Oswald Myconius (1488 – 14 October 1552) was a Swiss Protestant theologian and Protestant reformer. He was a follower of

Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...

Life

He was born at Lucerne,

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 ...

. His family name was Geisshüsler, and his father was a miller; hence he was also called Molitoris (Latin ''molitor'', "miller"). The name Myconius is said to have been given him by

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 ...

; it alludes to the proverbial expression ''bald-headed Myconian''."Erasmus, with his penchant for a classical pun, had nicknamed the teacher Myconius, referring to the Ancient Greek geographer

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

’s observation that the men of Mykonos were bald." Moyle, Franny, ''The King's Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein'', New York: Abrams Press, 2021, p. 58. From the school at Lucerne he went to the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

to study classics. From 1514 he obtained teaching posts at Basel, where he married, and made the acquaintance of Erasmus and of Hans Holbein, the painter. In 1516 he was called, as schoolmaster, to

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, where (1518) he attached himself to the reforming party of Zwingli. This led to his being transferred to Lucerne and again, in 1523, reinstated at Zürich. On the death of Zwingli (1531) he moved to

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 ...

, where he held the office of town's preacher, and (till 1541) the chair of

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

. In 1534 he authored the Confession of Basel. In confessional matters he was for a union of all

Protestants 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 ...

. Although a Zwinglian, his readiness to compromise with the advocates of consubstantiation gave him trouble with the hard-line Zwinglians. He had, however, a distinguished follower in Theodore Bibliander. He died in Basel.

Works

Among his several tractates, the most important is ''De H Zwinglii vita et obitu'' (1536), translated into English by Henry Bennet (1561).

Life

Works

References

Further reading