Gregor Reisch (c. 1467 – 9 May 1525) was a German

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

monk and humanist scholar. He is best known for his compilation ''Margarita Philosophica'', one of the earliest printed encyclopedias of general knowledge.

Life

Reisch was born at

Balingen Balingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Balenga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, capital of the districts of Germany, district of Zollernalbkreis. It is located near the Swabian Jura, approx. 35 km to the south of Tübingen, 35&nb ...

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

, about 1467. He became a student at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

in 1487 and received the degree of magister in 1489. He remained at the university as a teacher and became a Carthusian monk around 1500 but continued his teaching and scholarly work. From 1500 to 1502 he was prior at Kleinbasel and from 1503 to shortly before his death he was prior at Freiburg Charterhouse. In 1510, Reisch was appointed counselor and father confessor to Maximilian I. He was also a visitor (inspector) for the Rhenish province of his order and as such he made strenuous exertions to combat

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. Reisch was a friend of the most celebrated humanists of the era. His notable students included

Johann Eck Johann Maier von Eck (13 November 1486 – 13 February 1543), often anglicized as John Eck, was a German Catholic theologian, scholastic, prelate, and opponent of Martin Luther. Life Johann Eck was born Johann Maier at Eck (later Egg, near M ...

and

Martin Waldseemüller Martin Waldseemüller ( – 16 March 1520) was a German cartographer and humanist scholar. Sometimes known by the Hellenized form of his name, Hylacomylus, his work was influential among contemporary cartographers. His collaborator Matthias Ring ...

. Reisch had a reputation for adaptability, and was regarded as an "oracle". He was one of the most conspicuous of the intellectuals at the commencement of the new era who sought to prepare encyclopedic works of knowledge.

Works

His chief work is the ''Margarita Philosophica'' (Philosophical Pearl), first published in 1503 and widely used as a general textbook in universities throughout western Europe. It is an encyclopedia of knowledge and contains in twelve books: Latin grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy, physics, natural history, physiology, psychology, and ethics. The usefulness of the work was increased by numerous

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

s and a full index.Talley 2014 Like many textbooks of the time, the book was written as a dialogue between student and teacher. The book was very popular for its comparative brevity and form. It was long a standard textbook of the universities.

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

said of it that it had "for a half-century, aided in a remarkable manner the spread of knowledge". The first two editions were printed by Johann Schott from Strassburg. In 1508 Michael Furter and Johann Schott jointly published a third edition of the ''Margarita Philosophica.'' Some woodcuts in the book are assumed to be made by Urs Graf. In 1510 Reisch also published the statutes and privileges of the Carthusian Order, and assisted

Erasmus of Rotterdam 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 theologian, educationalist, satirist, and p ...

in his edition of

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

. Reisch died at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

, on 9 May 1525.

Notes

References

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External links

An illustration from GeometrySelected images from ''Margarita philosophica''
From The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Reisch, Gregor 1460s births 1525 deaths Year of birth uncertain Carthusians German encyclopedists People from the Duchy of Württemberg People from Balingen University of Freiburg alumni German male non-fiction writers

Life

Works

Notes

References

Further reading

External links