Beatus Rhenanus (22 August 148520 July 1547), born as Beatus Bild, was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 ...

, religious reformer,

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, and

book collector Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is ''bibliophilia'', and someo ...

Early life and education

Rhenanus was born on the 22 August 1485 in Schlettstadt (Sélestat) in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. He was the third of three brothers. His father, Anton Bild, was a butcher from

Rhinau Rhinau (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department of Grand Est in north-eastern France. Until 1398, the village was located on the bank of the Rhine. The present village dates from the sixteenth cent ...

(the source of his name "Rhenanus", which Beatus Latinised from his father, who was known as the "Rhinauer", the "man from Rheinau"). His grandfather Eberhard emigrated to Schlettstadt from Rheinau, and his son Anton was a member of the local council and acted as Schlettstadts Mayor between 1495-1512. Beatus lost his mother Barbara Kegler at the age of three and was raised by his father and his uncle Reinhart Kegler, a priest. His father would not remarry and focused in the education of his only surviving son. He was able to provide his son with an excellent education and from 1491, Rhenanus attended the famous

Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...

of Schlettstadt.

Paris

In 1503, Rhenanus went to the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, where he came under the influence of Jacobus Lefèvre Stapulensis, an eminent Aristotelian. He assisted Lefèvre in publishing a commented

Politika ''Politika'' ( sr-Cyrl, Политика; ''Politics'') is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and owners ...

and a treatise on the

Nicomachean Ethics The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; ; grc, Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics, the science of the good for human life, which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. (I§2) The aim of the inquiry is ...

by Aristotle in the print of

Henri Estienne Henri Estienne (; ; 1528 or 15311598), also known as Henricus Stephanus (), was a French printer and classical scholar. He was the eldest son of Robert Estienne. He was instructed in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew by his father and would eventually tak ...

.Holzberg, Niklaus (1985).pp.23–24 After having graduated he returned to Schlettstadt in 1507.

Strasbourg

In the same year he moved to Strassburg (Strasbourg), where he worked for the printer Mathias Schurer and made the acquaintance of the great Alsatian humanists, including

Jakob Wimpfeling Jakob Wimpfeling (25 July 1450 – 17 November 1528) was a Renaissance humanist and theologian. Biography Wimpfeling was born in Sélestat (Schlettstadt), Alsace, Lorraine. He went to the school at Sélestat, which was run by Ludwig Dringenberg, ...

,Holzberg, Niklaus (1985).pp.24–25

Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg (16 March 1445 – 10 March 1510) was a priest, considered one of the greatest of the popular preachers of the 15th century. He was closely connected with the Renaissance humanists of Strasbourg, whose leader was ...

and

Sebastian Brant Sebastian Brant (also Brandt) (1458 – 10 May 1521) was a German humanist and satirist. He is best known for his satire '' Das Narrenschiff'' (''The Ship of Fools''). Biography Brant was born in Strasbourg to an innkeeper but eventually enter ...

. The works he was involved at Schurer were poems and treatises by contemporary

Italian humanists Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...

and are seen as a preparation for his later work on texts by Aristotle and the

Fathers of the Church The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical pe ...

. One was a book by Fausto Anderlini, who was a teacher of his in Paris.

Basel

After having also evaluated Orleans for his further studies, he eventually chose to come to Basel in July 1511.Holzberg, Niklaus (1985).p.26 He sought to become a student of the teacher in the Greek language

Johannes Cuno Johannes Cuno (1462/1463 Nuremberg – 1513 Basel) was a Dominican humanist and early greek scholar in the Germanophone region. He was also a translator from the Greek language and collector of manuscripts and books. While living in Basel, he assis ...

. Rhenanus would become the favorite student of Cuno, who would bequest him with his library. In Basel he also befriended

Desiderius 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 played an active role in the publishing enterprises of

Johann Froben Johann Froben, in Latin: Johannes Frobenius (and combinations), (c. 1460 – 27 October 1527) was a famous printer, publisher and learned Renaissance humanist in Basel. He was a close friend of Erasmus and cooperated closely with Hans Holbein th ...

. While he was staying in Basel, he usually lived several months a year in Schlettstadt. In 1519/1520, when the plague raged in Basel, he stayed for over twelve months.

Schlettstadt

He returned to Schlettstadt in 1528 to devote himself to a life of learned leisure. He continued a lively correspondence with many contemporary scholars, including his friend Erasmus, and supervised the printing of many of Erasmus's most important works.

Legacy

Rhenanus's own publications include a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

(

1510 Year 1510 ( MDX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January – Catherine of Aragon gives birth to her first child, a stillborn daughter. * ...

), the ''

Rerum Germanicarum Libri III Rerum may refer to : * Lacrimae rerum is the Latin for tears for things. * Rerum novarum is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 16, 1891. *Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii was a Latin book by Baron Sigismund von Herberstein on the geograp ...

'' (

1531 Year 1531 ( MDXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 26 – Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake, in which thousands die. * Fe ...

), and editions of

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...

(Froben, Basel, 1520), based on the sole surviving manuscript, which he discovered in the Benedictine monastery at

Murbach Murbach is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Murbach Abbey is located near Murbach. See also * Communes of the Haut-Rhin département The following is a list of the 366 communes of the French depar ...

, Alsace. He also wrote works on

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

(

1519 __NOTOC__ Year 1519 ( MDXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1519th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 519th year of the 2nd millennium ...

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

(

1522 __NOTOC__ Year 1522 ( MDXXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1522nd year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 522nd year of the 2nd millenn ...

), and a nine-volume work on his friend Erasmus (

1540 Year 1540 ( MDXL) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 6 – King Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort; the ma ...

1541 __NOTOC__ Year 1541 ( MDXLI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February 12 – Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago del Nuevo Extremo, whi ...

). Beatus Rhenanus invaluable collection of books went into the ownership of his hometown by his death and is still to be seen in its entirety in the

Humanist Library of Sélestat The Humanist Library in Sélestat is one of the most important cultural treasures of Alsace, France. According to a traditional saying, Alsace has three great treasures: Strasbourg Cathedral, the Isenheim Altarpiece in Colmar and the Humanist Lib ...

Personal life

He had two elder brothers, both of which died during childhood. His mother died when he was three years of age. He died on the way from Strasbourg on the 20 July 1547 while still in hope for a treatment for a sickness.Holzberg, Niklaus (1985).p.32

Notes

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20120211132805/http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/at/beatus-rhenanus_1531_rerum-germanicarum-libri-tres.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhenanus, Beatus 1485 births 1547 deaths People from Sélestat German Renaissance humanists Book and manuscript collectors German male writers