Caspar Hedio, also written as Kaspar Hedio, Kaspar Heyd, Kaspar Bock or Kaspar Böckel (

Ettlingen Ettlingen (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the German-French border, border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin, ...

, 1494 -

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, 17 October 1552) was a German historian, theologian and Protestant reformer. He was born into a prosperous family and attended a famous school in

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the ...

. In 1513. he began his studies in

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

and later studied theology in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, where he received his degree in 1519. At that time, he began his relationship with

Ulrich Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...

and corresponded 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 ...

. He took his doctorate in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

and obtained a position as a preacher at the

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', ), also known as Strasbourg Minster (church), Minster (), is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of ...

in 1523. His Protestant convictions were made clear when he married Margarete Trenz. In Strasbourg, he collaborated with Wolfgang Capito and

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...

and participated in the Marburg Colloquy. His influence extended to

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, the

Margraviate of Baden The Margraviate of Baden () was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the right banks of the Upper Rhine in south-western Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, when it was split into the tw ...

and the Palatinate. When

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...

went to France, Hedio was asked to accompany him. In 1541, he moved to

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 ...

to join Bucer and others in developing Protestant doctrine. As a representative of Strasbourg, he participated in the debate at the

Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms of 1521 ( ) was an Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City o ...

of 1545. Hedio translated many tracts by the Church Fathers, published a chronicle of the early Christian church based on the works of

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

and

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos (; ; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home Sozoman was born around 400 in Bethelia, a small town near Gaza, into a wealthy Christia ...

and compiled a world history.

Sources

* T. W. Röhrich: Mitteilungen aus der Geschichte der evangelischen Kirche des Elsasses. Band 3, 1855. * W. Baum: Capito und Butzer. Elberfeld 1860. * Ch. Spindler: Caspar Hedio 1864. * Himmelheber: Caspar Hedio Karlsruhe 1881. * C. Varrentrapp: Hermann von Wied und sein Reformationsversuch in Köln. Leipzig 1878. * F. Roth: Friedrich II. von der Pfalz und die Reformation. Heidelberg 1904. * J. Adam: Versuch einer Bibliographie Kasper Hedio's (ZGO N. F. 31 1916, 424-429). * J. Adam: Evangelische Kirchengeschichte der Stadt Straßburg. 1922. 54ff. u. ö. * J. Adam: Evangelische Kirchengeschichte der elsässischen Territorien. Straßburg 1928. * W. Gunzert. Kleine Beiträge zur Geschichte der Grafschaft Hanau-Lichtenberg (Elsaß-lothr. Jb. 19, 1941, 129-141). * H. Keute. Kaspar Hedio als Historiograf. Göttingen 1980 1494 births 1552 deaths 16th-century German male writers 16th-century German Protestant theologians {{Germany-academic-bio-stub