Konrad Pellikan (; ; sometimes

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as ''Conrad Pellican''; 8 January 1478 – 6 May 1556) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

humanist 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" ha ...

, Protestant reformer and

Christian Hebraist A Christian Hebraist is a scholar of Hebrew texts who approaches the works from a Christian perspective. The main area of study is the Hebrew text of the Bible (known as the Old Testament to Christians and as the Tanakh to Jews), but Christians ha ...

who worked chiefly in Switzerland.

Life

Pellikan was born on 8 January 1478 in

Rouffach Rouffach (; German and Alsatian: ''Rufach'') is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Rouffach lies along the Alsatian wine route (''Route des Vins d'Alsace''). Its vineyards produce one of the finest A ...

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 ...

. His German surname, "Kurscherer" ("Kürsner") was changed to "Pellicanus" by his mother's brother, Jodocus Gallus, an ecclesiastic connected with the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, who supported his nephew for sixteen months at the university in 1491-1492. On returning to

1493, he entered the Franciscan convent. There he taught ''gratis'' at the convents school in order he might borrow books from the library, and in his sixteenth year resolved to become a

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

. This step helped his studies, for he was sent to

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

in 1496 and became a favorite pupil of the guardian of the Minorite convent there, Paulus Scriptoris, a man of considerable general learning. He taught

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, mathematics and cosmography at the Franciscan monastery of St. Katherina in

, in the upper

. He subsequently taught at

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 ...

and

. There seems to have been at that time in southwest

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

a considerable amount of sturdy independent thought among the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

; Pellikan himself became a

very gradually, and without any such revulsion of feeling as marked

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 ...

's conversion. At

the future "

apostate Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...

in three languages" was able to begin the study of

. He had no teacher and no grammar; but Paulus Scriptoris carried him a huge codex of the prophets on his own shoulders all the way from

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 ...

. He learned the letters from the transcription of a few verses in the ''Star of the Messiah'' of Petrus Niger, and, with a subsequent hint or two from Johannes Reuchlin, who also lent him the grammar of

Moses Kimhi Moses Kimhi (c. 1127 – c. 1190), also known as the ''ReMaK'', was a medieval Jewish biblical commentator and grammarian. Birth and early life Kimhi was born around 1127, the eldest son of Joseph Kimhi and the brother of David Kimhi, known as ...

, made his way through the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

for himself with the help of

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

's ''Latin''. In 1501 he became the first

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

to compose a Hebrew grammar. It was printed in 1503, and afterwards included in Reysch's ''Margarita philosophica''. Hebrew remained a favorite study to the last. Pellikan became a priest in 1501 and following entered the Barfüsser convent in Basel in 1502. His four year stay in Basel was an influential event, and he kept also contributing to the works of the Basel printers during his temporary departure. In Basel he did much laborious work for Froben's editions, and came to the conclusion that the Church taught many doctrines of which the early doctors of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

knew nothing. He spoke his views frankly, but he disliked

polemic Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...

; he found also more toleration than might have been expected, even after he became active in circulating Luther's books. Thus, supported by the civic authorities, he remained guardian of the convent of his order at Basel from 1519 until 1524, and even when he had to give up his post, remained in the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

for two years. In 1523, he was appointed professor for

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

in the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

. His lectures concerned the

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

and Salomon in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

. At length, when the position was becoming quite untenable, in 1526, he followed a call from

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 Swi ...

to become a professor of

and Hebrew at the ''Carolinum'' in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. Formally throwing off his monk's habit, Pellikan entered on a new life. Here he remained until his death on 6 April 1556.

Works

Pellikan wrote the ''Chronikon'' and also translated Hebrew works into Latin, such as

Bahya ben Asher Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible. He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda. Biograp ...

's commentary on the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

and the work of Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer (''Eliezer filius Hircani''), the ''Liber sententiarum Judiacarum'', in 1546. Pellikan's autobiography describes the gradual multiplication of accessible books on the subjects, and he not only studied but translated a vast mass of

rabbinical Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic texts, his interest in

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish literature being mainly philological. The chief fruit of these studies is the vast commentary on the Bible (Zürich, 7 vols., 1532–1539), which shows a remarkably sound judgment on questions of the text, and a sense for historical as opposed to typological

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 ...

. Pellikan's scholarship, though not brilliant, was really extensive; his sound sense, and his singularly pure and devoted character gave him a great influence. He was remarkably free from the pedantry of the time, as is shown by his views about the use of the German vernacular as a vehicle of culture (''Chron.'' 135, 36). As a theologian his natural affinities were with Zwingli, having grown up to the views of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, by the natural progress of his studies and religious life. Thus he never lost his sympathy with

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

and

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

. Pellikan's Latin autobiography (''Das Chronikon des Konrad Pellikan'') is one of the most interesting documents of the period. It was first published by Riggenbach in 1877, and in this volume the other sources for his life are registered. ;Early modern imprints *
De modo legendi et intelligendi Hebraeum
'' Strasbourg, 1504. * ''Quadruplex Psalterium.'' Basel, 1516. * ''Quadruplex Psalterium Davidis.'' Strasbourg, 1527. * ''Comentaria bibliorum.'' 7 volumes. Zürich, 1532-1539. * ''Explicatio libelli Ruth.'' Zürich, 1531. * ''Index bibliorum.'' Zürich, 1537. * ''Ruth: Ein heylig Büchlin des alten Testament, mit einer schoenen kurtzen außlegung.'' Zürich, 1555. ;Modern editions
''Die Hauschronik Konrad Pellikans von Rufach.''
trans. Theodor Vulpinus, Strasbourg: Heitz, 1892.
''Das Chronikon des Konrad Pellikan''
ed. Bernhard Riggenbach. Basel, 1877 ;Bibliography * See Erich Wenneker, "Pellikan, Konrad" in ''

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon The ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (''BBKL'') is a German biographical encyclopedia covering deceased persons related to the history of the church, philosophy and literature, founded by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz, the first volu ...

'', vol. VII, Herzberg, 1994, col. 180-183
online article

References

Sources

External links

Image of Konrad Pellikan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pellikan, Konrad 1478 births 1556 deaths People from Rouffach German Calvinist and Reformed theologians Christian Hebraists German Renaissance humanists Swiss Protestant Reformers 16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 16th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers Academic staff of Carolinum, Zurich 16th-century German male writers

Life

Works

Further reading

References

Sources

External links