Johannes Clajus

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Johannes Clajus, also Clay (born June 24, 1535 in Herzberg (Elster) ; † April 11, 1592 in Bendeleben ) was a German educator, Protestant theologian and grammarian.

Life

Memorial plaque in Herzberg

Clajus grew up in poor conditions. His father Anton died early, so that his mother Katharina Schickrath initially formed his point of reference. He was able to attend the Princely School in Grimma through sponsors and studied at the University of Leipzig from 1555 to 1559 . In order to earn a living, he accepted unsatisfactory teaching positions in Herzberg from 1559 to 1568, in Goldberg from 1559 to 1568 and in Frankenstein in 1569. Instead, he wanted to devote himself to theology, so he went to the University of Wittenberg and initially obtained his master's degree in 1572 . Thereupon he took over the rectorate of the school in Nordhausen from 1570 to 1572 and was able to get a pastor's position in Bendeleben in 1573 .

Here he had the time to study the grammar of the German language. This led to his work “Grammatica Germanicae Linguae” in 1578, which, in addition to Albert Ölinger's and Laurentius Albertus works, paved the way for “written German grammar” in an independent way. Martin Luther's translation of the Bible , in the revised edition of 1545, served him as a template. He also seems to have oriented himself on the division of Latin grammar into Orthographia, Prosodia, Etymologia and Syntaxis and has his remarks on the phonetic and Form theory shown.

The abundant examples of his rules attest here and there to older verbal material that more and more receded in the 18th century. This makes them important testimonies in the history of the word. The grammar concludes with a brief teaching theory. The grammar was published more than ten times by 1720, mostly in central German print locations. This gives rise to the preferred area of ​​distribution of the work, which has not remained unknown in Low German and Upper German soil. It may have served direct teaching well into the 17th century. Justus Georg Schottel (1612–1676) and, after him, German grammars up to the 18th century, build on Clajus.

Clajus was married three times. The first marriage with Anna Storke († 1576) was concluded on July 18, 1558. After her death on September 16, 1576, he married Anna Martha Pisiquin († 1587) and then Elisabeth Anna Martha. From these marriages come six children from the first marriage, three children from the second marriage and one daughter from the third marriage. His gravestone is preserved in the village church of Bendeleben .

Works (selection)

  • The German grammar, edited by F. Weidling, 1894, = Older German grammars in new prints II.
  • Delitiae Poetarum Germanorum

literature

  • Friedrich August Eckstein :  Clajus, Johann (Klaj) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, pp. 270-272.
  • Otto Basler:  Clajus, Johannes. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 258 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Joachim Telle: "Clajus (Clai, Clay, Klaj), Johann." In: Walther Killy (Ed.): Literaturlexikon Vol. 2, pp. 420-422
  • Gerald Höfer , Petra Lange, Andreas Schaller: “Festschrift for the 400th anniversary of the death of M. Johannis Clajus the Elder. Ä. “, History and Antiquity Association for Sondershausen and the Surrounding Area e. V., Sondershausen / Bendeleben 1992
  • Heinz Scheible: Melanchthon's correspondence people 11.
  • Johann Gottlob Wilhelm Dunkel: Historically critical messages from deceased scholars and their writings. Cörnerische Buchhandlung, Köthen, 1757, vol. 3, p. 900
  • Heike Drobner-Dechering: "Johannes Clajus the Elder", humanist and a pioneer of the Reformation, Verlag BücherKammer, 2010 ISBN 978-3-940635-25-9
  • Paul A. Neuendorf: “Greek epistles in the 16th century. Johannes Clajus the Elder Ä. (1535–1592) to the scholars of his time ”. In: Stefan Weise (Ed.): Hellenisti ! Ancient Greek as a literary language in modern Europe, Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2017, ISBN 978-3-515-11622-0 , pp. 63-108

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Clajus, Johannes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johannes Clay
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German pedagogue, Protestant theologian and grammarian
DATE OF BIRTH June 24, 1535
PLACE OF BIRTH Herzberg (Elster)
DATE OF DEATH April 11, 1592
Place of death Bendelife