Lüder Reventlow

Lüder Reventlow (* around 1470 , † around 1547 ) was a German doctor and astrologer.

Live and act

Lüder Reventlow came from the knightly family Reventlow . He was the son of a father of the same name (attested in 1469) and Merte or Mette Breide, who was a daughter of Hans Breide, who was still alive in 1450. The father lived as a hereditary resident at Gut Schalkendorf, which later became part of Gut Schmoel . He married Erik Schrandi, who died before 1496 , in his second marriage on Schrandisgard on Sundewitt .

The first mention Reventlows dated to the year 1488, in which he for Duke Friedrich I worked. In 1492 he registered as "Luderus Reuenlowe de Oldenborch" at the University of Rostock . Neither the time nor the place of graduation are known. He later called himself "Knight and Doctor".

In 1498 Reventlow was again part of Friedrich's entourage at Gottorf Castle . Shortly after 1500 he moved to the court of the Roman-German king and later emperor Maximilian I and probably worked there as a doctor and astrologer. Around 1510 he came back to Northern Germany and worked as Duke Friedrich's personal physician. In 1515 he traveled with the Duke to the wedding of King Christian II in Copenhagen . A drinking binge is said to have taken place here, during which Reventlow predicted that the duke would be crowned king.

Reventlow moved from Gottorf to England around 1519 and lived there until 1526. He traveled back via the Netherlands, where he met Christian II, who was no longer king. In the autumn of 1527 Reventlow lived in Hamburg . There he appeared in particular through legal disputes. Duke Friedrich enfeoffed him with the Schauenburger Hof in Hamburg in 1510. This fief had been withdrawn from him during his time in England . Reventlow therefore sued a court in Hamburg, but probably only got the property back in 1542. In addition, he wanted to assert inheritance claims on the Kaden and Gaarz estates , but failed with his lawsuits.

In 1533/34 Reventlow stayed, probably on behalf of King Christian III. , in Denmark. In 1538 he stabbed a man, probably during a duel. This is said to have happened "to the Altona". It was one of the first documented mentions of the city of Altona .

In 1544 Reventlow lived in Lübeck . In 1545 King Christian III gave him the Hvidovre farm as a fief. The fiefdom was linked to the condition that Reventlow should settle there. However, he lived at the court of Emperor Charles V from 1545 and stayed there. In January 1547 he therefore received a letter that pointed out his obligations. Reventlow's further life is not documented. He died unmarried.

Historical classification

Reventlow led an unsettled life, combining medicine with astrology . He was thus a typical scholar in the period between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance . He was held in high regard in the courts where he lived. His fame was probably not based on his medical skills, but rather on his astrological predictions. In addition to the enthronement of Duke Friedrich, he is also said to have predicted the outcome of the Schmalkaldic War .

literature

• Dieter Lohmeier: Reventlow, Lüder . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 7. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1985, pp. 243-244.
• Karl Ernst Hermann Krause:  Reventlow, Lüder . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 28, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1889, p. 346.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Entry in the Rostock matriculation portal