Nicholas Magni
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Magni (c. 1355 – 22 March 1435) was a late medieval theologian, a professor at Heidelberg University.
Born in Jawor
, Silesia
, he studied in Vienna
(1377) and Prague
under Matthew of Krakow
(from 1378, baccalaureus 1392, magister artium 1395), from 1397 rector of Prague University. In 1402, he went to Heidelberg
, where he was likewise made rector in 1406. He also represented the university at the Council of Constance
1414–1418, where he argued for a reform of the Church and the clergy.
His 1405 Tractatus de supersticionibus enjoyed great popularity throughout the 15th century, and survives in 80 manuscripts, but its influence did not extend beyond the end of the century, being superseded by the 1487 Malleus maleficarum
, and was never printed.
Born in Jawor
Jawor
Jawor is a town in south-western Poland with 24,347 inhabitants . It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship . It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław.In the town can be found a Protestant Church of Peace...
, Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, he studied in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(1377) and Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
under Matthew of Krakow
Matthew of Krakow
Matthew of Kraków , also commonly known as Matthäus von Krakau, was a renowned German-Polish scholar and priest of the fourteenth century.-Early life:...
(from 1378, baccalaureus 1392, magister artium 1395), from 1397 rector of Prague University. In 1402, he went to Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, where he was likewise made rector in 1406. He also represented the university at the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...
1414–1418, where he argued for a reform of the Church and the clergy.
His 1405 Tractatus de supersticionibus enjoyed great popularity throughout the 15th century, and survives in 80 manuscripts, but its influence did not extend beyond the end of the century, being superseded by the 1487 Malleus maleficarum
Malleus Maleficarum
The Malleus Maleficarum is an infamous treatise on witches, written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and was first published in Germany in 1487...
, and was never printed.
Works
- Sermo super quattuor passionibus D.N. Iesu Christi (Prague sermons)
- Reformist sermons of Constance, Obsecro vos ego, 3 October 1417
- German sermons Vom Gebet Von der Liebe Gottes (Basle 1434)
- Lectura super psalmis
- De tribus substancialibus votis religiosorum
- Quaestio de mendicantibus (against Beguines and BeghardsBeghardsBeghards and Beguines were Roman Catholic lay religious communities active in the 13th and 14th centuries, living in a loose semi-monastic community but without formal vows...
) - Quaestio de usuris
- Tractatus de supersticionibus (1405)
- Dialogus super sacra communione contra Hussitas
- Quaestio de hereticis
- Contra epistolam perfidiae Hussitarum
Literature
- Josef Tòíška (Ed.), Repertorium biographicum universitatis Pragensis praehussiticae 1348-1409, Praha 1981, 406;
- Adolph Franz, Der Magister Nikolaus Magni de Jawor, Freiburg 1898
- F.X. Bantle, "N. Magni de Jawor und Johannes Wenk im Lichte des Codex Mc. 31 der UB Tübingen," in: Scholastik 38, 1963, 536-554
- "St. Bylina, Licitum - illicitum, Mikolaj z Jawora," in: Kultura elitarna a kultura masowa w Polsce póünego óredniowiecza, Wroclaw 1978, 137-153