Nikolaus Medler

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Nikolaus Medler , also Latinized Nicolaus Medlerus (born October 15, 1502 in Hof , † August 24, 1551 in Bernburg ) was a Lutheran theologian and reformer . He worked as a mathematics teacher and, as rector in Eger and Hof, also set accents in the school system.

Life

Born the son of a cloth maker , Medler attended school in his home town of Hof and in Freiberg . Presumably he enrolled at the University of Erfurt before moving to the University of Wittenberg on January 10, 1522 to study mathematics. As a math teacher he got jobs in Arnstadt and Hof , in 1524 he became headmaster in Eger . Since he represented the Lutheran idea in his school speeches and aroused the displeasure of the sovereign Ferdinand I , who suppressed Protestantism in his possessions, he gave up his position in 1527 under political pressure.

He returned to his hometown and worked there as a teacher and preacher. He succeeded Ambertus Avicula as rector or schoolmaster of the Hof high school. His successor was Conrad Meyer, who caused a sensation because he married Veronika von Zedtwitz ; she was the first nun from the Poor Clare monastery to convert to the new faith and give up monastic life. Because of his Reformation convictions, Medler soon had to leave Hof together with Kaspar Löner . While Margrave Georg the Pious actively promoted Protestantism, he faced strong opposition with Bamberg Bishop Weigand von Redwitz and his own brother, Canon Friedrich von Brandenburg-Ansbach , who had benefices in Hof. Medler turned to Wittenberg , where he took over a position as a deacon. Medler continued his studies at the University of Wittenberg , acquired the degree of master's degree in 1532 and received his doctorate in theology in 1535. The theme was De lege et fide . The examination commission consisted of Friedrich Myconius , Justus Menius and an English delegation under Robert Barnes .

In 1536 Medler took over the pastor's office at the Wenceslas Church in Naumburg for eight years . With the approval of Elector Johann Friedrich von Sachsen , he drove the Reformation there . The church and school regulations were drawn up on the basis of the Wittenberg regulations, contained Upper German elements and were checked and confirmed by Martin Luther . It contains u. a. the earliest source evidence of Kyrie, God the Father in Eternity ( Evangelical Hymn book 178.4), perhaps Medler's own work. From then on he was superintendent in charge of 32 churches. As a good organizer and gifted preacher, he was often asked to do foreign service, especially during the Reformation of the Albertine Duchy of Saxony.

As a preacher at Naumburg Cathedral , he was also considered when awarding the bishop's seat. The position was given to Nikolaus von Amsdorf , who mostly stayed in Zeitz . So Medler - because it was present locally - continued to shape the church's development in Naumburg. As energetic as he was, the superintendent grew up against many opponents. Tensions also arose with the new Bishop Amsdorf, as a result of which Nikolaus Medler finally switched to the service of the Brandenburg Electress Elisabeth , who had fled to the small town of Prettin in Saxony because of her Lutheran convictions - a position that was probably mediated by Luther.

The Electress found refuge in the former Antonite monastery at Haus Lichtenbergk in 1536 until Luther's death in 1546 . In 1545 Medler was briefly named as her court preacher, with which he also took one of the city parish posts in Prettin. It is rather unlikely that he accompanied Elisabeth von Brandenburg after Luther's death on her return to Brandenburg on May 19, 1546 to her retirement home in Spandau . The offer of Joachim II of Brandenburg to take over a professorship in Frankfurt (Oder) with an annual salary of 200 guilders for life was demonstrably rejected by Medler.

Medler can be traced back to Braunschweig as superintendent in 1546 . There he drafted new school rules and appeared energetically in the theological debate in the spirit of the Gnesiolutherans . His attacks against the Augsburg Interim and the Leipzig Articles caused a sensation , whereupon he had to leave Braunschweig.

In April 1551 Medler then took up a position as court preacher in Bernburg with Prince Wolfgang von Anhalt . However, the blow struck him during his first sermon in Bernburg on June 7, 1551. Brought to Georg Major's house in Wittenberg for better care , he suffered a second stroke. In mid-July he was brought back to Bernburg, where he died at the age of 48.

Fonts

  • Church regulations for the St. Wenceslas Church in Naumburg (1537/38), printed in: Emil Sehling (Hrsg.): The evangelical church regulations of the XVI. Century , Leipzig 1904, pp. 61–90

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Joachim Stalmann: 178.4 - Kyrie, God the Father in eternity . In: Gerhard Hahn , Jürgen Henkys (Hrsg.): Liederkunde zum Evangelisches Gesangbuch . No. 6/7 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-525-50330-X , p. 16–19 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
personal data
SURNAME Medler, Nicholas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Medlerus, Nicolaus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Theologian, pastor, reformer, rector in Eger and Hof
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1502
PLACE OF BIRTH Hof (Saale)
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 1551
Place of death Bernburg (Saale)