Johannes von Paltz

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Johannes von Paltz, also called Johannes Jeuser , Geuser or Johannes Greffenstein (* around 1445 in Pfalzel near Trier; † March 13, 1511 in Mühlheim near Koblenz ), was a German theologian and Augustinian hermit .

Life

Johann von Paltz mentioned that his father was a bombardarius (gun master ); this could be identified with master Heinrich Joisser von Heilbronn, mentioned 1465 to 1472 in the rent management accounts of Trier. ("Joisser" is probably the "founder" of guns and in the form of Jeuser or Geuser is the nickname of the son.)

His studies at the University of Erfurt are well documented: matriculation 1462, Bachelor 1464, Magister 1467. From 1475 he studied in Heidelberg. Then he returned to Erfurt and entered the local Augustinian hermit monastery . Here he was theologically influenced by Johannes von Dorsten , as he himself emphasized.

In 1483 Johannes von Paltz became a doctor of theology. As a master's degree at the Studium Generale of the Erfurt Augustinians, he was Martin Luther's teacher from 1505 to 1506 . Reinold Weijenborg OFM assumed that Johannes von Paltz had been Luther's novice master , "with all the speculations that followed about the pastoral efforts and techniques with which Paltz had tried to help the challenged novice."

Luther mentioned von Paltz once, in a letter to the Erfurt Convention on June 16, 1514. This concerns Johannes Nathin's accusation that Luther was not allowed to go from Erfurt to Wittenberg, and Luther angrily replied that he was close been in the process of imitating Magister Paltz and pouring out "the bowl of anger and indignation" over the entire convent. This is an allusion to internal conflicts between Nathin (and the Erfurt convent) on the one hand, Paltz and Johannes Staupitz on the other hand, all at one Time when Paltz had long been prior in Mühlheim.

Johannes von Paltz was an important indulgence preacher and worked on behalf of the papal legate Raimundus Peraudi in Thuringia, Saxony and the Mark Brandenburg. This enabled him to add funds to his Erfurt monastery which enabled the construction of the monastery library.

Within the order, von Paltz endeavored to reform the German province of the Augustinian hermits in the sense of observance and from 1507 he was the prior of the order he founded in Mühlheim (today Ehrenbreitstein ).

theology

As a pastor, von Paltz assumes that only very few ( paucissimi ) Christians can achieve salvation through their own piety, and that only with very little need. Therefore, a safe path must be shown, which is also open to many others, even the greatest sinners, if they only contribute a minimum themselves ( facere quod in se est ) and otherwise entrust themselves to the institution of the church: specifically the sacraments and indulgences, the veneration of Mary, the pilgrimage.

The main work Coelifodina , revised several times, is in its first part a meditation on the suffering of Christ. To this end, von Paltz created a passion story in which he harmonized the four Gospels. The Passion is to be contemplated by visualizing the different places; The highlight and “precious pearl” is the meditation of Mary standing under the cross.

Precisely because von Paltz was more of a pastor and preacher than a theologian, he made very pointed statements on various topics, so that Luther's positions appear to be exactly the opposite a few years later. One example is von Paltz's idealization of monastic life, and especially his interpretation of profession as a second baptism.

Works

  • Coelifodina (Heavenly treasure trove ), 1490, and enlarged and reprinted (a collection of drain sermons dedicated to Frederick the Wise, interesting by the theological illumination of mining)
  • De Septem foribus seu festis gloriosae Virginis , 1491

literature

  • Johannes von Paltz: Coelifodina (Works Vol. 1), ed. by Christoph Burger and Friedhelm Stasch, de Gruyter 1983, ISBN 3-11-004954-6 (partly online )
  • Berndt Hamm: Theology of piety at the beginning of the 16th century. Studies on Johannes von Paltz and his circle , Tübingen 1982, ISBN 3-16-144520-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Berndt Hamm: Theology of Piety . S. 40-41 .
  2. ↑ Christoph Burger, Friedhelm Stasch: Coelifodina . S. XVII .
  3. ↑ Berndt Hamm: Theology of Piety . S. 26 .
  4. ↑ Berndt Hamm: Theology of Piety . S. 77 .
  5. ↑ Berndt Hamm: Theology of Piety . S. 82 .
  6. ↑ Berndt Hamm: Theology of Piety . S. 3 .
  7. ↑ Christoph Burger, Friedhelm Stasch: Coelifodina . S. XXII .
  8. ↑ Berndt Hamm: Theology of Piety . S. 32 .
personal data
SURNAME Paltz, Johannes von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paltz, Johannes von (full name); Jeuser, Johannes von; Geuser, Johannes von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theologian and Augustinian hermit
DATE OF BIRTH around 1445
PLACE OF BIRTH Pfalzel near Trier
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 1511
Place of death Mühlheim near Koblenz