George Hermonymus
Encyclopedia
George Hermonymus or Hermonymus of Sparta was a 15th century Greek
scribe, diplomat, scholar and lecturer. He was the first person to teach Greek at the Collège de Sorbonne
in Paris
.
, he first went to Milan
where he worked as a copyist and then to Paris as there was a great need for a Greek teacher and translator at the time. Hermonymus arrived at Paris in 1476, worked as a copyist at the French court.
Later, as a lecturer at the Sorbonne he took advantage of the vast collection of ancient Greek
books in the libraries of Paris to start his scholarly activities. He became renowned as a teacher of Greek and among his pupils were Erasmus, Budaeus
, Reuchlin and Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples
.
Hermonymus was also involved in diplomacy. In 1475 he was sent to the Kingdom of England
by Pope Sixtus IV
, in order to lobby for the release of George Neville from imprisonment by Edward IV of England
.
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
scribe, diplomat, scholar and lecturer. He was the first person to teach Greek at the Collège de Sorbonne
Collège de Sorbonne
The Collège de Sorbonne was a theological college of the University of Paris, founded in 1257 by Robert de Sorbon, after whom it is named. With the rest of the Paris colleges, it was suppressed during the French Revolution. It was restored in 1808 but finally closed in 1882. The name Sorbonne...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Life
Originally from SpartaSparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, he first went to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
where he worked as a copyist and then to Paris as there was a great need for a Greek teacher and translator at the time. Hermonymus arrived at Paris in 1476, worked as a copyist at the French court.
Later, as a lecturer at the Sorbonne he took advantage of the vast collection of ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
books in the libraries of Paris to start his scholarly activities. He became renowned as a teacher of Greek and among his pupils were Erasmus, Budaeus
Guillaume Budé
Guillaume Budé was a French scholar.-Life:Budé was born in Paris. He went to the University of Orléans to study law, but for several years, being possessed of ample means, he led an idle and dissipated life...
, Reuchlin and Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples
Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples
Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples or Jacob Faber Stapulensis was a French theologian and humanist. He was a precursor of the Protestant movement in France. The "d’Étaples" was not part of his name as such, but used to distinguish him from Jacques Lefèvre of Deventer, a less significant contemporary, a...
.
Hermonymus was also involved in diplomacy. In 1475 he was sent to the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
by Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,...
, in order to lobby for the release of George Neville from imprisonment by Edward IV of England
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
.
Manuscripts written by Hermonymus
- Minuscule 30Minuscule 30Minuscule 30 , ε 522 . It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on 313 paper leaves. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 15th century. Formerly Colbertinus 4444. It has marginalia....
- Minuscule 70Minuscule 70Minuscule 70 , ε 521 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 15th century. The manuscript has complex contents. Marginalia are incomplete.- Description :The codex contains complete text of the four Gospels on 186...
- Minuscule 287Minuscule 287Minuscule 287 , ε 523 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on paper. It is dated by a colophon to the year 1478.It has marginalia.- Description :...
- Minuscule 288Minuscule 288Minuscule 288 , ε 524 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on paper. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 15th century.It has marginalia.- Description :...
Sources
- Jonathan Harris, Greek Émigrés in the West, 1400-1520 (Camberley: Porphyrogenitus, 1995). ISBN 1 871328 11 X
- Jonathan Harris, 'Greek scribes in England: the evidence of episcopal registers', in Through the Looking Glass: Byzantium through British Eyes, ed. Robin Cormack and Elizabeth Jeffreys, Aldershot UK: Ashgate, 2000, pp. 121-6. ISBN 978 0860 786672
- Maria P. Kalatzi, Hermonymos: A Study in Scribal, Literary and Teaching Activities in the Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries, Athens, 2009. ISBN 978 960 250 420 8