).
At the Worms conference (1540) between Catholics and Protestants, he was the sole representative of the Swiss churches, being deputed by the authorities of Basel. He died suddenly by
the plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
at Basel on 1 August 1541. A brilliant scholar, a mediating theologian, and personally of lovable temperament, his influence was great and wisely exercised. Erasmus and
John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
were among his correspondents. His chief works were Latin versions of
Plutarch,
Aristotle and
John Chrysostom, and the editing of the first printed version of
Euclid's Elements in ancient Greek.
Family
His son Samuel (1539–1599) was professor of jurisprudence at Basel. His nephew
Thomas (1512–1564) was professor at Basel and minister in
Rötteln, and left four distinguished sons of whom
Johann Jakob was a leader in the religious affairs of Basel. The last of the direct descendants of Simon Grynaeus was his namesake Simon (1725–1799), translator into German of French and English anti-
deistical works, and author of a version of the Bible in modern German (1776).
References
* This work in turn cites:
**
Pierre Bayle, ''Dictionnaire''
** W.T. Streuber in
Hauck's ''Realencyklopädie'' (1899)
** Streuber, ''S. Grynaei epistolae'', for bibliography (1847)
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grynaeus, Simon
1493 births
1541 deaths
16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
16th-century German Protestant theologians
16th-century German male writers
German Calvinist and Reformed theologians
German male non-fiction writers
People from Sigmaringen (district)