Leonhard Ruben

Leonhard Ruben SJ / OSB (also: Leonard Ruben ; * May 7, 1551 in Essen ; † October 15/16, 1609 in Paderborn ) was a Jesuit and later abbot of the Abdinghof Benedictine monastery in Paderborn.

Life

Raised in a family deeply rooted in Catholicism , Ruben first attended the high school in his hometown, which was under the influence of the Jesuits. As Protestantism progressed in Essen, he moved to the “Schola Apostolica” in Nijmegen , where he probably met the famous German Jesuit Petrus Canisius , who came from Nijmegen and preached at the school several times. After Leonhard Ruben moved to the Jesuit College in Cologne , he joined the Jesuits on August 4, 1566. Ruben took his first vow in 1567. This was followed by studying philosophy in Mainz from 1569, where he also received his doctorate in 1572.

In the same year he became a teacher and preacher at the Jesuit grammar school in Fulda . On June 5, 1574, he was ordained priest in Würzburg . In 1580 Ruben became cathedral preacher in Paderborn , against the resistance of the majority Protestant population. Two years later he returned to Fulda because the situation in Paderborn made his work impossible. In 1584 Leonhard Ruben went on a mission trip from Mainz via Olomouc and Krakow to Riga . There he was appointed rector of the college. Here too difficult conditions prevailed for the Jesuits. They were under the protection of King Stephan Báthory . When he died, however, the Jesuits had to flee to Braunsberg (East Prussia) in 1586 . 1587 Ruben Vice Rector was in Cluj , but was also sold here. He was able to return to Riga again, but had to flee again in 1589. In the following year he worked as prefect of studies, confessor and extraordinary preacher in Vienna , in 1591 as head of the Olomouc seminary .

After these long journeys, Leonhard Ruben became tired of missionary work and asked to be released from the Jesuit order in order to be able to join the Benedictine order. This was granted to him so that in 1595 he could enter the Benedictine Abbey of Groß St. Martin in Cologne under Abbot Balthasar a Bree. After traveling through Italy, he made his solemn vows and trained young monks. Here he also began with his three-volume biblical lexicon "Thesaurus biblicus". From 1598 he also worked at the University of Cologne . At the request of his abbot, he worked for the Bursfeld congregation . On April 27, 1598, Leonhard Ruben was elected the new abbot of the Abdinghof Benedictine monastery . On September 28, 1602, he was elected President of the Bursfeld Congregation for life. Under his leadership, the congregation flourished again. In 1607 the Bursfeld Breviary was written under him, which the Pope did not approve, but was in use until 1649. Leonhard Ruben suffered a stroke during a visit to the Benedictine Abbey of Iburg on October 15, 1609. Although he still reached Abdinghof Monastery, he died there a little later.

family

Ruben was born as the only son of the businessman and pharmacist Johann Ruben and his wife Agnes. At least this is inferred from the fact that he inherited the entire property of his parents, although he was a monk. On the other hand, the existence of a sister is recorded.

Works

• three-volume Thesaurus biblicus (1596–1604), this work was not printed
• De falsis Prophetis & lupis rapacibus, Paderborn 1600 printed by Matthäus Pontanus ( digitized version )

estate

Leonhard Ruben bequeathed a number of handwritten comedies and tragedies to Abdinghof Abbey, which he probably collected on his travels. In any case, there is no evidence that the pieces were played in Paderborn, even if performances by Jesuits and pupils (so-called Jesuit theater ) were common here. However, there is evidence of performances in Olomouc and Vienna at the time he was active there. The manuscripts are now in the Archbishop's Academic Library Paderborn under Codex Vva. 5.

literature

• Otto Schmid:  Rubenus, Leonhard . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 29, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1889, p. 428 f.
• Hugo Kramer: Abbot Leonhard Ruben. A picture of life from the time of the Catholic renewal in Paderborn. In: Westphalian magazine. Journal of Patriotic History and Antiquity. Published by the Association for History and Archeology of Westphalia by Karl Zuhorn and Alois Fuchs. 103/104. Tape. Munster 1954
• Hermann-Josef Schmalor: The Abdinghofer library under Abbot Leonhard Ruben and the Paderborn book trade around 1600. In: Westfälische Zeitschrift. Journal of Patriotic History and Antiquity. Published by the Association for History and Archeology of Westphalia by Alfred Hartlieb von Wallthor and Friedrich Gerhard Hohmann. 129th volume. Paderborn 1979
• Hermann-Josef Schmalor: Abbot Leonhard Ruben and Matthäus Pontanus. The interaction between author and printer - a chapter in Paderborn book history. In: 400 Years of Book Printing in Paderborn / ed. by Karl Hengst. (Publications of the Archbishop's Academic Library Paderborn. H. 4) Paderborn 1997, pp. 47-74
• Mareike Temmen: The Abdinghofer 'Pharmacopoeia'. Edition and examination of a manuscript of Middle Low German specialist prose. Low German Studies 51. Münster 2006, ISBN 978-3-412-14405-0
• Ralf Böckmann: Ruben, Leonhard. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 32, Nordhausen 2011, columns 1170-1175, ISBN 978-3-88309-615-5
• Ralf Böckmann: Theater on the Weser. A catalog raisonné of the drama in the Weser area from 1500 to 1650. Verlag Traugott Bautz GmbH, Nordhausen 2011, ISBN 978-3-88309-666-7 , pp. 303f., 426ff.