Caspar Aquila also Kaspar Aquila, Caspari Aquilae, Gaspar Aquila, birth name Johann Kaspar Adler, was a German reformer

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

, who was born at Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

. Educated at Augsburg and at Ulm

Ulm

Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...

 (1502), in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 (he met Erasmus in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

), at Bern (1508), studied theology in Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

 (1510) and Wittenberg

Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....

 (1513). According to his son, he entered the ministry in August 1514, while at Bern. He was for some time a military chaplain.

In 1516, he became pastor of Jengen

Jengen

Jengen is a municipality in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria in Germany....

, near Augsburg, where he introduced ideas of the Reformation. Openly proclaiming his adhesion to Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

's doctrine, he was imprisoned for half a year (1520 or 1522) at Dillingen, by order of the bishop of Augsburg

Bishop of Augsburg

The Bishop of Augsburg is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Augsburg in the Ecclesiastical province of München und Freising.The diocese covers an area of 13,250 km².The current bishop is Konrad Zdarsa who was appointed in 2010....

; a death sentence was commuted to banishment through the influence of Isabella

Isabella of Burgundy

Isabella of Austria , Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile and Aragon, was Queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway as the wife of King Christian II...

, wife of Christian II of Denmark

Christian II of Denmark

Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...

 and sister of Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

. Returning to Wittenberg, he met Luther, and acted as tutor to the sons of Franz von Sickingen

Franz von Sickingen

Franz von Sickingen was a German knight, one of the most notable figures of the first period of the Reformation.-Biography:He was born at Ebernburg near Bad Kreuznach...

 at Ebernburg castle. After the siege of the Ebernburg by Richard Greiffenklau, the archbishop of Trier, on June 6, 1523, he returned to Wittenberg to teach Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

, and aided Luther in his version of the Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

.

The dates and particulars of his career are uncertain until 1527, when he became pastor at Saalfeld, and in 1528, superintendent. His vehement opposition to 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...

 (1548) and a warrant by Charles V on his head led him to take temporary shelter at Rudolstadt

Rudolstadt

Rudolstadt is a town in the German Bundesland of Thuringia, close to the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north....

 with Catherine, countess of Schwarzburg. In 1550, he was appointed dean of the Collegiatstift in Schmalkalden

Schmalkalden

- Notable people :*Christoph Cellarius, scholar, born 22 November 1638, died 4 June 1707 in Halle*Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach, colonel, born 16 April 1758, died 21 November 1827 at Białokosz...

. Here he had a controversy 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...

. Restored to Saalfeld after the peace of Passau

Peace of Passau

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had won a victory against Protestantism in the Schmalkaldic War of 1547. Many Protestant princes were unhappy with the religious terms of the Augsburg Interim imposed after this victory. In January 1552, led by Maurice of Saxony, many formed an alliance with Henry II of...

, not without opposition, in 1552, he remained there, still engaged in controversy, until his death on the 12th of November 1560. He was twice married, and left four sons. He published numerous sermons, a few Old Testament expositions and some controversial tracts.

Works

• Christliche Erklärung des kleinen Katechismus etc. (Augsb. 1538)
• Fragstücke der ganzen christlichen Lehre (since 1547 many Eds.)