Andreas Aurifaber
Encyclopedia
Andreas Aurifaber was a German
physician
of some repute, but through his influence with Albert of Brandenburg, last grand-master of the Teutonic Knights
, and first Protestant duke of Prussia, became an outstanding figure in the controversy associated with Andreas Osiander
whose daughter he had married.
.
The bounty of Duke Albert of Prussia enabled him to pursue the study of medicine at Wittenberg and in Italy, and after 1545 he was physician to the Duke and professor of physics and medicine in the newly-established University of Königsberg
. There he wrote a number of treatises on physics and physiology.
In 1550 he married a daughter of Osiander, and became involved in the bitter controversy aroused by the latter’s views on justification and grace. After Osiander's death in 1552, Aurifaber, who in the preceding year had been made rector of the university, became the leader of the Osiandrian faction and made use of his office and his influence over the duke to crush the rival faction in Prussia, driving its adherents from the university in 1554. He went on to travel extensively throughout Germany, aroused the hatred of the conservatives, who assailed him with extreme virulence. Aurifaber, however, retained his influence until his death, which occurred suddenly, in the antechamber of the duke at Königsberg, on December 12, 1559.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
of some repute, but through his influence with Albert of Brandenburg, last grand-master of the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
, and first Protestant duke of Prussia, became an outstanding figure in the controversy associated with Andreas Osiander
Andreas Osiander
Andreas Osiander was a German Lutheran theologian.- Career :Born at Gunzenhausen in Franconia, Osiander studied at the University of Ingolstadt before being ordained as a priest in 1520. In the same year he began work at an Augustinian convent in Nuremberg as a Hebrew tutor. In 1522, he was...
whose daughter he had married.
Life
He was born in Breslau; Johannes Aurifaber of Breslau was his younger brother. He studied at the University of Wittenberg in 1527, and there became a friend of Philip Melanchthon. In 1529 he became rector of the Latin school at Danzig, and two years later accepted a similar post at ElbingElbing
Elbing is the German name of Elbląg, a city in northern Poland which until 1945 was a German city in the province of East Prussia.Elbing may also refer to:- Ships :* SMS Elbing, light cruiser of the Imperial Germany Navy...
.
The bounty of Duke Albert of Prussia enabled him to pursue the study of medicine at Wittenberg and in Italy, and after 1545 he was physician to the Duke and professor of physics and medicine in the newly-established University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
. There he wrote a number of treatises on physics and physiology.
In 1550 he married a daughter of Osiander, and became involved in the bitter controversy aroused by the latter’s views on justification and grace. After Osiander's death in 1552, Aurifaber, who in the preceding year had been made rector of the university, became the leader of the Osiandrian faction and made use of his office and his influence over the duke to crush the rival faction in Prussia, driving its adherents from the university in 1554. He went on to travel extensively throughout Germany, aroused the hatred of the conservatives, who assailed him with extreme virulence. Aurifaber, however, retained his influence until his death, which occurred suddenly, in the antechamber of the duke at Königsberg, on December 12, 1559.
Literature
- Irene Dingel: Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche Bd. 1. S. 1256
- Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie (DBE) Bd. 1, S. 224
- Heinz Scheible: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG) Bd. 1, S. 975
- Heinz Scheible: Melanchthons Briefwechsel Personen 11
- Thomas Anselmino: Medizin und Pharmazie am Hof Albrechts von Preußen, 2003 S. 41-46, 103-106
- Wagenmann, Gustav Kawerau: Aurifaber, Andreas. In: Realenzyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche (RE), 3. Auflage, Bd. 2, (1897), S. 287-288