Nicholas Magni (Nicolaus Magni de Iawor, Mikuláš Magni z Jawora, Nikolaus Groß von Jauer) (c. 1355 – 22 March 1435) was a late medieval theologian, a professor at

Prague University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

and

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

Life

Born in

Jawor Jawor () is a town in south-western Poland with 22,890 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław. One of the oldest towns ...

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, he studied in

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. ...

(until 1377) and in

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 ...

(1378-), where he lived in a Polish college and represented Polish nation. He studied under professor Matthew of Krakow (from 1378, baccalaureus 1392, magister artium 1395). Before 1392 he received priestly ordination. From 1392 he served as a priest of St. Gallus Church in Prague - Old Town, from about 1395 he started with lectures on theology from 1397 as a professor of theology and rector of

. In 1402, he went to

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 ...

, where he was likewise made rector in 1406. He also represented the university at the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...

1414–1418, where he argued for a reform of the Church and the clergy. His 1405 ''Tractatus de supersticionibus'' enjoyed great popularity throughout the 15th century, and survives in 80 manuscripts, but its influence did not extend beyond the end of the century, being superseded by the 1487 ''

Malleus maleficarum The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise about witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic Church, Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinisation of names, Latini ...

'', and was never printed.

Works

*''Sermo super quattuor passionibus D.N. Iesu Christi'' (Prague sermons) *Reformist sermons of Constance, ''Obsecro vos ego,'' 3 October 1417 *German sermons ''Vom Gebet'' ''Von der Liebe Gottes'' (Basle 1434) *''Lectura super psalmis'' *''De tribus substancialibus votis religiosorum'' *''Quaestio de mendicantibus'' (against

Beguines The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take for ...

and

Beghards The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take for ...

) *''Quaestio de usuris'' *''Tractatus de supersticionibus'' (1405) *''Dialogus super sacra communione contra Hussitas'' *''Quaestio de hereticis'' *''Contra epistolam perfidiae Hussitarum''

Literature

*Josef Tříška (Ed.), ''Repertorium biographicum universitatis Pragensis praehussiticae 1348-1409,'' Praha 1981, 406; *Adolph Franz, ''Der Magister Nikolaus Magni de Jawor,'' Freiburg 1898 1898, onli

*F.X. Bantle, "N. Magni de Jawor und Johannes Wenk im Lichte des Codex Mc. 31 der UB Tübingen," in: ''Scholastik'' 38, 1963, 536-554 *"St. Bylina, Licitum - illicitum, Mikolaj z Jawora," in: ''Kultura elitarna a kultura masowa w Polsce póünego óredniowiecza,'' Wroclaw 1978, 137-153 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magni, Nicholas 1335 births 1435 deaths Polish theologians 15th-century German Catholic theologians People from Jawor Beguines and Beghards 15th-century writers in Latin