Thomas Murner, OFM (24 December 1475c. 1537) was an Alsatian

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

, poet and translator.

Early life and education

He was born at Oberehnheim (

Obernai Obernai (Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Owernah''; ) is Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. Obernai is a rapidly g ...

) near

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 ...

. In 1490 he entered the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

order, and in 1495 began travelling, studying and then teaching and preaching in Freiburg-im-Breisgau,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Cracow and Strasbourg itself. The emperor Maximilian I crowned him in 1505 '' poeta laureatus''; in 1506, he was created ''doctor theologiae.'' In 1508, while a preacher of the St.Martin church in

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 ...

, he defied a recently died and relative of Ulrich Zasius as well as the scribe of Freiburg. Since, both shall have let Murner know of their enmity. In 1513 was appointed custodian of the Franciscan

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, an office which he was forced to vacate the following year for having published a scurrilous book.

Professional career

In 1518, he began the study of

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

at 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 ...

, and in 1519 took the degree of '' doctor juris''. Zasius tried to prevent his graduation appealing to the professor of the University Claudius Catiuncula, but without success. In jurisprudence, Murner focused on the

Institutes of Justinian The ''Institutes'' () is a component of the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'', the 6th-century codification of Roman law ordered by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. It is largely based upon the ''Institutes'' of Gaius, a Roman jurist of the second centu ...

and their translation in the german language from latin.Hieronymus, Frank (1997). p.205 He hoped that in their native language, the students would have a better understanding of the jurisprudence before often learned from books in a foreign language. In October 1518 his book ''Utriusque iuris Tituli et Regule'' was published by Adam Petri in Basel which still included most of the text still in both languages, Latin and German. In April 1519, he published the ''Instituten in warer ursprung'', where the foreword and text were held in the german language and the chapters printed in latin.Hieronymus, Frank (1997). p.209 But also the chapters counted with a translation into the german language. In the summer of 1523, at the invitation of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, he went to the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

, where his writings had caught the attention of

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

. John Headley credits Murner for making More aware of the radical nature of

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

ecclesiology In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of th ...

. Henry VIII felt that Murner was an important orthodox influence in Strasbourg and gave him £100 and a letter to the city magistrates. After this stay, and a journey to Italy, he again settled in Strasbourg, but, disturbed by the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, went into exile at

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

in Switzerland in 1526. In 1533 he was appointed priest of Oberehnheim, where he died in 1537, or, according to some accounts, in 1536. Murner was an energetic and passionate character, but made enemies wherever he went. There is little human kindness in his

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

s, which were directed against the corruption of the times, the Reformation, and especially against

. His most powerful

—the most virulent German satire of the period—is ''Von dem grossen Lutherischen Narren wie ihn Doctor Murner beschworen hat'' ("On the Great Lutheran Fool", 1522). Others included ''Die Narrenbeschwörung'' (1512); ''Die Schelmenzunft'' (1512); ''Die Gäuchmatt'', which treats of enamoured fools (1519), and a translation of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'' (1515) dedicated to the emperor Maximilian I. Murner also wrote the humorous ''Chartiludium logicae'' for the teaching of logic (1507) and the ''Ludus studentum Friburgensium'' (1511), besides a translation of

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

's ''Institutiones'' (1519). Murner's satires were edited in the 1840s by Johann Scheible.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murner, Thomas 1475 births 1537 deaths People from Obernai German Franciscans 16th-century German poets 16th-century German male writers 16th-century German writers Christian Hebraists German translators German satirists German male poets Translators of Virgil