Valentin Weigel (or ''Weichel''; 7 August 1533, in Hayn10 June 1588, in Zschopau) was a German

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, philosopher and mystical writer, from

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, and an important precursor of later

theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

. In English he is often called Valentine Weigel.

Early life and education

He was born at Hayn, near

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, into a Catholic family. He studied at

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, and

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

. In 1567 he became a

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 ...

pastor at Zschopau, near

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

. There, he lived out a quiet life, engaged in his writings.

Beliefs

Weigel was best known for his belief that the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

was herself the product of a virgin birth. He based his belief on the idea of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

, which required that Mary must also be sinless in order to bear

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

in the flesh of a

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

that defecates daily. He kept his ideas secret, entrusting them only to personal friends (in contrast to

Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mysticism, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant Theology, theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the L ...

). He carried out his parochial duties and kept a low profile. He left around 6000 pages in printed or manuscript works. His ideas on human nature were only gradually and posthumously published. Johann Arndt, Gottfried Arnold, and

Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Isaac Newton, Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in ad ...

helped to spread Weigel's ideas. His teachings are known as ''Weigelianism''. His

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

was marked by that of Johannes Tauler and by doctrines of

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

; he was also a follower of

Sebastian Franck Sebastian Franck (20 January 1499 Donauwörth, Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia – c. 1543 Basel, Switzerland) was a 16th-century Germany, German freethinker, humanism, humanist, and Radical Reformation, radical reformer. Biography Franck was born in 1 ...

and Caspar Schwenckfeldt. Like these two latter, he emphasized the inner life. He advocated a "spiritual church" in which one could know Christ without books or scripture.

Works

*''"Unterrichts-Predigt: Wie man christlich trauern und täglich solle im Herrn sterben"'', 1576 *''"Libellus de vita beata"'', 1609 *''"Ein schön Gebetsbüchlein, welches die Einfältigen unterrichtet"'', 1612 *''"Der güldene Griff, alle Ding ohne Irrtum zu erkennen"'', 1613 *''"Ein nützliches Traktätlein vom Ort der Welt"'', 1613 *''"Dialogus de Christianismo"'', 1614 *''"Erkenne dich selbst"'', 1615 *''"Informatorium oder Kurzer Unterricht"'', 1616 (erweitert: ''"Soli deo gloria"'', 1618) *''"Kirchen- oder Hauspostill"'', 1618 *''"Libellus disputatorus"'', 1618 *''"De bono et malo in homine"'', 1618 *''"Zwei schöne Büchlein"'', 1618 *''"Studium universale"'', 1618 *''"Tractatus de opere mirabili"'', 1619

References

External links

''Astrology Theologised'', online book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weigel, Valentin 1533 births 1588 deaths People from Großenhain People from the Electorate of Saxony German Lutheran theologians 16th-century German Protestant theologians 16th-century German Lutheran clergy Paracelsians German male non-fiction writers 16th-century German male writers