Johannes Eel

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Johannes Aal (* around 1500 in Bremgarten AG ; † May 28, 1551 in Solothurn ; also Al or All , Latinized : Anguilla, Olus ) was a Swiss theologian , composer and playwright .

Life

Johannes Aal was a son of Hans von Aal († around 1515), who had Bremgarten citizenship since 1485 at the latest , and his wife Katharina, born from a respected Bremgarten bourgeois family. Füchslin († around 1527). Nothing is known about his exact date of birth and early years. Since Johannes Aal was named as a “young priest” in 1529, his birth can be dated to the beginning of the 16th century, taking into account the usual study period.

As a clergyman, Aal was a staunch advocate of Catholicism . When the disputes over the introduction of the Reformation began with the appearance of the indulgence merchant Samson in Bremgarten , Aal was elected dean of his hometown by the Catholics in 1529 after his predecessor, dean Heinrich Bullinger, had openly professed Protestantism . However, Aal only served a few months in his office. In the same year the Reformation finally prevailed in the community and Heinrich Bullinger , the son of the deposed dean, took over Aal's spiritual position. Aal then went to Baden near Zurich as a people priest . There he joined the Verena Brotherhood.

Aal went to Freiburg im Breisgau in 1536 to begin studying . On August 26th of this year he enrolled at the local university and took lessons from the humanist Glareanus , with whom he subsequently enjoyed a lifelong friendship. He evidently had considerable musical talent, was known as an organ player and was involved in the development of Glareanus' musical work Dodekachordon , in which he is characterized very positively at one point. The same passage shows that Aal was not only concerned with theology, but also with mathematical disciplines and languages. Of the correspondence between Aal and his teacher, there are still nine letters that Glareanus wrote to Aal in the central library in Solothurn.

Finally, in February 1538, Aal was appointed as a canon preacher from St. Ursus to Solothurn. He also held the post of rector of the collegiate school. On June 30, 1544 he was elected provost of the monastery and thus obtained citizenship in Solothurn. In 1550 he was appointed canon . He enjoyed a high reputation in Solothurn. Before his death in this city on May 28, 1551, he had made dispositions about his inheritance in his will, dated May 23, before. He was buried in the old Ursus Minster in Solothurn.

Johannes Aals sister Verena married the Bremgarten citizen Gebhard Wagner. The schoolmaster and playwright Hanns Wagner (1522–1590) emerged from this connection .

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Tragedy over John the Baptist

Performances, sources, tendency

Johannes Aal achieved literary importance through his dramatic drama about the story of John the Baptist , written in Swiss dialect ( Tragoedia. Joannis des Heiligen vorlöuffers vnd Töuffers Christi Jesu warhaffte Histori , 1549). The extensive work, consisting of 7090 pairs of rhymes, was designed for a two-day performance. In July 1549, the piece was premiered in the open air by the citizens of Solothurn under Aal's direction and was performed again in Solothurn in 1596. The only other performance that can be verified is that of Andreas Meyenbrunn in Colmar in May 1573 , based on a linguistically revised version of Aal's text that was printed in 1575.

Aals drama, in the tradition of the great spiritual games of the 15/16. Century, shows both late medieval motifs and humanistic elements. The latter are expressed, for example, in the genre of the work as “ tragedy ”, in its subdivision into acts and scenes and in the rudimentary psychologization of the plot. But Aal was still little familiar with the structural principles of ancient dramas and palliata . In addition to the Biblical Gospels , Aal also used the Jewish antiquities (Book 18, Chapter 5) of the historian Flavius ​​Josephus and perhaps the - only very fragmentary - hypomnemata of the early Christian church historian Hegesippus as sources . According to source research, however, the author was not influenced by other Johannesspiele published at the time when he was working on his work .

The Tragoedia Joannis intended conceived eel as a spiritual lesson that the spread of Catholic doctrine and the reminder of that society that is oriented towards Christian values of life. In some places John the Baptist is portrayed as a Swiss moral preacher. In his play, Aal exercised social criticism against Herod's absolutist understanding of rule and against people from his court, which typologically is modeled on the government structures of the author's time. The courtly world of Herod is dominated by viciousness; it symbolizes the sinful human race. In addition, there is a pronounced theological-anti-feminist trait in the portrayal of female figures such as Herodias and Salome . The clear contrast to this is the Christian world of salvation, dominated by morality and justice; the death of John the Baptist appears predetermined in salvation history.

content

To loosen up the moral didactic thought load transported in the course of the plot, Aal provided his play with numerous dramatic artifacts. Modified dialogues, an abundance of vividly designed stage sequences, a theatrically effective combination of contrasting storylines, musical interludes and the use of a very graphic language permeated with pithy folk humor with many built-in idioms and swear words often serve for a change.

The material planned for the first day of the performance includes the appearance of John the Baptist in the desert, his admonitions to the people and sermons against the Pharisees, as well as his meeting with Jesus , whom he baptizes. Another storyline shows the anti-John undertakings of the Pharisees and the splendid absolutist court of Herod, against whom John gives a punitive speech. Eventually he is arrested. The events surrounding Jesus in this plot contrast strongly with the secular and courtly scenes, and a simultaneous stage illustrated this reference drama graphically. In his intended demonstration of worldly sinfulness and the divine plan of salvation presented at the same time, Aal referred to each other argumentatively only from the intersecting game actions.

The events to be portrayed on the second day of the performance are primarily at the court of Herod. They are contrasted by the scenes of the deeds of Jesus, with the Savior, for example, performing miracles or preaching. The dramatic climax is Herod's birthday party, which he celebrates with a banquet and music - including fencing fights - until finally Salome moves the ruler through her dance to fulfill her wish to have the Baptist executed. Synchronized with the banquet, the beheading of John is shown, whose severed head Salome receives, who passes it on to Herodias. The end of the play is Johannes' funeral by his mourning disciples.

Possible further works

Aal is possibly the author of the texts handed down in Solothurn to the 16- stanza St. Mauritzen and St. Ursen songs and the older St. Ursen play from 1539.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Bruno Amiet , Hans Sigrist: Solothurnische Geschichte , Vol. 2: City and Canton of Solothurn from the Reformation to the height of the patrician regime. Solothurn 1976, p. 194.