Anton Margaritha (also known as Antony Margaritha, Anthony Margaritha, Antonius Margarita, Antonius Margaritha) (born ca. 1500) was a sixteenth-century

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

and

convert to Christianity Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person that brings about changes in what sociologists refer to as the convert's "root reality" including their social behaviors, thinking and ethics. The sociol ...

. He was a possible source for some of Martin Luther's conception of Judaism.

Biography

Anton Margaritha's father, Jacob Margolioth, was a

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Ratisbon Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state. With m ...

, Germany. Anton converted in 1522, being baptized at

Wasserburg am Inn Wasserburg am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Wassabuag am Inn'') is a town in Rosenheim district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The historic centre is a peninsula formed by the meandering river Inn. Many Medieval structures remain intact, giving the city ...

, and later became a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. He suffered imprisonment and then expulsion from

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

due to complaints from the Jewish community there and action by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

. Anton Margaritha was a teacher of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

at Augsburg,

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

, Zell,

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and from 1537 until his death at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. He published the ''

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

'' and Matthew 1:1 through 3:6 in Hebrew in Leipzig (1533). He is best known for the 1530 book ''Der gantze Jüdisch Glaub'' (''The Whole Jewish Belief''). The 1906 ''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

'' commented: :The author ridicules Jewish ceremonies, accuses the Jews of

usury Usury () is the practice of making loans that are seen as unfairly enriching the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in e ...

and of having sentiments hostile to Christians and Christianity and argues against their

Messianic In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach' ...

hopes. He also denounces the Aleinu prayer as anti-Christian in tendency. Declaiming against the usury and idleness of the Jews, he appeals to the magistrates to remedy the evil and to force the Jews to perform manual labor. He charges the Jewish physicians with ignorance and greediness and asserts that, despite their minuteness in ritual, the Jews are neither pious nor charitable, and that, notwithstanding their apparent aversion to proselytism, they are eager to gain adherents to their faith. This libelous book had a great influence upon

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

who made use of it in writing his ''

On the Jews and Their Lies ''On the Jews and Their Lies'' (; in modern spelling ) is a 65,000-word antisemitic treatise written in 1543 by the German Reformation leader Martin Luther (1483–1546). Luther's attitude toward Jews took different forms during his lifetime. In ...

'' ("''Von den Juden und Ihren Lügen''"). It was praised by Hoornbeck, B. Lutberus and Joseph Müller; but Wagenseil speaks of it less favorably. He had a public debate in the same year with

Josel of Rosheim Josel of Rosheim (alternatively: Joselin, Joselmann, Yoselmann, , ''Joseph ben Gershon mi-Rosheim'', or ''Joseph ben Gershon Loanz''; – March 1554) was a German rabbi and community leader. He was the great advocate ("'' shtadlan''") of the Ge ...

before

and his court at

br>
The dispute terminated in a decisive victory for Josel who obtained Margaritha's expulsion from the realm. Despite this legal decision, this work would be repeatedly reprinted and cited by antisemitism, antisemites over the coming centuries.

read ''Der Gantze Jüdische Glaube'' in 153

ref>p.18. before writing his own antisemitic tract ''

'' in 1543. The book was reprinted in 170

and was cited in '' Synagoga Judaica'' (1603) by

Johannes Buxtorf Johannes Buxtorf () (December 25, 1564September 13, 1629) was a celebrated Hebraist, member of a family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for thirty-nine years at Basel and was known by the title, "Master of the Rabbis". His massive tome, '' ...

br>

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Margaritha, Anton Year of birth missing Year of death missing Academic staff of the University of Vienna Christian Hebraists Converts to Lutheranism from Judaism 16th-century German Jews 16th-century German writers German Lutherans Antisemitism in Germany German male writers

Biography

Further reading

References