Bonifacius Amerbach

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Portrait of Bonifacius Amerbach. Hans Holbein the Younger (1519)

Bonifacius Amerbach (born October 11, 1495 in Basel ; † April 24 or 25, 1562 there ) was a Swiss lawyer , humanist , professor and composer . In his legal-philosophical thinking, which co-founded the humanistic legal conception , he received the ethical ideas of antiquity , especially Roman law . His differentiated understanding was a model for the development of modern natural law . Modern times regard him as the spiritual heir to Erasmus of Rotterdam .

Life

Amerbach came from the Basel family of humanistically educated printers and lawyers . He was the third son of Johannes Welcker , called Amerbach , who immigrated from Amorbach , and Barbara Ortenberg, the daughter of a Basel councilor . It is not certain whether he had already received organ lessons before attending the Latin school in Schlettstadt , Alsace . However, he knew the organist and organ builder Hans Tugi (* around 1460; † 1519). In 1508 he enrolled at the Artistic Faculty of the University of Basel and listened to music theory . He also took music lessons from the organist Johannes Kotter . This resulted in a tablature book , which, as the Codex Amerbach, is one of the most extensive works of the early 16th century.

From 1513, Amerbach continued his studies at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau , where he turned to law . With Ulrich Zasius he got to know the beginnings of the practical understanding of law, which began to differentiate itself from the scholastic tradition and to renew the legal system. Here he was on friendly terms with Sixt Dietrich and the organist Hans Weck . From 1519 to 1525 Amerbach finally finished his education at the University of Avignon , where he was a student of Andreas Alciatus . He graduated with a doctorate of Doctor of Laws from.

As early as 1525 he was appointed professor of law at the University of Basel and taught Roman law until 1536. When the University of Basel found itself in a crisis after the Reformation that caused the university to close temporarily, Amerbach was one of the initiators of its reopening. He was elected rector of the university five times and endowed a chair in Aristotelian ethics .

In 1527 Amerbach married Martha Fuchs, the daughter of a merchant and mayor of Neuenburg am Rhein . In 1533 their only son Basilius was born, who later also became a lawyer and humanist. From 1536 until his retirement in 1548 he only worked part-time at the university. As early as 1535 he had been appointed city syndic of Basel, the following year he became administrator of the Erasmus Foundation of Rotterdam and advised the students of the University of Basel as a private scholar. As a legal advisor he was in the service of several German cities and princes.

Amerbach, who witnessed the introduction of the Reformation in Basel in 1529 , initially did not support the new ideas. He defended the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and did not take part in the Reformed Lord's Supper . In 1530 he was attacked by the Basel authorities for his behavior, but because of his social position as rector, he did not have to emigrate like many like-minded people. He had a close friendship with Erasmus of Rotterdam. He shared and supported his critical stance towards the positions of Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli , which were perceived as radical , and his own position remained moderate and mediating: he rejected the social utopias of enthusiasts like Karlstadt , which ultimately ended in the Peasants' War , and at the same time criticized the uncompromising one Attitude towards the peasants and the Anabaptist movement .

From 1533 Amerbach approached the balancing position of Martin Bucer . Under its influence, he finally committed to the Reformation. In 1534 he also advocated the Protestant Lord's Supper. As a delegate and legal expert, he had already participated in the Strasbourg Synod in 1533 . In 1540/41 he was delegated to the Worms Religious Discussion .

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Amerbach is considered to be one of the most important humanists from the Erasmus community of Rotterdam. He was known as an important legal expert during his lifetime . Although he did not write any legal writings, he is one of the best-documented personalities of his time due to his extensive estate.

He pursued his musical inclinations only during his studies. Following his humanistically oriented ideal of education, he turned more to the practical practice of music than to the theory, which at the time was understood as speculative. He left behind the pieces of the Codex Amerbach , written between 1513 and 1532 , which contains intavolations and polyphonic chorale arrangements of all musical genres cultivated in the 16th century: preludes and dance movements by Kotter, Weck and Hans Buchner , Latin motets , French chansons and German songs based on original vocal works by Heinrich Isaac , Paul Hofhaimer , Josquin Desprez , Alexander Agricola , Dietrich, Pierre Moulu and anonymous composers. In addition, there are individual song sets from the youth, u. a. Song arrangements based on Isaac and Ludwig Senfl , written in 1510 , some lute tablatures written in Avignon in 1520/21, and numerous works for organ and clavichord .

Amerbach maintained a collection in his Kleinbasel house that contained sheet music and musical instruments, art objects and a library; Since his death it has been together with the Erasmus estate in the so-called Amerbach Cabinet , which his son Basilius founded and which was acquired by the city of Basel and the university library in 1662 after a long legal dispute.

His correspondence, one of the most informative documents of the Reformation era, was published between 1942 and 1995. It includes German, French and Italian, Latin and ancient Greek letters, which serve as an important source for the personal and legal history of the 16th century as well as for the development of humanism, the Reformation and the educational system.

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SURNAME Amerbach, Bonifacius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Amerbach, Bonifazius; Amerbachius (Latinized)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss lawyer, composer and humanist
DATE OF BIRTH October 11, 1495
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH April 24, 1562 or April 25, 1562
Place of death Basel