HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sebastian Franck (20 January 1499
Donauwörth Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...
,
Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
– c. 1543
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
) was a 16th-century
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
freethinker,
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...
, and radical reformer.


Biography

Franck was born in 1499 in
Donauwörth Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...
,
Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
. Because of this he styled himself Franck von Wörd. He entered the
University of Ingolstadt The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of five faculties: humanities, sciences, theology, law, and medicine, all o ...
on 26 March 1515, and afterwards went to Bethlehem College, incorporated with the university, as an institution of the Dominicans at
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...
. Here he met
Martin Bucer Martin Bucer ( early German: ''Martin Butzer''; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a me ...
and
Martin Frecht Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austra ...
, with whom he might have attended
Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (gi ...
's
Heidelberg disputation The Heidelberg Disputation was held at the lecture hall of the Augustinian order on April 26, 1518. It was here that Martin Luther, as a delegate for his order, began to have occasion to articulate his views. In the defense of his theses, which c ...
in October 1518. Originally ordained as a priest, in 1525 Franck went over to the Reformed party at
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
and became preacher at Gustenfelden. His first work was a German translation (with additions) of the first part of the ''Diallage'' (or ''Conciliatio locorum Scripturae''), directed against Sacramentarians and
Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
s by Andrew Althamer, then deacon of St. Sebald at Nuremberg. On 17 March 1528 he married Ottilie Beham, supposedly the sister of the "godless" painters, Bartholomew and
Sebald Beham Sebald Beham (1500–1550) was a German painter and printmaker, mainly known for his very small engravings. Born in Nuremberg, he spent the later part of his career in Frankfurt. He was one of the most important of the "Little Masters", the grou ...
, pupils of
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
and followers of
Hans Denck Hans Denck (c. 1495 – November 27, 1527) was a German theologian and Anabaptist leader during the Reformation. Biography Denck was born in 1495 in the Bavarian town of Habach. After a classical education, he became headmaster at the St. Sebal ...
. In the same year he wrote a treatise against drunkenness. In 1529 he produced a free version of the ''Supplycacyon of the Beggers'', written by the English Protestant
Simon Fish Simon Fish (died 1531) was a 16th-century Protestant rebel and English propagandist. He is best known for helping to spread William Tyndale's New Testament and for writing the vehemently anti-clerical pamphlet ''Supplication for the Beggars'' (' ...
. Franck, in his preface, says the original was in English; elsewhere he says it was in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
; the theory that his German was really the original is not warranted. Advance in his religious ideas led him to seek the freer atmosphere of
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
in the autumn of 1529. To his translation (1530) of a Latin ''Chronicle and Description of Turkey'' (''Turkenchronik''), by a Transylvanian captive, which had been prefaced by Luther, he added an appendix holding up the Turk as in many respects an example to Christians. He also substituted, in lieu of the restrictions of Lutheran, Zwinglian and Anabaptist sects, the vision of an invisible spiritual church, universal in its scope. To this ideal he remained faithful. At Strassburg began his friendship with
Kaspar Schwenkfeld Caspar (or Kaspar) Schwen(c)kfeld von Ossig () (1489 or 1490 – 10 December 1561) was a German theologian, writer, physician, naturalist, and preacher who became a Protestant Reformer and spiritualist. He was one of the earliest promoters o ...
. Here he also published, in 1531, his most important work, the ''Chronica, Zeitbuch und Geschichtsbibel'', largely a compilation on the basis of the
Nuremberg Chronicle The ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' is an illustrated encyclopedia consisting of world historical accounts, as well as accounts told through biblical paraphrase. Subjects include human history in relation to the Bible, illustrated mythological creatures, ...
(1493), and in its treatment of social and religious questions connected with the Reformation. In it he exhibited a strong sympathy with "heretics" and fairness to all kinds of freedom in opinion. As a German historian, he is a forerunner of
Gottfried Arnold Gottfried Arnold (5 September 1666 – 30 May 1714) was a German Lutheran theologian and historian. Biography Arnold was born at Annaberg in Saxony, Germany, where his father was schoolmaster. In 1682, he went to the Gymnasium at Gera and ...
. Driven from
Strassburg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the E ...
by the authorities, after a short imprisonment in December 1531, he tried to make a living in 1532 as a soapboiler at Esslingen, removing in 1533 for a better market to
Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
, where on 28 October 1534 he was admitted as a burgess. His ''Weltbuch'', a supplement to his ''Chronica'', was printed at Tübingen in 1534. His publication, in the same year, of the ''Paradoxa'' brought him into trouble with the authorities. An order for his banishment was withdrawn on his promise to submit future works for censure. Not interpreting this as applying to works printed outside Ulm, he published in 1538 at Augsburg his ''Guldin Arch'' and at Frankfort his ''Germaniae chronicon'', with the result that he had to leave Ulm in January 1539. He seems to have had no settled abode from that time. At Basel he found work as a printer, and it was probably there that he died in the winter of 1542–1543. He had published in 1539 his ''Kriegbuchlein des Friedens'', his ''Schrifftliche und ganz grundliche Auslegung des 64 Psalms'', and his ''Das verbutschierte mit sieben Siegein verschlossene Buch'' (a biblical index, exhibiting the dissonance of Scripture). In 1541 he published his ''Spruchwörter'' (a collection of proverbs). In 1542 he issued a new edition of his ''Paradoxa'' and some smaller works. Franck combined the humanist's passion for freedom with the mystic's devotion to the religion of the spirit. Luther contemptuously dismissed him as a mouthpiece of the devil. Martin Frecht of Nuremberg pursued him with bitter zeal. But his courage did not fail him, and in his last year, in a public Latin letter, he exhorted his friend Johann Campanus to maintain freedom of thought in face of the charge of heresy. Franck came to believe that God communicates with individuals through a portion of the divine remaining in each human being. He came to dismiss the ''human institution'' of the church, and believed that theology could not properly claim to give expression to this inner word of God in the heart of the believer. For example, Franck wrote, "To substitute Scripture for the self-revealing Spirit is to put the dead letter in the place of the living Word..." Franck’s comment “God is an unutterable sigh, lying in the depths of the heart,” quoted by Julius Wilhelm Zincgref was described by
Ludwig Feuerbach Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (; 28 July 1804 – 13 September 1872) was a German anthropologist and philosopher, best known for his book '' The Essence of Christianity'', which provided a critique of Christianity that strongly influenced gene ...
as “the most remarkable, the profoundest, truest expression of Christian Mysticism”


Writings

* ''Autobiographical Letter to Johann Campanus'' (1531) * ''Weltbuch'' (1534) * ''Chronicle of Germany'' (1538) * ''Golden Arch'' (1538) * ''A Universal Chronicle of the World's History from the Earliest Times to the Present'' * ''Book of the Ages'' * ''Chronicle and Description of Turkey'' * ''Paradoxa'' (1534) * ''Preface and Translation into German of Althamer's Diallage'' * ''Seven Sealed Book'' (1539) * ''Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil'' * ''Translation with Additions of Erasmus' Praise of Folly'' * ''The Vanity of Arts and Sciences''


Notes


References

* ''280 Paradoxes or Wondrous Sayings'', by Sebastian Franck * ''Sebastian Franck (1499–1542)'', ;Attribution * This work in turn cites: ** Hauck's ''Realencyklopädie'' (1899) ** C. A. Hase, ''Sebastian Franck von Wörd'' (1869) ** J. F. Smith, in ''Theological Review'' (April 1874) ** E. Tausch, ''Sebastian Franck von Donauwörth und seine Lehrer'' (1893)


External links


''Chronika''
(digital facsimile)

— by Geoffrey Dipple * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franck, Sebastian 1499 births 1540s deaths 16th-century Christian mystics People from Donauwörth German Renaissance humanists Literature of the German Renaissance Christian Hebraists Heidelberg University alumni University of Ingolstadt alumni Protestant mystics Christian radicals