Caspar Creuziger, also known as Caspar Cruciger the Elder (1 January 1504 – 16 November 1548), was a German Renaissance humanist and Protestant reformer. He was professor of Theology at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

, preacher at the Castle Church (Wittenberg, Germany), secretary to and worked with

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 ...

to revise Luther's German Bible translation."Cruciger,"
Christian Cyclopedia, eds. Erwin L. Lueker, Luther Poellot, Paul Jackson.(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2000)

Life

Born in

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 ...

, Creuziger entered the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

at age 12, where he studied under Peter Mosellanus. The outbreak of the plague drove him to Wittenberg in 1521, where he completed his studies in the Hebrew language.Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, 456. In 1525, he became Rector at Magdeburg's Johannisschule. He was called to the faculties of Philosophy and Theology at

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

in 1528, where he lectured in both disciplines, preached at the Castle Church and wrote faculty opinions. He received his doctorate from Wittenberg in 1533. He continued to teach

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

, dogmatics and edited instructional materials. During these years,

included him in the reformer's circle of translators, who assisted him in revising the German Bible version.Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, 457. In 1539, Creuziger assisted Leipzig in introducing reforms. He served as a delegate to theological convocations at

Hagenau Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

and

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

. When other theologians fled the Schmalkald War, he remained at his post. Creuziger also edited the Wittenberg edition of ''Luther's Works'' and helped to draft the

Leipzig Interim The Leipzig Interim was one of several temporary settlements between the Emperor Charles V and German Lutherans following the Schmalkaldic War. It was presented to an assembly of Saxon political estates in December 1548. Though not adopted by the ...

. He died at Wittenberg in 1548.

Family

In 1524 he married the former nun Elisabeth von Meseritz - they had one daughter (Elisabeth, who married rector Kegel and then, on his death, Luther's son Hans in Eisleben) and one son ( Caspar Cruciger the Younger).

Notes

Bibliography

* ''In epistolam Pauli ad Timotheum priorem Commentarius'' * ''Enarratio Psalmi 116–118'' * ''Der XX. Psalm für christliche Herrschaft zu beten'' * ''In Evangelium Johannis Apostoli Enarratio'' * ''Enarratio Psalmi: Dixit Dominus 10et aliquot sequentium'' * ''Comment. in Matthaeum'' * ''In Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos Commentarius'' * ''De iudiciis piarum Synodorum sententia'' * ''Enarrationis Symboli Nicaeni articuli duo, de Synodis et tribus personis Divinitatis.'' 1504 births 1548 deaths 16th-century German Lutheran clergy German Lutheran theologians German Protestant Reformers German Renaissance humanists German scholars Linguists from Germany Lutheran biblical scholars Clergy from Leipzig Translators of the Bible into German Academic staff of the University of Wittenberg Cruciger family {{Christian-theologian-stub