Cornelius Schonaeus

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Cornelius Schonaeus (1540–1611) from an anonymous portrait gallery from the 17th century

Cornelius Schonaeus (* 1540 in Gouda ; † November 23, 1611 in Haarlem ) was a Dutch educator and writer of neo-Latin comedies and biblical dramas .

biography

Cornelius Schonaeus, originally Cornelius Schoon or Cornelius de Schoone, was born in Gouda in 1540 as the eldest son of the butcher Adriaen Corneliszoon Schoon. At the age of nine, he first attended the Latin school in his hometown, and then, from July 1556, presumably finished school in Utrecht . From August 28, 1560 Schonaeus was registered in Leuven . Inspired by Cornelius Valerius, he wrote epigrams and elegies in Latin while he was still at school . A degree is not documented.

After a short time as a tutor, Schonaeus settled in Haarlem. In 1564 his activity as assistant teacher (Ludimagister) and lecturer of the Groten Latijnse School of Haarlem is documented. Schonaeus married Weyntgen Jacobstocher (van) Blyenburg in 1565 or 1566 , who also came from Gouda and gave birth to at least seven children. In 1572 he was promoted to rector of the Groote Gemeene Schoole of The Hague , he only held this office until 1574, to take up the position of rector at his old school in Haarlem. Schonaeus moved into an official apartment in the Grote School . He performed self-written Latin plays at his school in Haarlem. Since the ancient models Plautus and Terence seemed too revealing to him, he worked on topics from the Bible, which, however, mostly did not create any theatrical tension. In 1576 he gave the school in Haarlem new school regulations, the “Leges scholasticae”. In 1580 he published a Latin grammar for use in the Dutch states. After almost 34 years of work, he retired into private life in 1609. Schonaeus died on November 23, 1611 in Haarlem.

reception

Cornelius Schonaeus made a name for himself as both an educator and an author. His special concern was to replace Plautus and Terence with more moral material from the biblical context. In spite of the high recognition during his lifetime and the name Christian Terence, this resulted in his time constraint. The Viennese literary historian Alexander von Weilen summarized his reservations about Schonäus in the ADB at the end of the 19th century :

“The history of literature has nothing to save Schonaeus. On the contrary, it must considerably limit the exuberant admiration that Christian Terence found in those around him. "

The admiration of those around him led to artists of the time, including Hendrick Goltzius , Pieter de Jode the Elder and Jan Saenredam, taking up scenes from Schonaeus' stage works and disseminating them in drawings, prints and oil paintings.

Works

First editions;

  • Tobaeus , 1568, printed in 1570 with the Liber elegiarum attached.
  • Nehemias , 1569.
  • Saul , 1570.
  • Naaman, Joseph and Judith , the first volume of a complete edition, published in Haarlem in 1592. Reprint Cologne 1595 under the title Terentius Christianus
  • Susanna, Daniel, Triumphus Christi, Typhlus, Pentecoste and Ananias , published as the second part in 1600 in Haarlem.
  • Baptistes, Dyscoli, Pseudostratiotae (published separately as early as 1592), Cunae , Vitulus and the Liber epigrammatum , published as the third and last part in Haarlem in 1603.
  • Fabula comica , published as a single print in Zwolle in 1607.

Translations into German;

  • Naaman , translated by E. Major, Breslau, 1605.
  • Tobaeus , translated by Barthold von Gadenstedt, 1605.
  • Triumphus Christi , translated by Elias Gerlach, Kolditz and Balthasar Schnurr, 1607.
  • Pseudostratiotae , translated by Balthasar Schnurr, 1607.

Other writings;

  • Schonaeus wrote school regulations, a catalog of books and a Latin school grammar.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ H. van der Venne: Cornelius Schonaeus in: Jan Bloemendal en Chris Heesakkers, eds, Bio-bibliografie van Nederland Humanisten. Digital uitgave DWC / Huygens Institut KNAW (The Hague 2009) www.dwc.huygensinstituut.nl (online)
  2. ↑ A. von Weilen, ADB: Schonaeus, Cornelius
  3. ↑ A. von Weilen, ADB: Schonaeus, Cornelius
personal data
SURNAME Schonaeus, Cornelius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schoon, Cornelius; Schonne, Cornelius de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch educator and playwright
DATE OF BIRTH 1540
PLACE OF BIRTH Gouda cheese
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 1611
Place of death Haarlem