David Hilchen

David Hilchen (, latinised ''Heliconius''; 1561 – 4 June 1610) was a humanist, writer and politician mainly active in present-day Latvia and Poland. He was born in Riga and studied law and rhetoric abroad. Upon his return to Riga in 1585, he quickly became engaged in city politics. He helped to settle a period of unrest grounded in religious conflict in the city and was appointed syndic, or legal advisor, to the city council of Riga in 1589.

In 1591 he was ennobled by the Polish king, and eventually gained several prestigious commissions and positions. This, together with internal conflicts in the city council, led to an overt conflict in 1600 that forced Hilchen to flee Riga, to which he never returned. He settled in Horyszów near Zamość in Poland and lived there until his death in 1610. David Hilchen was a key representative of Renaissance humanism in the area of the present-day Baltic states. He was responsible for bringing the first book printer to permanently settle in Riga to the city, and was instrumental in transforming the city's Cathedral school into a school with a humanistic curriculum. He was also productive as a writer, and corresponded with intellectuals all over Europe.

Biography

David Hilchen was born in Riga into a Baltic German family. His father was a trader originally from Cologne and his mother Catharina Kalb came from Riga. The Livonian Order, which had hitherto controlled Riga was dissolved the same year Hilchen was born, and Riga became a free imperial city. About twenty years later, it was incorporated into the Duchy of Livonia and a territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Hilchen was educated at Riga Cathedral school, and then pursued higher studies first in the Jesuit Academy in Vilnius, and later in the universities of Heidelberg, Ingolstadt and Tübingen; during his time in Ingolstadt and Tübingen, he acted as tutor for Lithuanian and Polish noblemen. He studied law and rhetoric. Hilchen returned to Riga in 1585. Upon his return, he quickly became engaged in city politics. He was appointed secretary to the city and was instrumental in efforts to calm down unrest in the city during the so-called the same year; the riots originated in a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics. In 1589 Hilchen was appointed syndic, or legal advisor, to the city council. From this time and for the next fifteen years, Hilchen participated in numerous diplomatic missions.

In 1591 he was ennobled by the Polish king, Sigismund III Vasa, following a recommendation by Lew Sapieha and Severin Bonar, whom he had interacted with during the Calendar Riots. In the following years, he also began to accept offices outside Riga, appearing in the Polish Sejm as representative both for the city of Riga and for Livonian nobility, and worked as secretary to the King as well as notary of the city of Wenden (today Cēsis, Latvia). His many conflicting commissions, as well as internal conflicts within the city council of Riga, made him increasingly unpopular. After Hilchen publicly accused the mayor of Riga of corruption, the council accused Hilchen of treason, for which he was arrested. He was released after an intervention by general Jürgen von Farensbach but was forced to flee Riga in 1600 and did not return. After leaving Riga he briefly participated in the Polish–Swedish War of 1600-1611 on the Polish side. He eventually settled in Horyszów, close to Zamość in Poland, and took up a position as secretary at the Zamoyski Academy. Hilchen stayed in Horyszów until his death on 4 June 1610.

Humanist activity

Renaissance humanism spread to the area of the present-day Baltic states relatively late. David Hilchen played a key role in its establishment in Riga and Livonia. According to philologist , Hilchen "was the only conscious representative of the principles of civic or political humanism in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Livonia". Apart from taking an active part of the civic and political life of his native city, Hilchen invited the first book printer to permanently settle in Riga, Nikolaus Mollyn from Antwerp, and personally paid for Mollyn's expenses for the first two years in Riga. Hilchen also secured the appointment of scholars Salomon Frenzel von Friedenthal and as inspector of the schools in Riga, and transformed the Cathedral school from a largely religious educational institution to a school with a more modern, humanist curriculum.

In addition, Hilchen was a prolific writer, mostly in Latin (though he also commanded German and Polish), producing poems and rhetorical pieces as well as an unpublished history of the Calendar Riots. He corresponded widely with the leading scholars and intellectuals of his time in Europe and can be seen as a member of the "Republic of Letters" that spread and perpetuated humanist ideas and ideals. Examples of the literati Hilchen corresponded with include Justus Lipsius, Isaac Casaubon and Szymon Szymonowic.

References

Sources cited

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External links

Radio programme about David Hilchen on Latvian Radio
(in Latvian)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilchen , David
1561 births
1610 deaths
16th-century writers in Latin
Vilnius University alumni
Heidelberg University alumni
University of Ingolstadt alumni
University of Tübingen alumni
Renaissance humanists
People from Riga
16th-century Polish nobility