Conrad of Leonberg, or Leontorius, or his real name, Konrad Töritz, (1460–1511) was a German Cistercian monk and Humanist scholar.

Biography

Cornad was born at

Leonberg Leonberg (; ) is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg about to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. About 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third-largest borough in the rural district () of Böblingen (afte ...

Swabia Swabia ; , 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 Swabia, one of ...

in 1460. He took vows at the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery of

Maulbronn Maulbronn () is a city in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. History Founded in 1838, it emerged from a settlement, built around a monastery, which belonged to the Neckar Community in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In ...

in the

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar ...

district, which, unlike most other Cistercian monasteries of those times, was then enjoying its golden age. In 1490 he became secretary-general of his order. For a time Conrad was engaged in the printing-office of Johann Amerbach at

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 ...

. He was close to Amberbach and supported the use of the Latin script instead of the gothic in his sons handwriting. When the German

Humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" has ...

began to revive the study of the Latin and Greek classics, as Conrad deplored the barbarous Latin in which the scholastic philosophers and theologians of Germany were expounding the doctrine of their great masters, he was in full accord with their endeavours to restore the classical Latinity of the Ciceronian Age. He also encouraged the study of Greek. Conrad kept up correspondences with many of the scholars and writers of his day, both religious and secular. His friend and teacher Reuchlin, a Hebrew scholar, convinced Conrad of the importance of Hebrew for a thorough understanding of the Bible. Conrad consequently became one of the great Hebrew scholars of his time. He introduced the young

Bonifacius Amerbach Bonifacius Amerbach (1495, Basel – April 1562, Basel) was a jurist, scholar, an influential humanist and the rector of the University of Basel for several terms. Early life and education Born on the 11 October 1495, he was the youngest son of ...

Latin poetry The history of Latin poetry can be understood as the adaptation of Greek models. The verse comedies of Plautus, the earliest surviving examples of Latin literature, are estimated to have been composed around 205–184 BC. History Scholars conv ...

in May 1507 in Engental. In 1506 he edited the second edition of the collected works from

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

for the printer Johannes Petri. It was one of the early books to have an

index Index (: indexes or indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on the Halo Array in the ...

. He died at the abbey Engenthal in

Muttenz Muttenz is a municipality with a population of approximately 17,000 in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. It is located in the district of Arlesheim and next to the city of Basel. History Under the Roman Empire a hamlet called Montet ...

near Basel around 7 January 1511.Leontorius, Conradus
leo-bw.de. Accessed 26 February 2024.

Works

Besides writing numerous Latin poems, orations and epistles, he published (Basel, 1506–1508) the Latin Bible with the "Postilla" and "Moralitates" of the Oxford Franciscan Nicolas de Lyra, together with the "Additiones" of Paul of Burgos (d. 1435) and the "Replicæ" of Mathias Thoring (d. 1469).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad of Leonberg 1460 births 1511 deaths German Cistercians German Renaissance humanists Year of death uncertain People from Leonberg