Nicolaus Baumann

This article describes the Rostock scholar. For the Stralsund merchant and councilor see Nicolaus von Baumann .

Nicolaus Baumann (* around 1450 in Emden ; † in April 1526 in Rostock in the Jakobikirche (Rostock) ) was a German scholar, doctor of speech, professor of history and politics and a Middle Low German writer .

Life

Nicolaus Baumann came from an old East Frisian noble family. Nothing is known about his childhood and youth. He probably studied in Cologne and Heidelberg under the famous scholar at the time, Johann Wessel (called "goose foot"). At these universities he obtained the title of Doctor of Speech. Thereupon he was appointed the "secret secretary" of the Duke of Jülich . However, after Baumann uncovered the corruption of the then Chancellor, he had to quickly say goodbye. He went to the Mecklenburg court, where he became secretary and councilor to Duke Magnus II , who thought a lot of Baumann. He spent the last six years of his life as a teacher at Rostock University , for which he did a lot. Nicolaus was buried in the Jakobikirche in Rostock. His grave was probably destroyed in the British bombing raids on April 26, 1942, along with parts of the interior of the church.

Literary work

Nicolaus Baumann is considered to be the author of Tractatus de Sequestris . Furthermore, the animal poem Reynke de vos , dated 1498 , is variously ascribed to him. This world-famous poem was published by Hans van Ghetelen in Lübeck and is based on medieval stories from the 11th century. The work, written in East Frisian dialect, was ascribed to Hinrek van Alkmer for a long time , as Nicolaus was unable to reveal his name due to persecution by the Jülischen chancellor. Baumann probably invented van Alkmer to protect himself. This thesis is supported, among other things, by the fact that the foreword by Reynke de vos is the only source in which van Alkmer appears. The epic treats the life of the Jülischen court satirically.

family

The maiden name of Baumann's wife Elisabetha is unknown. One of his direct descendants was Nicolaus von Baumann , who was bailiff for Queen Christina's property in Swedish Pomerania and who became a councilor in Stralsund in 1660. The latter had made such wealth that he was able to issue the Swedish king with large loans, which he used to finance his army. For these services he was raised to the Swedish nobility on June 17, 1676.

Fonts

• Tractatus de Sequestris. (Original not dated.) Edited by apud heredes Andreae Wecheli, Claudium Marnium, & Ioannem Aubrium, 1597. ( Digitized from the National Central Library of Rome)
• Reynke de vos - 1498 (claimed authorship)

literature

• Ludwig Fromm:  Baumann, Nicolaus . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 154.
• Nicolaus Baumann in Johann Georg Theodor Grasse: The great sagas of the Middle Ages. Arnoldische Buchhandlung, Dresden and Leipzig 1842. ( digitized from Harvard University)
• Nicolaus Baumann in Jan v. Glück (Hrsg.), Kathrin Lukaschek, Michael Waltenberger: Reflections on the political in the European animal pike. De Gruyter, Oldenbourg 2016. ISBN 978-3-11-045983-8
• About Nicolaus Baumann's share in the publication of the Low German Reineke Voss. In Georg Christian Friedrich Lisch: History of book printing in Meklenburg up to the year 1540. With an appendix about the Low German processing of Reineke Voss. Schwerin 1839, pp. 196–205 ( digitized from the British Library)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Carl Ullmann: Johann Wessel, a predecessor of Luther. 1834, accessed January 31, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Reinike the fox. Retrieved January 31, 2017 .