Jakob Christmann (November 1554 – 16 June 1613) was a German Orientalist who also studied problems of

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

Life

Christmann was born in November 1554 in Johannisberg. Christmann, a

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 ...

who converted before 1578 to

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 ...

, studied Orientalistics at the University of Heidelberg's

Collegium Sapientiae The Collegium Sapientiae (Sapience College; College of Wisdom; ''Sapienzkolleg''; ''Sapienz''; ''Sapienz-Collegium'') was a preparatory academy and later theological seminary in Heidelberg in the early modern period. The ''Collegium Sapientiae'' w ...

and became teacher at the ''Dionysianum''. He followed

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 ...

Thomas Erastus Thomas Erastus (original surname Lüber, Lieber, or Liebler; 7 September 152431 December 1583) was a Swiss physician and Calvinist theologian. He wrote 100 theses (later reduced to 75) in which he argued that the sins committed by Christians shou ...

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 ...

and continued his study tour in Breslau,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. In 1578,

Pfalzgraf A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German language, German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank abo ...

John Casimir founded the

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

Casmirianum Casimirianum is the name of a school, respectively the former institutions: * Casimirianum Coburg in Coburg (Bavaria) * Casimirianum Neustadt in Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to: Plac ...

Neustadt an der Haardt Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to: Places * Neustadt (urban district) Czech Republic *Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují *Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem *Nové Město na Morav ...

. Christmann joined the Casimirianum faculty in 1582 and dedicated his

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

, ''Alphabetum arabicum'', to his colleagues there. After the return of the Reformed faith to the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

, Christmann returned to Heidelberg to serve on the faculty of the

in 1584. After some internal debate about the location of the chair, Christmann was appointed professor of

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 ...

at the university in 1585. He compiled a catalog of the manuscripts of

Guillaume Postel Guillaume Postel (25 March 1510 – 6 September 1581) was a French linguist, Orientalist, astronomer, Christian Kabbalist, diplomat, polyglot, professor, religious universalist, and writer. Born in the village of Barenton in Normandy, Post ...

(1510–1581), located since 1551 at

Heidelberg Castle Heidelberg Castle () is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th c ...

. In 1590 he published a Latin translation of the astronomy of

Al-Farghani Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī () also known as Alfraganus in the West (870), was an astronomer in the Abbasid court in Baghdad, and one of the most famous astronomers in the 9th century. Al-Farghani composed ...

. In 1609 at the urging of Elector Frederick IV, he was appointed Europe's second professor for the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

language. He died on 16 June 1613 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, at the age of 58.

Copernicus manuscript

De revolutionibus ''De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'' (English translation: ''On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres'') is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) of the Polish Renaissance. The book ...

manuscript of

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

passed via

Rheticus Georg Joachim de Porris, also known as Rheticus (; 16 February 1514 – 4 December 1574), was a mathematician, astronomer, cartographer, navigational-instrument maker, medical practitioner, and teacher. He is perhaps best known for his trigonomet ...

to others and was marked on 19 December 1603 by Christmann with ''Nicolai Copernick Canonici Varmiensis in Borussia Germaniae mathematici …'' ("of Canon Nicolaus Copernick from

Warmia Warmia ( ; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian subdialect, Warmian: ''Warńija''; Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia (reg ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

of Germany, of the mathematician …").Venerabilis et eximii iuris utriusque doctoris, Dni Nicolai Copernick Canonici Varmiensis in Borussia Germaniae mathematici celeberimi opus de revolutionibus coelestibus propria manu exparatum et haectenus in biblioteca Georgii Ioachimii Rhetici item Valentini Othonis conferuatum, ad usum studii mathematici procurauit M. Iakobus Christmannus Decanus Facultatis artium, anno 1603, die 19 Decembris Since 1953 it is located in Kraków in the

Jagiellonian library The Jagiellonian Library (, popular nickname ''Jagiellonka'') is the library of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and with almost 6.7 million volumes, one of the largest libraries in Poland, serving as a public library, university library an ...

(Signatur: Ms. BJ. 10 000) and is accessible online.

References

Work

* ''Alphabetum Arabicum cum isagoge Arabice legendi ac scribendi'', Neustadt 1582 * ''Muhammedis Alfraganii Arabis chronologia et astronomiae elementa'', Frankfurt 1590

External links

Jakob Christmann
in

Dictionary of Scientific Biography The ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' is a scholarly reference work that was published from 1970 through 1980 by publisher Charles Scribner's Sons, with main editor the science historian Charles Coulston Gillispie, Charles Gillispie, from Pri ...

Letter of Christmann to Kepler, in Latin
* http://histmath-heidelberg.de/homo-heid/christmann.htm

(Frankfurt, 1615), pp. 518–22] {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmann, Jakob 1554 births 1613 deaths Converts to Protestantism from Judaism 16th-century German astronomers 16th-century German Jews 16th-century German writers German orientalists Christian Hebraists Heidelberg University alumni Academic staff of the Collegium Sapientiae (Heidelberg) Academic staff of Heidelberg University German male non-fiction writers