Konrad Heinfogel

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Konrad Heinfogel (* unknown; † 1517 in Nuremberg ) was a Nuremberg mathematician and astronomer who had a special friendship with Albrecht Dürer and Johannes Stabius .

Life

Nothing is known about his early life, neither place nor year of birth. Whether or not he studied in Erfurt , as suggested by the matriculation of a “Conradus Heinfogel de Nueremberga” in 1441, must remain open. An almanac with diary-like entries by Konrad Heinfogel has been preserved. There he reports on some personal events, such as the death of his parents, ordination as a priest (1480), moving into his own house (1500), death of his esteemed teacher Bernard Walther (1504), but also of life in the city of Nuremberg ( imperator Fridericus intravit Nurmbergam (1471), appearance of a comet (1506), execution of a comrade in arms Götz von Berlichingens (1515)).

Konrad Heinfogel was connected to the leading humanistic circles in Nuremberg. This is supported by his collaboration with Albrecht Dürer and Johannes Stabius, as well as his participation in the compilation of the Nuremberg astronomer Johannes Werner .

Works

The two star maps that Johannes Stabius created and published in 1515 together with Albrecht Dürer and Konrad Heinfogel are a highly regarded work . The inscription on the leaf of the southern hemisphere ( Johannes Stabius ordinavit, Conr. Heinfogel stellas posuit, Alb. Dürer imaginibus circumscripsit ) indicates his achievement - the positioning and drawing of the stars.

In 1516 he published his only work in German, the Sphera materialis , a collection of part of the astrological knowledge of the time.

Sphaera materialis

The text is a translation of the Latin Tractatus de sphaera by Johannes Sacro Bosco into the early New High German language. This work, created around 1232, presents in 4 chapters (Chapter 1: Definitions of the sphere, the earth as the center of the world - Chapter 2: the circles of the sphere, zodiac , climatic zones - Chapter 3: Rising and setting of the stars - Chapter 4: Suns - and lunar eclipse ) represent the specialist knowledge of astronomy for the student of the septem artes liberales . As early as 1350, a German translation was carried out by Konrad von Megenberg . Transfers into the national language were very rare at this time (one of the few was Nikolaus von Oresme (1323–1382)). The work of Konrad von Megenberg could not be addressed to students of the septem artes liberales , since the Latin language was mandatory for the lessons, but possibly to members of the Viennese court and other interested laypeople.

The print edition published by Konrad Heinfogel in 1516 - for whatever readership - was long regarded as only a minor revision of this manuscript. More detailed investigations show, however, that this is an independent translation of the Latin text, albeit with reference to the work of Konrad von Megenberg. Konrad Heinfogel has included a number of text passages that are missing in the earlier translation. Its linguistic design is also often different, in particular it clarifies terms by adding a foreign word, e.g. B. the life sketch is supplemented to Zodiacus / that is / of life Kreyß

expenditure

  • Francis B. Brévart: Konrad Heinfogel - Sphaera materialis - text and commentary, Göppingen 1981.

literature

  • Jean-Paul Deschler: The astronomical terminology of Konrad von Megenberg , Frankfurt / M. 1977.
  • Alfred Holl: The German Sphaera of Konrad von Megenberg in Konrad von Megenberg (1309-1374): a late medieval "encyclopedia" in a European context , Wiesbaden 2011.
  • Karl Schottenloher: Konrad Heinfogel. A Nuremberg mathematician from Albrecht Dürer's circle of friends in Contributions to the History of the Renaissance and Reformation (Ed. L. Fischer), Munich / Freising 1917.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon , Volume 3
  2. ^ The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author's Lexicon, Volume 3
  3. ↑ Karl Schottenloher: Konrad Heinfogel , pp. 305–309
  4. ^ Karl Schottenloher: Konrad Heinfogel , p. 301
  5. ^ Karl Schottenloher: Konrad Heinfogel , p. 300f
  6. ↑ Jürgen Hamel : Johannes de Sacroboscos Handbuch der Astronomie um (1230) - annotated biography of a successful work in the way of knowledge , eds. Dietmar Fürst and Eckehard Rothenberg, Frankfurt / M. 2004, p. 117
  7. ^ Alfred Holl: The German sphere of Konrad von Megenberg , p. 287
  8. ^ Alfred Holl: The German sphere of Konrad von Megenberg , p. 301
  9. ^ Karl Schottenloher: Konrad Heinfogel. A Nuremberg mathematician from Albrecht Dürer's circle of friends , p. 303
  10. ^ Jean-Paul Deschler: The astronomical terminology of Konrad von Megenberg , p. 342ff
  11. ^ Jean-Paul Deschler: The astronomical terminology of Konrad von Megenberg , p. 336f
personal data
SURNAME Heinfogel, Konrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nuremberg mathematician and astronomer, who had a special friendship with Albrecht Dürer and Johannes Stabius
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century
DATE OF DEATH 1517
Place of death Nuremberg