Matthäus Zell (also ''Mathias Zell''; anglicized as ''Matthew Zell'') (21 September 1477, in

Kaysersberg Kaysersberg (; ; ) is a historical town and former commune in Alsace in northeastern France. The name is German for ''Emperor's Mountain''. The high fortress that dominates the town serves as a reminder of both its strategic importance and its ...

– 9 January 1548, in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

) was a Lutheran

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

and an early Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg. He joined the Reformation as early as 1521. His widow was Katharina Zell.

Life

Zell was the son of a wine maker in Kaysersberg. He studied at the Universities of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

and

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. His compatriot Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg exerted a strong influence on him.

References

General references

* ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) 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 Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

'', ADB 45 (1900), 17ff. * ''Realenzyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche'', Band 21 Seite 650 * * T. W. Röhricht. Matthäus Zell (Mitt. a. d. Gesch. d. ev. K. d. Elsasses 3). Straßburg 1855, 84-154. * W. Baum. Capito und Bucer. Elberfeld 1860, 195ff. * Ficker-Winkelmann. Handschriftenproben 2. Straßburg 1905, 55. * J. Adam. Ev. kg d. Stadt Straßburg. Straßburg 1922. * Martin Bucers Deutsche Schriften 1, Gütersloh 1960, 31 u. ö. * M. Weyer, L'Apologie chrétienne du réformateur strasbourgeois Matthieu Zell (Christliche Verantwortung, 1523), 3 Bde., Diss; Université de Strasbourg, 1981. * M. Weyer, Martin Bucer et les Zell : Une solidarité critique, dans Martin Bucer and Sixteenth Century Europe. Actes du colloque de Strasbourg (28-31 août 1991), éd. par Christian Krieger et Marc Lienhard, 2 vol., Leiden-New York-Köln, 1993, p. 275-295 * M. Weyer, "Matthieu Zell", in: Nouveau dictionnaire de biographie alsacienne, Strasbourg (Fédération des Sociétés d'Histoire et d'Archéologie d'Alsace) 2003. 1477 births 1548 deaths People from Kaysersberg-Vignoble Clergy from Haut-Rhin 16th-century German Lutheran clergy Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni University of Erfurt alumni German Protestant Reformers {{Germany-Lutheran-bishop-stub