Anton Margaritha (also known as Antony Margaritha, Anthony Margaritha, Antonius Margarita, Antonius Margaritha) (born ca. 1500) was a sixteenth-century Jewish Hebraist and convert to Christianity. He was a possible source for some of Martin Luther's conception of Judaism.

Biography

Anton Margaritha's father, Jacob Margolioth, was a Rabbi in Ratisbon, Germany. Anton converted in 1522, being baptized at Wasserburg am Inn, and later became a Lutheran. He suffered imprisonment and then expulsion from Augsburg due to complaints from the Jewish community there and action by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Anton Margaritha was a teacher of Hebrew at Augsburg, Meissen, Zell, Leipzig and from 1537 until his death at the University of Vienna. He published the ''Psalms'' and Matthew 1:1 through Matthew 3:6, 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'' commented: :The author ridicules Jewish ceremonies, accuses the Jews of usury and of having sentiments hostile to Christians and Christianity and argues against their Jewish messianism, Messianic hopes. He also denounces the Aleinu, 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 who made use of it in writing his ''On the Jews and Their Lies'' ("''Von den Juden und Ihren Lügen''"). It was praised by Hoornbeck, B. Lutberus and Joseph Müller; but Johann Christoph Wagenseil, Wagenseil speaks of it less favorably. He had a public debate in the same year with Josel of Rosheim before Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and his court at Augsburg]

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. Martin Luther read ''Der Gantze Jüdische Glaube'' in 153

ref>p.18. before writing his own antisemitic tract ''On the Jews and Their Lies'' in 1543. The book was reprinted in 170

and was cited in ''Synagoga Judaica'' (1603) by Johannes Buxtorf]

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