Georg Schönichen

Georg Schönichen (* around 1490/1500 in Eilenburg ; † mid-16th century there) was a German shoemaker and champion of the Reformation .

Life

He was presumably the son of Hans Christoph Schönichen, who was elected mayor (previously judge) of Eilenburg in 1504, 1507 and 1510. The apparently intelligent Schoenichen visited hall the Latin school , but then suggested not an academic career for unknown reasons, but was a shoemaker. Committed to his hometown, he appeared publicly for the first time in 1517 as a lay judge and councilor. Through his school education, Schönichen had acquired considerable writing skills and an in-depth knowledge of the Bible. He was also obviously an ardent supporter of Martin Luther and thus of the Reformation. Apparently during occasional stays in Leipzig , which belonged to the Catholic duchy of Duke Georg of Saxony , Schönichen attended the services there. Deeply annoyed by what he heard, he subsequently wrote three pamphlets in Eilenburg, with Nikolaus Widemar , in 1523 against the papist advice and the like-minded clergy of Leipzig. With the writings that suddenly made him known and aroused violent opposition from the Catholic party, the learned shoemaker interfered in the theological debates of his time and committed himself to the introduction of the Reformation throughout Saxony. Allegedly, Luther, who was on principle opposed to the fact that church laypeople interfere in the intellectual disputes of the time, influenced Schönichen to refrain from any further public statements; that happened then too.

Works

• All brothers to dresden dy Ewangelio Holt his wish George Schonichen to Eylenburgk dy Genade Gottes. [Jakob Stöckel] [u. a.], [Eilenburg] 1523 ( slub-dresden.de ).
• The honorable and highly educated zu Leypßck, Petro Mosellano Rectori, Ochßenfart preacher at St. Nicolao, Andree Camiciano… Widemar, Eilenburg 1523 ( digitized version ).
• On the lesson of the highly trained doctor, Ern Hieronimy Tungirßheim… Widemar, Eilenburg 1523 ( digitized ).

literature

• Georg Müller:  Schönichen, Georg . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 32, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1891, p. 308 f.
• Ferdinand Gundermann: Chronicle of the city of Eilenburg. Eilenburg 1879, pp. 42 ff and 439–440.
• Martin Arnold: Craftsmen as theological writers: studies on pamphlets of the early Reformation (1523–1525). Göttingen 1990, pp. 193-216 ( google.de ).
• Hans-Joachim Böttcher : Schönichen, Georg. In: Important historical personalities of the Düben Heath, AMF no. 237, 2012, p. 91.