Paul Fagius was a Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 scholar of Biblical Hebrew

Biblical Hebrew language

Biblical Hebrew , also called Classical Hebrew , is the archaic form of the Hebrew language, a Canaanite Semitic language spoken in the area known as Canaan between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Biblical Hebrew is attested from about the 10th century BCE, and persisted through...

.

Life

Fagius was born at Rheinzabern

Rheinzabern

Rheinzabern is a small town in the south-east of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany near the Rhine river.Currently, Rheinzabern, that belongs to the "Landkreis Germersheim" has approx...

 in 1504. His father was a teacher and council clerk. In 1515 he went to study at the University of Heidelberg

Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg

The Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg is a public research university located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386, it is the oldest university in Germany and was the third university established in the Holy Roman Empire. Heidelberg has been a coeducational institution...

 and in 1518 was present at the Heidelberg Disputation

Heidelberg Disputation

The Heidelberg Disputation was held at the Meeting of the Augustianian order on April 26, 1518. It was here that Martin Luther, as a delegate for his order, began to have occasion to articulate his views. In the defense of his theses, Luther defended the doctrine of the depravity of man and the...

. In 1522 he moved to the University of Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

, where he learnt Hebrew and met Matthäus Zell

Matthäus Zell

Matthäus Zell was a Lutheran theologian and reformer based in Strasbourg. His widow was Katharina Zell.- Life :...

, Martin Bucer

Martin Bucer

Martin Bucer was a Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a member of the Dominican Order, but after meeting and being influenced by Martin Luther in 1518 he arranged for his monastic vows to be annulled...

 and Wolfgang Capito.

In 1527 he became a school master in the free imperial city of Isny im Allgäu

Isny im Allgäu

Isny im Allgäu is a town in south-eastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the district of Ravensburg, in the western, Württembergish part of the Allgäu region. For nearly 1000 years, Isny was an important town within the Holy Roman Empire...

. Fagius took part in the Bern Colloquy, where he met the reformer Huldrych Zwingli

Huldrych Zwingli

Ulrich Zwingli was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system, he attended the University of Vienna and the University of Basel, a scholarly centre of humanism...

. In 1535 he returned to the University of Strasbourg to devote himself to his study of theology.

Fagius returned to Isny as a priest in 1537. There he learnt Hebrew from the Jewish grammarian and publisher Elia Levita

Elia Levita

Elia Levita , also known as Elijah Levita, Elias Levita, Élie Lévita, Eliahu Bakhur was a Renaissance Hebrew grammarian, scholar and poet. He was influential in helping to create the Yiddish language...

, and they founded a printing office together. One of the few known works to be published by this partnership was Shemot Devarim, an Old Yiddish-Hebrew-Latin-German dictionary, in 1542.

In 1543 he organised the Kirchenwesen in Konstanz

Konstanz

Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...

 and in 1544 was appointed Professor of Old Testament studies at Strasbourg. In 1546 he moved back to Heidelberg, after Elector Frederick II

Frederick II, Elector Palatine

Frederick II, Count Palatine of the Rhine , a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Prince-elector of the Palatinate from 1544 to 1556.- Biography :...

 charged him with reforming the University of Heidelberg. Fagius however encountered such strong opposition that his reform failed and he returned to Strasbourg.

With the rise of the Counter-Reformation

Counter-Reformation

The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...

 Paul Fagius found himself under pressure. After the defeat of the Schmalkaldic League

Schmalkaldic League

The Schmalkaldic League was a defensive alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although originally started for religious motives soon after the start of the Protestant Reformation, its members eventually intended for the League to replace the Holy...

 in 1547, Fagius, who had opposed the Augsburg Interim

Augsburg Interim

The Augsburg Interim is the general term given to an imperial decree ordered on May 15, 1548, at the 1548 Diet of Augsburg, after Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, had defeated the forces of the Schmalkaldic League in the Schmalkaldic War of 1546/47...

, found himself dismissed from his position, along with Martin Bucer. Both sought refuge in England, where they were taken in by Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...

. In 1549 Fagius was appointed Hebrew lecturer at the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

.

After being briefly active in Hebrew philology and interpreting the Old Testament Fagius died from plague in 1549, and was buried in St Michael's Church, Cambridge. Under Queen Mary's

Mary I of England

Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

 Catholic restoration, his remains were exhumed and burnt (as were Bucer's); in 1560 a memorial was again set up to him.

Latin translations from Hebrew

• Pirḳe Abot (1541)
• Levita's "Tishbi" (1541)
• Tobit (1542)
• Alfabeta de Ben Sira (1542)
• Sefer Amanah (1542)
• David Ḳimḥi's commentary on Psalms, ch. i.-x. (1544)

Original Works

• Exegesis of the first four chapters of Genesis (1542)
• Elementary Hebrew grammar (1543)
• Liber Fidei seu Veritatis (1542)
• Parvus Tractulus (1542)

External links

• This article is partially based on a translation of the corresponding German-language Wikipedia article.