Vincentius Opsopoeus

Vincentius Opsopoeus (* unknown; † 1539 in Ansbach ; actually Vinzenz Heidecker ) was a Bavarian author . In addition to numerous translations and editions, only one work of its own is known, which was first published in 1536 under the Latin title De arte bibendi libri tres . The first German translation took place in 1537.

Various works were published under the pseudonym Vincentius Opsopoeus during his lifetime, among which his book Vonn der kunst zu trincken occupies an important position.

Life

Heidecker grew up as the son of a cook in Bavaria. His later stage name results from this fact, as Opsopoeus is the Latinized form of the ancient Greek word for "Speismacher". In 1524 Opsopoeus moved to study in Wittenberg and Leipzig, where, under the influence of the Reformation, he translated and edited various Reformation writings, which resulted in postal contacts with Philipp Melanchthon and Camerarius . Until 1527 Opsopoeus devoted himself to the study of Greek antiquity in Nuremberg, for which he received a letter of recommendation issued by Martin Luther .

From 1528 Opsopoeus worked as a school director at a grammar school in Ansbach , where he lived until his death in August 1539. In addition to this activity, Opsopoeus also worked as an educator for Albrecht Alcibiades .

In science there are speculations that a drinking addiction as the reason for the death of Opsopoeus assume. There is also a source that dates the rector's position in 1548 and his death in 1549. The majority of recent research assumes, however, that Opsopoeus' death can be fixed at 1539, which is why contradicting statements can be regarded as no longer up-to-date and out of date.

Complete works

Over the course of his life, Opsopoeus wrote and published a variety of writings, most of which were translations or editions of Reformation writings. In 1524 a German translation of Martin Luther's Die Epistel St. Pauli to the Galatians was published in Wittenberg as his first work . Under Johann Setzer his other writings were printed in Hagenau in the following years. In 1526 an edition of Martin Luther's Epistolarum farrago was published, followed by Luther's Sermo […] super sacramento (1527). Finally, some Latin translations followed, including, also in 1527, Lukian's Hermotimos , Luther's Catechism (1529), various works by Polybios (1530), Aethiopica by Heliodoros (1531 in Haguenau and 1534 in Basel), as well as a translation of Psalmi omnium selectissimi adflictis conscientijs , ac Deum inuocantibus, non uulgariter utiteles Latino carmine redditi by Hermann von Neuenahr the Elder (1532).

In his literary career, however, only one personal work of his own is known. This is the book De arte bibendi libri III , printed in Nuremberg in 1536. Just one year after its publication, the book, originally written in Latin, was translated into German by a cousin Opsopoeus'. This in turn, namely Gregor Wickram, is a cousin of the well-known author Jörg Wickram , who is still present today due to its importance for the romantic era.

literature

Work edition

• Vincentius Opsopopeus: The art of how to drink properly without getting full day and night. The books Vincentii Obsopei: From the art of drinking / out of Latin into our Teutsch spoke / transferred by Gregorium Wickramm court clerk to Colmar . Cologne a. Rh. 1891.

Secondary literature

• Robert Eitner:  Opsopäus, Vincentius . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, p. 408.
• Kühlmann, Wilhelm: Art. "Opsopoeus", in: Kühlmann, Wilhelm (Hrsg.): Killy Literature Lexicon. Authors and works from the German-speaking cultural area, Volume 8, Berlin / New York 2010.
• Jaumann, Herbert: Art. "Opsopoeus, Vincentius", in: Jaumann, Herbert (Ed.): Handbook of scholarly culture in the early modern times. Volume 1: Bio-bibliographical repertory, Berlin 2004.

Remarks

1. ^ Jellinek, Elvin Morton: Classics of the Alcohol Literature. A Specism of the Sixteenth-Century German Drink Literature - Opsopoeus' Art of Drinking , in: Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol 5 (1945), p. 659.