Matthäus Ratzenberger

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Matthäus Ratzenberger (also: "Ratzeberger" , "Ratzenperger" or "Razzeberg" ; * 1501 in Ratzenberg near Lindenberg in the Allgäu , then the territory of Wangen ; † January 4, 1559 in Erfurt ) was a doctor and reformer, a friend of Luther and, at first, also of Melanchthon , active as personal physician to several Reformation-oriented princes.

Non moriar sed vivam, et narrabo opera Domini - "I will not die, but live and proclaim the deeds of the Lord" (Psalm 118, 17), motto of Martin Luther; including Dextera Domini fecit virtutem - “The right of the Lord works with power” (Psalm 118, 15 and 16), motto by Matthäus Ratzenberger; Engraving from 1706

Life

Childhood and youth

The origin of the Ratzenberger family is uncertain due to the lack of documents. In any case, Matthäus Ratzenberger was born in 1501 at Ratzenberg Castle and spent his childhood and youth there. Today Ratzenberg is in the area of ​​the city of Lindenberg in the Allgäu, but for over 200 years (from shortly after 1400 to 1614, i.e. at the time of Matthäus Ratzenberger) it belonged to the distant free imperial city of Wangen , which is therefore also the place of birth.

Studied in Wittenberg

Matthäus Ratzenberger began studying medicine at the University of Wittenberg in 1516 . First, he completed a degree in the basic philosophical sciences of Artes liberalis . On October 13, 1517, at the philosophical faculty, he obtained the lowest academic degree of that time, the bachelor's degree . At the same time he dealt with Reformation theology and joined Martin Luther. He also made the acquaintance of Johannes Agricola , and certainly also of many important personalities who were attracted by the university's reputation at the time.

After his actual studies, Ratzenberger used the caesuras in the following phases of his life to study at the university. Most of all, he had concentrated on studying medical science. At that time, Augustin Schurff , Heinrich Stackmann , Jakob Milich and Caspar Lindemann taught at the medical faculty of the Wittenberg University of Applied Sciences . Under Schurff, he acquired the licentiate in medicine on October 8, 1528 and received his doctorate under the same degree as a doctor of medicine on January 12, 1536. At that time he seems to have married Klara, Johann Pontanus' sister , with whom he became a relative of Luther.

Brandenburg

In 1525 Ratzenberger was the city ​​physician in Brandenburg. Soon afterwards, Electress Elisabeth , the daughter of the Danish King John I , who had turned to the Lutheran faith, appointed him to be her personal physician and advisor in religious matters. In 1527 Elisabeth fled to Saxony from her husband, Elector Joachim I of Brandenburg , who wanted to arrest her because of her change of faith and the corresponding influence on his sons. Ratzenberger had no longer any reason to stay at the Brandenburg court and escaped to Wittenberg before the angry elector.

Mansfeld County

After a short stay, Count Albrecht VII von Mansfeld brought him to Eisleben as a personal physician . Johannes Agricola, who had lived there since 1525, may have recommended him. Both men renewed their old friendship from the Wittenberg time and maintained a close exchange of ideas. This was also shown by the fact that Agricola Ratzenberger left his entire correspondence to be copied. In 1531, however, this friendship apparently broke up in connection with the cooling of the relationship and the conspicuously decreasing correspondence between Agricola and Luther, whom Ratzenberger himself dearly adored.

Saxony

From 1538 to 1546 Ratzenberger worked as the personal physician of the Elector Johann Friedrich von Sachsen . In addition to medical science, Ratzenberger dealt intensively with religious topics. Every day he studied the holy scriptures with Luther's explanations on them as well as the other Latin and German writings of the reformer. Closely familiar with Protestant doctrine, he took an active part in all church debates. The elector therefore had him prepare expert opinions on the issues that arise frequently enough and report on the religious negotiations.

Ratzenberger took part in the Reichstag in Frankfurt in 1543 and Speyer in 1544 on his behalf and was even considered as collocutor for the negotiations in Regensburg in 1546. Luther approved of the choice of Ratzenberger, whom he, as a theologically educated, faith and character solid physician, preferred to a possibly fearful and compliant theologian. Ratzenberger could be useful to him as a loyal, influential friend at court.

Also on behalf of the electoral prince, Ratzenberger convinced the angry and sick reformer, who had been driven from Wittenberg by the dire circumstances in 1545, to return home from Zeitz . Luther gratefully recognized the friend's efforts and dedicated the 1545 pamphlet “Against the Papacy in Rome, donated by the devil” to him .

After Luther's death in February 1546, Ratzenberger took care of his children as guardian .

In 1547 he warned the elector against participating in the war of the Schmalkaldic League against Charles V and lost his trust in the conflict with the warlike advisors of the elector. The elector was then captured in the fighting by imperial troops on the Lochauer Heide . At the request of influential princes, the originally pronounced death sentence was converted into life imprisonment. After five years of imprisonment he was released again thanks to the Passau Treaty and resided in Weimar for the last years of his life .

During his imprisonment, Johann Friedrich had the "High School" founded in Jena in 1557 . It was supposed to replace the lost State University of Wittenberg, but was only elevated to the University of Jena by Emperor Ferdinand I after his death in 1558 . The sons of the Saxon Prince Johann Friedrich called Matthäus Ratzenberger and Melanchthon to Weimar to support the development of the university. However, Ratzenberger fell out with Melanchthon, because he believed that Melanchthon had deviated from Luther's teaching. So he transferred to the Gnesiolutheran camp .

Erfurt

After the Elector's return from captivity, Ratzenberger said goodbye and moved with his family to Nordhausen , opened a practice and finally went to Erfurt as a city physician .

As a supporter of the Gnesiolutherans , Ratzenberger argued violently with the Philippist party . Ratzenberger made a special contribution to promoting the Jena Luther edition.

Memorabilia

In memory of the city's great son, Wangen named his senior center, which opened in 2006, the Matthäus-Ratzenberger-Stift .

In Ratzenberg itself, two panels draw attention to Matthäus Ratzenberger:

" Castle Ratzenberg / Dr. Matthäus Ratzenperger 1538 personal physician / and advisor to the Elector of Saxony / and friend of Dr. Luther "

- Dr. Otto Merkt : Inscription on the memorial stone on the Ratzenberg castle stable

“ Ratzenberghof / E / The Ratzenberg settlement / owes its origin to a castle site / which was founded in 1538 / by Matthäus Ratzenperger / Martin Luther's friend. "

- At the Hofgutzeinfahrt : memorial plaque

Works

  • Warning / Against the wrong ways of leading the cause of the revelation of the Antichrist. 1665; Müller, Magdeburg 1690 ( digitized version ).
  • Secret history of the Chur and Saxon courts and the religious disputes of its time. Edited by Georg Theodor Strobel. Lorenz Schüpfel, Altdorf 1774 ( digitized version ).
  • Ratzeberger's handwritten story about Luther and his time. Edited by Christian Gotthold Neudecker . Friedrich Mauke, Jena 1850 ( digitized ; original from Harvard University, digitized on August 25, 2008).

literature

Web links

Commons : Matthäus Ratzenberger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ today from Lindenberg in the Allgäu
  2. ↑ The assumptions range from a job as a servant of the St. Gallen monastery (ministerial aristocracy) to the marriage of the Franconian aristocratic Ratzenberger (Bamberg ministries).
  3. ↑ Typical of the wealthy bourgeoisie (patricians) of the cities was the strong devotion to the new Calvinist and later Protestant doctrine during the Reformation. They sent - and Lindau in particular stood out here - their sons in large numbers to the newly founded university in Wittenberg, where Luther also taught.
  4. ↑ Journal for hist. theology 1872. p. 382
  5. ↑ official spokesperson / negotiator
personal data
SURNAME Ratzenberger, Matthäus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ratzeberger; Ratzenperger; Razzeberg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German doctor and reformer of the Wittenberg Reformation
DATE OF BIRTH 1501
PLACE OF BIRTH Wangen in the Allgäu
DATE OF DEATH January 4, 1559
Place of death Erfurt