Matthias Bel

Slovak Matej Bel, latin Belius, German Matthias Bel; Hungarian Mátyás Bél, ( born March 24, 1684 Očová in Zvolen (German Altsohl ), Royal Hungary and Austria empire; † August 29, 1749 in Bratislava ) was a Slovak historian, Lutheran theologian, educator and historian from the Kingdom of Hungary.

Life

Other than the fact of schooling in Banska Bystrica, is about the childhood and youth of Bel little is known. 1704 Bel enrolled with twenty years at the University of Halle for the subject of medicine. Later he moved to the same university for theology. In addition to a small stipend, Bel earned his living while studying as a private tutor.

As such, it fell to the pedagogue August Hermann Francke and these hired him as a teacher at his school arms. 1708 Bel received a reputation as a rector of the Protestant school in Banska Bystrica. As such, Bel now began to translate some writings of the church song poet Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen and the theologian Johann Arndt in the Czech language.

Bel a published, widely acclaimed by contemporaries, New Testament; also in Czech. Parallel to his career served as headmaster Bel as a preacher of the parish church of the Virgin Mary ( in the town castle Banská Bystrica ). When in 1714 the Protestant school passed into possession Catholic and the Protestant church is oriented to Pressburg, you got Bel in the same year as a teacher there as well.

1716 married Matej Bel in Bratislava. His son was the future historian Karl Andreas Bel.

Five years later he was called Bel 1719 preacher of the local Evangelical German community. The next few years translated Bel alongside his New Testament and the rest was 1722 Bible published in the Bohemian language. These Bel wrote nor an introduction to reading the Bible for everyone. Basis of his translation of the Bible was the Bible editions of the Swiss humanist Sebastian Castellio.

Thomas translated by Kempens work Imitation of Christ Bel - on the basis of an output of Castellio - also into Czech. This new edition caused quite a stir and the Catholic clergy tried in Bel Emperor Charles VI. to sue. This however was Bel's work as so remarkable that he appointed him his historiographer, raised in the personal nobility and whose book publications supported extremely generous.

When in 1740 Emperor Charles VI. died in Vienna, immediately all the financial benefits of the Imperial House of Bel were stopped by the court administration. This meant that some works of Beelzebub very late, some could appear posthumously. In his publications Bel worked very often with the cartographer and engraver Samuel Mikoviny.

In addition to the theology and history of his country, Bel but also interested in geography, education and economics. He belonged from 1746 to the members of the Olomouc Societas incognitorum, the first enlightened society of scholars in the Habsburg lands. He also led an extensive correspondence with the Prussian Academy of Sciences (Berlin), the Royal Society ( London) and the Russian Academy of Sciences ( St. Petersburg ), whose member he was.

At the age of 65 years, the historian and theologian died as a senior member of the Evangelical Lutheran preacher at Pressburg. The extensive collection of books and manuscripts acquired all of the Prince-Archbishop of Pressburg Ludwig Batthyányi and presented it to his cathedral chapter.

Named after Matej Bel, the Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, the asteroid 22644 Matejbel and successively appearing at the beginning of the 21st century, large Slovak general encyclopedia of the Slovak Academy of Sciences Encyclopaedia Beliana.

Gedenkprägungen

Works (selection)

  • New Testament ( in the Bohemian language, Hall 1709)
  • De vetere literatura hunno - Scythica exercitatio (Leipzig 1718);
  • Adparatus ad historiam Hungariae ( Posonii [ Bratislava ] 1735-1746 );
  • Hungariae Antiquae et novae prodromus (Nuremberg, 1723), the forerunner of his main work:
  • Notitia Hungariae Novae Historico - Geographica (Vienna 1735-42, 4 vols; unfinished).
  • Ethica Davidico - Salomonea 1724
  • Preface to the Grammar of Pavel Jozef Dolezal / Doleschalius: Grammatica Slavico - Bohemical, in qua praeter alia, accurate ratio scriptionis et flexionis, quae in hac lingua magnis difficultatibus laborat ex genuinis fundamentis demonstratur, ut et discrimen inter dialectum Bohemorum et cultiorum Slavorum in Hungaria insinuatur. [ ... ] Praefatus est Matthias Belius. ( Posonii [ Bratislava ] 1746 ).
Slovaks Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor Societas eruditorum incognitorum in terris Austriacis Constantin von Wurzbach Integrated Authority File
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