Adam Tanner (in

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 ...

, Tannerus; April 14, 1572 – May 25, 1632) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

theologian.

Teaching career

He was born in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

. In 1589 he joined the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

and became a teacher. By 1603 he was invited to join the

Jesuit College of Ingolstadt The Jesuit College of Ingolstadt () was a Jesuit school in Ingolstadt, in the Duchy and Electorate of Bavaria, founded in 1556, that operated until the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773. The college was the headquarters of the Jesuits in ...

and take the chair of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

University of Ingolstadt The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of four faculties: theology, law, artes liberales and medicine, all of w ...

. Fifteen years later he was given a position at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

by the Emperor Matthias.

Theological work

He was noted for his defense of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church and their practices against

Lutheran 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 ...

reformers, as well as the

Utraquists Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds"), also called Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', "shell, husk"; Czech: ''kališníci''), was a belief amongst Hussites, a pre-P ...

. His greatest work was the ''Universa theologia scholastica'', published in 1626–1627. Tanner was also noted for his opposition to the

witch hunts A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East ...

. During his time in Bavaria, he witnessed contemporary debates in which the skeptics had some success imposing limits on the witch trials. He included a number of these skeptics' arguments in his ''Universa theologia scholastica'', for instance, "that the use of torture makes the death of innocent people inevitable, that several denunciations are not sufficient to warrant torture, that torture may not be repeated". These arguments were subsequently influential on his fellow Jesuit

Friedrich Spee Friedrich Spee (also ''Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld''; February 25, 1591 – August 7, 1635) was a German Jesuit priest, professor, and poet, most well known as a forceful opponent of witch trials and one who was an insider writing from the epi ...

, another opponent of the witch hunts.

Death and controversy over his burial

He died at the village of

Unken Unken is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the state of Salzburg in Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federat ...

near

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, and rests in an unmarked grave. Apparently, the parishioners refused to give him a

Christian burial A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian rites; typically, in consecrated ground. Until recent times Christians generally objected to cremation and practiced inhumation almost exclusively. Today this opposi ...

because a "hairy little

imp IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Music * IMP (band) a Japanese boy band Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The L ...

" was found on a glass plate among his possessions.

Legacy

The crater Tannerus on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

is named after him.

Bibliography

* ''Anatomiæ confessionis augustanæ'', 1613, Ingolstadt. * ''Astrologia sacra'', 1615, Ingolstadt. * ''Apologia pro Societate Iesu ex Boemiae regno: Ab eiusdem regni statibus religionis sub utraque publico decreto immerito proscripta'', 1618, Vienna. * ''Universa theologia scholastica'', 1627, Ingolstadt.

References

External links

Catholic encyclopedia

1572 births 1632 deaths 16th-century Austrian Jesuits 17th-century Austrian Jesuits 17th-century Austrian Roman Catholic theologians 17th-century educators from the Holy Roman Empire Austrian mathematicians Austrian philosophers Academic staff of the University of Ingolstadt Academic staff of the University of Vienna Jesuit scientists Scientists from Innsbruck Imps {{Europe-mathematician-stub