Jakob Spiegel

Jakob mirror (also de speculis , specularis , Spegellius , Spiegelius , Wimpfeling junior ) (* 1483 in Schlettstadt ; † around 1547 ) was an imperial private secretary, humanist and jurisprudential author. His main work is the Lexicon iuris civilis .

Title page of the Lexicon iuris civilis in the Basel edition of 1549

family

He was the son of a baker and Magda Wimpfeling. He was thus nephew of the humanist Jacob Wimpfeling . He himself married Clara Drach from Colmar in 1511 . After her death in 1542 he wooed the widow Anna Braun, who preferred Beatus Rhenanus . The name of his second wife, who was married in 1542, is unknown. From his first marriage he had a son who later lived in his household.

Life

He first attended the Latin school in his hometown. After the death of his father he lived with his uncle and attended the cathedral school in Speyer . Since 1496 he studied in Heidelberg and was influenced by humanists like Johannes Reuchlin alongside his uncle . Against Wimpfeling's will, he concentrated on law and continued his studies in Freiburg im Breisgau .

In 1506 he was secretary to the Bishop of Trieste . After that he entered the imperial chancellery. In 1508 Maximilian I tried in vain to get Spiegel and his half-brother Johann Meyer a preamble to the cathedral chapter in Strasbourg . In 1513 he was Imperial Councilor and Latin Councilor of the Lower Austrian Chancellery. In 1511 and 1512 he deepened his legal knowledge in Tübingen . There he received his doctorate in 1513 on Legum Licentiatus .

In 1513 he himself took over a legal chair for newer church law in Vienna. In addition, he remained in the service of Maximilian I. The affairs of state and the absence from Vienna forced him to give up his chair again soon. But he remained in close contact with the humanists at the university and in Danube society. While traveling in the emperor's entourage, he made numerous contacts with other humanistically minded personalities. In particular, he maintained extensive correspondence with numerous humanistically minded people.

After the emperor's death in 1519, he initially lost his job and returned to Schlettstadt. He worked as a writer and participated intensively in the discussions in the local learned society founded by Wimpfeling. During this time, the first preliminary work was carried out, which later flowed into his main legal work.

In 1520 he joined Charles V's office . He was again Imperial Councilor and Secretary of the Austrian Chancellery. He was involved in the negotiations on Martin Luther in the background at the Worms Reichstag in 1521 . After all, he also carried out the imperial mandates against Luther. Because of his anti-Lutheran attitude he recommended himself to the papal nuncio. Through the intercession of Erasmus von Rotterdam , Spiegel switched to the service of King Ferdinand in 1522 . He was one of his trusted employees. After the Diet of Speyer in 1526 and the overthrow of Chancellor Gabriel von Salamanca-Ortenburg , Spiegel too had to give up his office. His brother Johann (called Maius) Spiegel took over his position. He was granted a small pension.

Then he lived in Schlettstadt as a writer. In 1526 he earned the title of Doctor of Both Rights, apparently through papal intercession. He was also practically involved in legal practice. In particular, he was several times ambassador of the Alsatian League of Ten cities . He also gave advice to the emperor and king. In 1536 he was given the honorary title of Imperial Count Palatine . He was a consultant at Ferdinand's court in Augsburg in 1536 , at the Diet of Hagenau in 1540 , in Speyer in 1542 and in Worms in 1545. He was last mentioned in 1547, but it is unclear when he died.

plant

Although he was anti-Semitic and rejected Hebrew, he appeared as defender of Johannes Reuchlin. As a young humanist he stood up for a German national church independent of the Pope . Later, after the beginning of the Reformation , he remained loyal to the old church and, like Erasmus, pleaded for reform within the church.

He was of great importance as a writer. Apart from a few smaller poems, he left behind 25 works with humanistic, political and legal content. He taught and wrote in Latin. His “Lexicon iuris civilis” is considered to be his main work and has seen numerous editions. After much preparatory work, it was first published in 1538 and dedicated to his brother.

Before his death in 1543, he bequeathed his important library to Wilhelm von Hohnstein, the bishop of Strasbourg . Most of the collection was lost during the French Revolution . A catalog produced by Spiegel himself in 1543 contains 1700 titles. A large part made up ancient and humanistic authors. A quarter each was theological and legal. Since 1538 the books had an ex-libris with his coat of arms and an autobiographical poem.

Works

• Lexicon Ivris Civilis. Basel, 1548 digitized

• Antonii Panormitae De dictis et factis Alphonsi regis Aragonum libri quatuor: Commentarium in eosdem Aeneae Syluij, quo capitatim cum Alphonsinis contendit. Adiecta sunt singulis libri scholia per D. Iacobum Spiegelium. Basileae: ex officina Heruagiana, 1538 (Basileae: per Ioannem Heruagium et Ioan Erasmium Frobenium, 1538)

literature

• Gustav Knod:  Spiegel, Jakob . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 35, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, pp. 156-158.
• Franz Josef Worstbrock (Ed.): German Humanism 1480-1520 Author's Lexicon. Vol. 2, Delivery 3 Berlin, New York, 2012 pp. 936ff.
• Thomas Burger: Jakob Spiegel, a humanistic lawyer of the 16th century. Dissertation, University of Freiburg i. Br., Freiburg 1973.

Web links

• Brief description of a. to the main work

Individual evidence

1. ↑ It is relatively uncritical and relies on numerous authorities. Gerhard Köhler: Growth and Knowledge in the Change of the Dictionary. In: Words of Law - Words of Legal History. Berlin, 2007 p. 212