Paul Fagius

Paul Fagius

Paul Fagius(1504 – 13 November 1549) was aRenaissancescholar ofBiblical HebrewandProtestant reformer.

Life

Fagius was born atRheinzabernin 1504. His father was a teacher and council clerk. In 1515 he went to study at theUniversity of Heidelbergand in 1518 was present at theHeidelberg Disputation.In 1522 he moved to the University ofStrasbourg,where he learned Hebrew and metMatthäus Zell,Martin BucerandWolfgang Capito.

In 1527, he became a school master in the free imperial city ofIsny im Allgäu.Fagius took part in the Bern Colloquy, where he met the reformerHuldrych Zwingli.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 publisherElia Levita,and they founded a printing office together. One of the few known works to be published by this partnership wasShemot Devarim,an Old Yiddish-Hebrew-Latin-German dictionary, in 1542.

In 1543, he organized theKirchenweseninKonstanzand in 1544 was appointed Professor of Old Testament studies at Strasbourg. In 1546, he moved back to Heidelberg, afterElector Frederick IIcharged 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 theCounter-ReformationPaul Fagius found himself under pressure. After the defeat of theSchmalkaldic Leaguein 1547, Fagius, who had opposed theAugsburg Interim,found himself dismissed from his position, along with Martin Bucer. Both sought refuge in England, where they were taken in byThomas Cranmer.In 1549, Fagius was appointed Hebrew lecturer at theUniversity of Cambridge.

After being briefly active in Hebrew philology and interpreting the Old Testament Fagius died from plague in 1549, and was buried inSt Michael's Church,Cambridge. Under QueenMary'sCatholic restoration, his remains were exhumed and burned (as were Martin Bucer's); in 1560, a memorial was again set up to him.

Works

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)

Editions

• Targum Onḳelos(1546)

Original works

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

Further reading

• Gordon, Bruce, ‘Fagius, Paul (c.1504–1549)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)
• MacCulloch, D., Thomas Cranmer:A life(1996)
• Raubenheimer, Richard:Paul Fagius aus Bergzabern: sein Leben und Wirken als Reformator und Gelehrter.Grünstadt, Verein für pfälzische Kirchengeschichte, 1957
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz (1975). "Fagius (Büchlein), Paul". In Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm (ed.).Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL)(in German). Vol. 1. Hamm: Bautz. cols. 1592–1593.ISBN3-88309-013-1.
• Georg Biundo (1959),"Fagius (eigtl. Büchelin), Paul",Neue Deutsche Biographie(in German), vol. 4, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 744–744
• Ludwig Geiger(1877), "Fagius: Paul F. (Büchlein)",Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie(in German), vol. 6, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 533–534