Matthias Bernegger (, also ''Matthew'';Jerzy Dobrzycki: ''The reception of Copernicus' heliocentric theory'', International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science. Nicolas Copernicus Committe

/ref> born 8 February 1582 in Hallstatt,

Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (, ; ) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. The main river of the region is the Traun (r ...

, died 5 February 1640 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 ...

) was a German

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

, university professor and writer of

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 ...

works.

Life

Bernegger's

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 ...

family was, like other so called ''exulanten'', expelled from

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

during the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

. They settled in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

, where Bernegger attended the Gymnasium. In 1599, the 17-year-old began studies in

, mainly in the fields of

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

. He was fascinated by

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 ...

and was in contact with

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

and Wilhelm Schickard. Already in 1612, Bernegger had translated a 1606 Italian-language work of

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

's into Latin, as ''Tractatus de proportionum instrumento''. In 1632, via their mutual friend Élie Diodati, Galilei asked Bernegger to translate his Italian-language ''Dialogo'' (

Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems ''Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems'' (''Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo'') is a 1632 book by Galileo Galilei comparing Nicolaus Copernicus's Copernican heliocentrism, heliocentric system model with Ptolemy's geocen ...

) into Latin. In order to protect Galilei's involvement, it was statedSiegfried Wollgast: ''Philosophie in Deutschland zwischen Reformation und Aufklärung, 1550-1650''

/ref> in the preface that one of Peter Crüger's pupils, Benjamin Engelcke, had traveled in 1632 to Italy, had met Galilei, and had brought Galilei's book to Bernegger to persuade him to translate, without Galilei's permission. Bernegger was known for his editions of classic writers like

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

and for his correspondence with scholars. Among his students were the Silesian Daniel Czepko von Reigersfeld (1605–1660), Johannes Freinsheim, Johann Michael Moscherosch, Martin Opitz and the Prussian Robert Roberthin (1600–1648). Since 1607, Bernegger taught, like his colleague Caspar Brülow (1585–1627), at the Protestant Gymnasium, before he was called in 1616 to the Straßburg Academy which was raised in 1621 to a university. Bernegger was also interested in politics, and during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

tried to negotiate with the French. As a pacifist, he opposed Caspar Schoppe who called for a holy war against Protestants.

Works (selection)

: se
list
* ''Manuale Mathematicum … Allen Bau- vnd Kriegsverständigen … vnd andern Kunstliebenden in Teutscher Sprach''. Straßburg 1612 * ''Tuba Pacis, occenta Scioppiano Belli Sacri Classico.'' Straßburg 1621 (against Caspar Schoppe) * ''Systema cosmicum, Authore Galilaeo Galilei''. Straßburg 1635 (Latin translation of Galilei's Italian language ''Dialogo'' (

)Journal for the history of astronomy, 2005
/ref>)

Correspondence

* '' Hugonis Grotii & Matthiae Berneggeri Epistolae''. Straßburg 1667 * ''Epistolae J. Keppleri & M. Berneggeri''. Straßburg 1672 * ''Epistolae W. Schickarti & M. Berneggeri.'' Straßburg 1673

References

External links

*
The Correspondence of Matthias Bernegger
i
EMLO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernegger, Matthias German philologists 17th-century German astronomers 17th-century German mathematicians University of Strasbourg alumni Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg 1582 births 1640 deaths 17th-century German writers 17th-century German male writers

Life

Works (selection)

Correspondence

References

Further reading

External links