Johann Herwagen or Johann Herwagen the Elder, known as Hervagius (1497 in

Hegau Hegau () either refers to a region of the Duchy of Swabia or to only that part of said region which is presently located in the country of Germany. It is known for its extinct, partly eroded volcanoes, most of which are crowned with ruins of medi ...

- 1557–1558 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 ...

) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

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 ...

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

. In contact with numerous

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

s, he was actively involved and made his mark in the dissemination and propagation of early ideas 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 ...

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Biography

He was born in 1497 in

. He was one of the first Protestant publishers, and he edited Luther's texts in the 1520s. He stayed in

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 ...

from 1523 to 1528. The publisher was very close to

Johann Froben Johann Froben, in Latin: Johannes Frobenius (and combinations), (c. 1460 – 27 October 1527) was a famous printer, publisher and learned Renaissance humanist in Basel. He was a close friend of Erasmus and cooperated closely with Hans Holbein t ...

, and both were significant in the spread of

and

ideas. In 1526, shortly after his death, he married his widow,

Gertrude Lachner Gertrude Lachner, also known as Froben or Herwagen, (d. circa 1559–1560 in Basel) was a Swiss humanist and publisher close to Erasmus. Initially the wife of Johann Froben and later of Johann Herwagen, she was actively involved in their publishing ...

. His good knowledge of

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 ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

allowed him to intervene directly and be consulted in case of printing disputes. During his lifetime, he was recognized as an important publisher and was nicknamed by his Latin name, Hervagius. He was relatively close to

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 ...

, among others, and Erasmus declared about him that he 'was a man of good faith and not unlearned'. Despite Lachner and Herwagen's friendship with

, the couple had conflicts with the humanist in the late 1520s regarding Erasmus Froben's education, as they did not wish to follow the Dutchman's advice for him to study at the

University of Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

instead of remaining in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

or going to

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. Despite their serious conflicts, the humanist continued to use their presses, likely out of friendship for Lachner rather than for Herwagen. In addition to Luther's texts, he published other Protestant works as well as a variety of other works, such as the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' and the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'',

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

mathematical Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

treatises. The Swiss printer established editorial connections with

François Rabelais François Rabelais ( , ; ; born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French writer who has been called the first great French prose author. A Renaissance humanism, humanist of the French Renaissance and Greek scholars in the Renaissance, Gr ...

and

Sebastian Castellio Sebastian Castellio (also Sébastien Châteillon, Châtaillon, Castellión, and Castello; 1515 – 29 December 1563) was a French preacher and theologian; and one of the first Reformed Christian proponents of religious toleration, freedom of ...

, publishing the '' Castellio Bible'' in 1555. Herwagen also had an interest in

patristics Patristics, also known as Patrology, is a branch of theological studies focused on the writings and teachings of the Church Fathers, between the 1st to 8th centuries CE. Scholars analyze texts from both orthodox and heretical authors. Patristics e ...

and was one of the first publishers to print the

texts of certain

Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...

, such as

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

. In 1538, he was involved in scandal after seducing Katherina Weckart, the wife of his stepson Erasmus Forben, who left him. He had to face a trial and was sentenced in 1542 to a heavy fine and exile. Although he continued his activities and managed to return to

, this significantly slowed down his publishing endeavors. He died around 1557-1558 and his wife, Gertrude Herwagen née Lachner, died the following year. He was the father of Johann Herwagen the Younger, who continued his works until his death in 1564.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herwagen, Johann 1497 births 1558 deaths 15th-century printers 16th-century printers Swiss printers Swiss Protestants History of printing People from Basel-Stadt