Georg Rörer

Georg Rorer, Latinized Georgius Rorarius ( born October 1, 1492 Deggendorf ( Lower Bavaria ), † April 24, 1557 in Jena ) was a Protestant theologian and reformer.

Life and work

Rorer spent his youth (probably) in Deggendorf. In 1511 he began his studies at Leipzig became Baccalaureus 1515 and 1520 Masters. Here he learned later companions, such as Caspar Cruicger to know. In 1522 he continued his studies in Wittenberg, where he met Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and Johannes Bugenhagen. In 1525 he became a deacon at the town church. His ordination on 14 May 1525 was the first Protestant ordination.

Rorer married on December 6, 1525 Hanna ( Annette, Hannica ) Bugenhagen, the sister of Wittenberg pastor. They had a son, Paul ( born January 27, 1527). When Hannah gave birth to still dead in the same year a daughter, she died a few hours later on November 2, 1527 in childbirth of the plague, which was rife, especially in Wittenberg. Rorer pulled her through with his son and Johannes Bugenhagen into the house of Luther. On May 28, 1528 Rorer married a nun named Magdalena ( † after 1559 ), with whom he had four more children: John ( born May 9, 1529), Magdalena (* 1530), Stephen (* 1532), Hanna ( * 9 January 1537 ) and Anastasia († 1572; . nut of the hymn writer Martin Rutilius ).

1529 Rorer accompanied Luther to the discussion with Zwingli at Marburg. Except as Luther's traveling companion on this and other trips he made through the regular taking notes of Luther's sermons and lectures, sometimes dinner speeches, and lectures Melanchthon and Bugenhagen sermons deserves. He attended together with Caspar Cruciger and Veit Dietrich that Luther oral presentations were almost completely preserved. Since he was not up to handling the demands on him, released him in 1537 Johann Friedrich I the Magnanimous of his ecclesiastical duties and instructed him officially with the documentation of Luther's works. Together with Cruciger he got from 1539 the first volume of the Wittenberg Luther output.

After Luther's death Rorer came because of his way of working under pressure because he intervened in Luther's texts to send by language to improve. In 1551 he left Wittenberg and went to Denmark, where he was King Christian III. promoted. After Ertlassung from the imperial prisoner called John Frederick of Saxony Rorer in 1553 to Jena. Here he worked as a proofreader with at Jena Luther edition, the first volume appeared in 1555. Until his death, the output had grown to four volumes. Overall, there was the Jena edition of Luther eight German and four Latin volumes.

On him the oldest currently known note of Luther's theses going back. The dating is controversial because it is not clear whether he has it, made ​​during his lifetime or after Luther 's death, in any case after 1540.