Otmar Nachtgall

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Ottmar Nachtgall (1480–1537)
Grunnius sophistica (copy from the National and University Library of Strasbourg )

Otmar Nachtgall (Latinized Ottomarus Luscinius ; * 1478/80 in Strasbourg ; † September 5, 1537 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) was a humanist , theologian , translator and musician with a variety of interests, which are also reflected in his writings in German, Greek and Latin knock down. He was Doctor iuris pontificii.

Life

Otmar Nachtgall was born in Strasbourg in 1478/1480 as the son of Johannes and Ottilia Nachtgall.

He received his first training in Strasbourg, where he was influenced by the humanists Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg and Jakob Wimpfeling . In 1494 he enrolled at the University of Heidelberg and graduated with a baccalaureate in July 1496. The following years were marked by intensive travel activities that took him to Paris , Padua , Vienna , the Middle East and Greece .

The University of Vienna deserves special mention . After his matriculation he was trained as an organist and composer by Wolfgang Grefinger . He also gave lectures on music. Here he also found great interest in the most important organ player of the time, Paul Hofhaimer .

In 1510 and 1511 he lived in Augsburg with the humanist Konrad Peutinger and there he established the connection to Sebastian Virdung , whose work Musica tutscht he translated into Latin.

From 1511 to 1514 he lived in Paris, where he studied theology, Greek with Hieronymus Aleander and Latin with Fausto Andrelli .

From 1514 to 1522 he was back in Strasbourg, from 1515 as vicar and organist at the St. Thomas Church . His other activities were the completion of the Musicae Institutiones, based on his lectures in Vienna, and the introduction of the Greek study in Strasbourg, for which he also published a grammar and text editions of Greek. In 1518 he took a leave of absence in order to obtain a doctorate as Doctor iuris pontificii. As the Reformation prevailed in Strasbourg , he lost his position as organist in 1520.

In 1523 he moved to Augsburg for the second time. He lived there in the Benedictine monastery of St. Ulrich and Afra . In 1524, at the request of Abbot Johannes Schrot, he gave lectures on the Psalms , which were reflected in a Latin and German Psalter explanation that was printed that same year.

Through the mediation of the Fugger , he received a canonical and the preaching office to St. Moritz in Augsburg.

In 1526 he was a member of the delegation of Bishop Hugos von Konstanz for the disputation with Zwingli in Baden.

Despite his own criticism of the state of the old church, he resolutely represented the Catholic Church in Augsburg. This brought him into conflict with the city's Lutheran council, which at times culminated in a ban on entering the main streets. Even the efforts of Emperor Charles V and King Ferdinand did not help against a council ban on preaching. This meant that he had to leave his Augsburg offices. The Fuggers granted him an annual pension of 80 guilders.

In 1528 he therefore moved to Freiburg im Breisgau and accepted the office of minister preacher. He lived in the Haus zum Walfisch with Erasmus von Rotterdam . He turned down a call to Mainz and the office of Dean of the Church of Our Lady in Munich . He undertook further trips, such as a pilgrimage to Marseille in 1531 and to Mainz in 1532. In Freiburg a close relationship developed with the Charterhouse near Freiburg , so that at his request he was buried in the local cemetery in 1537 and bequeathed his extensive library (approx. 390 books) and his property to the monastery. Parts of the library are now owned by the Freiburg University Library , and his will is kept in the Freiburg City Archives.

Works (selection)

  • 1515: Musicae institutiones - music theory writings and compositions: his music theory lectures at the University of Vienna.
  • 1515: Collectanea sacrocancta - A brief introduction to the Greek letters and sounds, the most important Christian prayers in Greek and Latin
  • 1517: Progymnasmata graecanae literaturae - A short Greek grammar, in an expanded form 1521, 1523
  • 1524: Allegoriae Psalmorum - Latin and German explanation of the Psalms.
  • 1524/1525: The Protestant Hystori ( Gospel Harmony )
New edition ed. by Petra Hörner, Berlin: Weidler 2008 (library of rare texts in study editions; 13) ISBN 978-3-89693-520-5
  • 1536: Musurgia seu praxis musicae - contains the Latin translation of Musica tutscht by Sebastian Virdung in the first part .

literature

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Nachtgall, Otmar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Luscinius, Ottomarus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German humanist, theologian, translator and musician
DATE OF BIRTH 1478 or 1480
PLACE OF BIRTH Strasbourg
DATE OF DEATH September 5, 1537
Place of death Freiburg in Breisgau