Johann Baptista Rexius

Johann Baptista Rexius (* around 1563 in Vienna ; † May 2, 1598 in Freistadt ) was a late humanist philologist. He is considered to be the author of the first German-language version of the Iliad .

biography

Johann Baptista Rexius was born in Vienna around 1565 as the son of an imperial councilor. Not much is known about his life. His father had already studied at the Vienna Artistic Faculty around 1546, obtained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1558, wrote a few smaller papers and worked as a preceptor at the imperial court school, later even as secretary of the court chamber. His wife (since 1564) was the daughter of a man who was also a herald in the imperial service. The son Johann Baptista grew up in the academic circles of Vienna and probably also began studying at the University of Vienna, although he cannot be found in the matriculations there.

In 1581 he made his first appearance with a prize poem for a Viennese clergyman; this also appeared in print. In 1584 he made a German prose translation of Homer's Iliad based on Lorenzo Valla's Latin translation , his only known work. This translation is considered the first German version of the Greek epic (although it was probably made without the help of the Greek text) and has survived in a single manuscript that was probably never intended for printing.

In 1586 he studied law in Ingolstadt , in 1588 in Siena , Padua and Bologna , important universities of his time. His further life is unknown, only his death is documented again: He died on May 2, 1598 in Freistadt (Upper Austria). Since there was suspicion of suicide, he was initially refused a Christian funeral, but it finally took place anyway.

literature

• Johannes Baptista Rexius, Ilias Homeri teutsch. With synoptic imprint of the "Iliad" transmission by Lorenzo Vallas. Edited, commented on and introduced by Antje Willing. Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 2009 (texts from the late Middle Ages and early modern times. 46). - Review by Rüdiger Brandt, in: Perspicuitas. Internet Periodicum for Medieval Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies, (online) , discontinued on May 17, 2010.
• Antje Willing: The 'Ilias Homeri' of Johannes Baptista Rexius. In: Journal for German Antiquity and German Literature 136, 2007, pp. 480-499, (on-line) .