Matthäus Adriani

Matthäus Adriani (* around 1475 in Spain ; † after 1521 in Freiburg im Breisgau ?) Was a Jewish Hebraist .

Life

Adriani was born in Spain to a Jewish family. He first appeared in Italy in 1501 when he was writing an instruction in the Hebrew language in Venice . At this point he is already a medical doctor. He stayed in Venice until 1512, where he worked on the Greek grammar of Aldus Manutius and Erasmus von Rotterdam noticed him and emphasized his work. This also gave him a good reputation in Germany, so that he appeared in Tübingen in 1512. Here he wrote translations of Christian prayers into Hebrew in 1513.

On the recommendation of Johannes Reuchlin and Konrad Pellican (1478–1556) he came to Basel via Strasbourg in the same year , with the intention of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land via Venice. He taught in Basel Wolfgang Capito , the sons of the printer Johann Amerbach , Johannes Brenz and Johannes Oekolampadius .

In 1517 he received the Hebraic Chair in Leuven . However, in Leuven it offended the theologians. On March 27, 1519, he gave a speech there in praise of the ancient languages, which was published in Wittenberg in 1520 with a preface to Georg Spalatin .

Therefore, on April 17, 1520, he accepted a call to Wittenberg University . He seemed to feel at home here, especially since he got married despite the lack of living space. However, in the fall he fell out with Martin Luther , whom he wanted to teach about his New Testament and the doctrine of justification. When the contradictions became too great, Adriani submitted his dismissal and left Wittenberg in February 1521 due to the disputes. Since then, his trail has been lost. It is possible that he subsequently moved to Leipzig . Rather, however, it seems reasonable to assume that he went to Freiburg im Breisgau .

Selection of works

Introductio utilissima Hebraice discere cupientibus, 1520

• "Introductio ad hebraicam linguam" 1501 and 1508 at Aldus Manutius in Venice
• "Grammar of Konstantinos Laskaris" at Aldus Manutius in Venice 1512
• "In Praise of Ancient Languages" in Wittenberg 1520

literature

• Ludwig Geiger:  Adriani, Matthäus . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 124 f.
• Otto Schottenloher:  Adriani, Matthäus. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 87 ( digitized version ).
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  ADRIANUS, Matthäus. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 41-42.
• Heinz Scheible: Melanchthon's correspondence. People. Volume 11