Balthasar Menz the Elder

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Balthasar Menz the Elder (also: Mentz, Mencius, Menter, Meintz, Mentzius, Mentius ; * 1500 in Herford , † July 17, 1585 in Eckmannsdorf ) was a Protestant theologian.

Life

Menz came from an influential family in Herford. After he had had his preparatory training in Deventer , he went to the monastery of Our Dear Women in Magdeburg in 1520 . When the monastery was converted into a school by the Reformation , Menz began studying at the University of Wittenberg on June 12, 1527 . There he attended the lectures of Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon, among others . Following his studies, he worked as a school teacher in Zerbst , Langensalza and Niemegk .

In 1538 he was Luther personally to the office of pastor of Eckmann village ordained . Two years before his death, his son Johannes was given the traineeship in Eckmannsdorf, as he had problems performing his office even in old age. Works that his son Balthasar Menz the Younger (1537–1617) wrote in the context of his university activities in Wittenberg are incorrectly assigned to him, among other things in older literature.

family

Menz was married twice. His first marriage was in 1536 with Barbara († October 21, 1561 in Eckmannsdorf), the daughter of the Seyda mayor Peter Jäger († March 31, 1532 in Seyda) and his wife Anna (née Köselitz (Köstlitz) † April 27, 1550 in Eckmannsdorf). His second marriage was with Ursula Reinhard. Nine sons and seven daughters are known from these two marriages. We know from the children:

  • Balthasar Menz the Younger (* around 1537 in Niemegk † February 1, 1617 in Wittenberg)
  • Johannes (* 1540 in Eckmannsdorf; † May 9, 1598 Ibid)
  • Andreas became a baker in Wittenberg
  • Martin (* Eckmannsdorf 1558 † November 14, 1582 Ibid)
  • Barbera (* 1542 in Eckmannsdorf; † November 20, 1596 Ibid) ⚭ 1564 Erasmus Hecht
  • Maria Magdalena († 1601 Eckmannsdorf) ⚭ in Wittenberg with Nicolai Lyrae (2 p. 1 d.)
  • Catharina
  • Christina, godmother 1570
  • Magaretha (* November 1563 in Eckmannsdorf; † January 1564 Ibid)
  • Anna (* 1540 † April 7, 1594 Wittenberg) ⚭ 1557 with the mayor in Jessen Bartel Richter
  • Hermann I († young on March 15, 1567 in Eckmannsdorf)
  • Hermann II († young on May 19, 1569 in Eckmannsdorf)
  • Hermann III. († young on March 25, 1570 in Eckmannsdorf)
  • Michael († December 28, 1568 in Eckmannsdorf)
  • Bartholomäus († March 25, 1569 in Eckmannsdorf)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ He attended high school in Magdeburg, enrolled at the University of Wittenberg on March 16, 1564, was ordained in Wittenberg as a substitute in Eckmannsdorf on March 20, 1577 and was pastor there from 1585-1596. On December 9, 1579, in Wittenberg, he married Maria, the daughter of Wittenberg councilor Ambrosius Bernutz. From this marriage there were six sons and four daughters. Dorothea (born November 19, 1580 in Eckmannsdorf), Johannes (born January 26, 1582 in Eckmannsdorf), Barbara (born February 4, 1584 in Eckmannsdorf), Maria (born April 23, 1586 in Eckmannsdorf), Constantinus (born December 15, 1584 in Eckmannsdorf), 1587 in Eckmannsdorf), Zacharias (* March 29, 1590 in Eckmannsdorf; † July 19, 1592 ibid, drowned in the pond of the parish property), Ernst Christof (* December 12, 1592 Eckmannsdorf; † March 29, 1593 ibid), Hieronymus (* December 12, 1592 in Eckmannsdorf), Magaretha (* December 30, 1595 in Eckmannsdorf), Zacharias Secundus (* March 30, 1597 in Eckmannsdorf)
personal data
SURNAME Menz, Balthasar the Elder
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mentz; Mencius; Menter; Meintz; Mentzius; Mentius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Protestant theologian
DATE OF BIRTH 1500
PLACE OF BIRTH Herford
DATE OF DEATH July 17, 1585
Place of death Eckmannsdorf