Nikolaus von Reusner

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Self-portrait in one of his works

Nikolaus von Reusner (born February 2, 1545 in Löwenberg , Duchy of Schweidnitz-Jauer , † April 12, 1602 in Jena ) was a German legal scholar .

Life

He was born the son of Franz Reusner. The Reusner family owned large estates in eastern Hungary and Transylvania , but then moved to Silesia to purchase new property in and around Löwenberg. Nikolaus had three other brothers: Bartholomäus von Reusner (1532–1572), Prof. hist., Lic. Med. Elias Reusner (1555–1612) and Jeremias von Reusner. The entire family made a name for themselves as lawyers and doctors in the 16th century .

Nikolaus attended the Elisabeth-Gymnasium in Breslau , which he left in favor of the university in Wittenberg when he was 15 years old . He went there to study mathematics , philosophy and botany with Philipp Melanchthon . He also dealt with ancient languages ​​(especially Latin ) and anatomy . However, Melanchthon died before Nikolaus von Reusner arrived in Wittenberg. Nevertheless, he continued his studies.

In 1563 he moved to Leipzig . There he met Georg Wirth , who advised him against studying medicine and made him go into law. Nikolaus then went on to do an apprenticeship with Modestinus Pistoris , J. Ihoming and Leonhard Badehorn, among others . 1564 he returned to Wittenberg, where he continued his studies in jurisprudence continued.

In 1565 von Reusner hurried to the Reichstag in Augsburg . However, difficulties delayed this Reichstag so immensely that he accepted a position as a teacher at the grammar school near St. Anna in Augsburg. However, he gave this up again at the beginning of the Reichstag. In the meantime he wrote a few poems which were highly regarded by the local statesmen. For his poem "Germania ad Caesarem et Electores Imperii" he was even given a gift from Emperor Maximilian and in the following years received some interesting offers from the Lord Chamberlain, which he turned down on the advice of his friends (unknown). In 1566 Nikolaus von Reusner got a position as a teacher at the grammar school in Lauingen through Peter Agricola (councilor and prince informant) .

Emblemata , 1581

In 1572 he was offered the rectorate of the Lauingen "Gymnasium Illustre" due to his outstanding achievements in the field of ancient languages . Furthermore he got the chair for jurisprudence . In 1582 he returned to Augsburg to renew old contacts and friendships there. In the summer of 1583 he moved to the University of Basel and obtained his doctorate there that same year. Due to his excellent reputation in matters of jurisprudence and his level of fame, which he owed to visits to the Reichstag, among other things, the Swabian Circle appointed him assessor at the Reich Chamber of Commerce . However, during the test, he received an offer from the Strasbourg University , which he preferred to the equally honorable title of assessor. There he taught for another five years until he went to Jena in 1588 after long negotiations with the councilor Jofias Marcus and the Coburg Vice Chancellor Michael Wirth . The university there was urgently looking for lecturers at that time. In the first days of February 1589 he arrived with his wife in Jena, where he was immediately appointed senior at the law faculty. This title brought the possession of the court and the Schöppenstuhl with it. In addition, he also received compensation for his travel expenses of 1,400  florins. In the same year, Nikolaus von Reusner was represented at the Weimar and Coburg courts.

Probably the most important commission was given to him by the Mecklenburg cathedral provost Johann Gostiz in 1594 : The threat posed by the Turks had become so great that Nikolaus von Reusner was sent to Krakow with imperial and Brandenburg emissaries to provide military support and the dispatch of troops from the Poles to negotiate in Turkey. After long negotiations, however, the messengers had to return unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, Reusner's commitment was honored with the appointment of "comes Palatinus" and the renewal of his nobility as hereditary nobility by Emperor Rudolf II . However, this honor also resulted in differences of opinion between him and the Jenen Faculty of Law: Nikolaus von Reusner had come to the view that his new title would allow him to appoint doctors on his own.

He continued his work at the Faculty of Law until April 12, 1602, when he died at the age of 57. His marriage to Magdalena von Reusner, née Weihenmeier, remained childless until the end.

His character is described as benevolent. The polyhistor was distinguished by his good education and honest disposition. Nikolaus von Reusner wrote 83 poetic, biographical, historical, rhetorical, philosophical and even scientific works. One sixth of these works dealt with civil and feudal issues. His works are always viewed as methodical and clearly structured, which can be traced back not least to his long years of apprenticeship with Petrus Ramus .

Reusner married Magdalena Weihemajer on November 19, 1571 (born August 10, 1543 in Lauingen, † January 26, 1605 in Jena), a daughter of Leonhard Weihemajer and his wife Martha Schmied. The marriage remained childless.

Works (selection)

Sententiae sive decisiones iuris singulares , 1599
  • Emblematum liber . 1567. With woodcuts v. Tobias Stimmer Strasbourg 1587 and more
  • Elementorum artis rhetoricae ... , Strasbourg 1571.
  • Elementorum artis dialecticae ... , Lauingen 1571.
  • Carmina Sacra, Seu Christias , Lauingen 1571.
  • Paradisus poeticus . Basel 1578.
  • Picta poesis Ovidiana . Frankfurt am Main 1580.
  • Oeconomia juris utriusque . Strasbourg 1584.
  • Ethica philosophica et Christiana . Jena 1590.
  • Selectissimarum Orationum et consultationum de bello Turcico ..., volume IV . Leipzig 1595. 1596.
  • Orationum panegyricarum volumina duo . Jena 1595
  • Icones sive imagines impp. regum, principum, electorum et ducum Saxoniae . Jena 1597
  • Sententiae sive decisiones iuris singulares ( la ), Volume 1. Zacharias Palthenius, Frankfurt am Main 1599.

literature

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Reusner, Nikolaus von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German legal scholar
DATE OF BIRTH February 2, 1545
PLACE OF BIRTH Löwenberg , Duchy of Schweidnitz-Jauer
DATE OF DEATH April 12, 1602
Place of death Jena