Valens Acidalius (156725 May 1595), also known as Valtin Havekenthal, was a German critic and poet writing in the
Latin language.
Life
Acidalius was born in
Wittstock, the son of a Lutheran pastor. He studied at the universities of
Rostock,
Greifswald and
Helmstedt
Helmstedt (; Eastphalian: ''Helmstidde'') is a town on the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. The historic university and Hanseatic city conserves an important monumental heritage of ...
. Even in his early youth, his Latin poems caused a stir. In 1590 he accompanied his friend
Daniel Bucretius (Daniel Rindfleisch) to
Italy where he published his first literary work, an edition of
Velleius Paterculus. Acidalius studied philosophy and medicine in
Bologna and was awarded a doctorate degree in both disciplines.
He was however not attracted by the practical work as a medic and therefore concentrated on the criticism of classic works. He returned to Germany in 1593 after several fever attacks, moving to
Breslau, the home town of his friend Bucretius. In 1595 Acidalius became a
Catholic and in spring of the same year, he accepted an invitation of his friend and supporter, the episcopal chancellor
Wacker von Wackenfels to Neisse. He died there of a fever at the age of 28.
Publications
* ''Velleius Paterculus'', 1590,
Padua
* ''Animadversiones in
Curtium'', 1594,
Frankfurt
Posthumously:
* a collection of poems, elegies, odes and epigrams, 1603,
Liegnitz
* ''Centuria prima epistolarum'', 1606,
Hanau
Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...
* ''Divinationes et interpretationes in comoedias
Plauti'', 1607, Frankfurt, 566 pages
* ''Notae in
Taciti opera'', 1607, Hannover
* ''Notae in
Panegyrici veteres'', 1607,
Heidelberg
Disputed:
* ''
Disputatio nova contra mulieres, qua probatur eas homines non esse'', 1595, probably printed in
Zerbst, 11 sheets 4°. A tract which caused much annoyance among the theologians of the time because of its blasphemic precepts. His attackers overlooked the fact that the tract was intended as a parody on the
Socinian methods of refuting the divine nature of
Christ. During his lifetime, Acidalius denied having written these papers. It is believed that while Acidalius did not actually write the tract, he was nevertheless instrumental in its creation. Thus, the actual author remains anonymous.
**Czapla, Ralf G.
d. Burkard, Georg
d. Burkard, Georg
rans. ''Disputatio nova contra mulieres, qua probatur eas homines non esse / Acidalius, Valens. (Neue Disputation gegen die Frauen zum Erweis, dass sie keine Menschen sind). Heidelberg 2006.
References
Sources
* ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie''—
online version at German
Wikisource
External links
in the catalog of the
German National Library in Rostock Matrikelportal
in
VD 17 in
VD 16 by
Johann Heinrich Zedler in
Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon, band 1, Leipzig 1732, column 346 f.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acidalius, Valens
1567 births
1595 deaths
People from Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism
German Renaissance humanists
German Roman Catholics
People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg
University of Rostock alumni
University of Greifswald alumni
University of Helmstedt alumni
Infectious disease deaths in Germany