Joachim Vadian
Joachim Vadian or Vadianus (actually Joachim von Watt, born November 29, 1484 St. Gallen, † April 6, 1551 same place ) was a Swiss humanist, physician and scholar, as well as Mayor and reformer of the city of St. Gallen.
Life
Vadian was born probably on 29 November 1484 the former Imperial City of St. Gallen as Joachim von Watt and came from a rich and influential family, who lived from trade with linen.
The end of 1501 he moved to Vienna, where he later taught at the University studied (including the humanist Conrad Celtis ), and. During the plague of 1506 and 1507 he fled to Villach in Carinthia and taught there as a teacher, attended music lessons and spent some time in the Benedictine Ossiach. At that time, led him on a study trip to Trento, Venice and Padua, where he was strongly influenced by, among other things, by the Irish Professor Mauritius Hibernicus.
1509 closed Vadian his Viennese studies as Master from and returned to St. Gallen, where he worked intensively with the Abbey Library of St. Gallen. A short time later, the return to Vienna, where he made a name for himself with his writings, editions and Latin poems.
From 1512 Vadian was Chair of Poetry at the University of Vienna, probably in the context of the initiated by Celtis poets College. In 1513 he traveled to the Hungarian Buda. On March 12, 1514, he was named by Emperor Maximilian I in Linz for poet laureate. 1516, he was appointed Dean, in the winter semester 1516/17 to the rector.
In the following years Vadian studied medicine and natural sciences, especially geography and history also. Georg Tannstetter ( Collimitius ), a mathematician, astronomer, and physician, this was his main teacher.
1517 closed Vadian his medical studies as a doctor from. In 1518 he moved his center of life back to St. Gallen; on the return trip he visited, among others, Leipzig, Breslau and Cracow, where he met with numerous humanist friends.
In St. Gallen Vadian is trying to promote humanism and soon became covered by the movement of the Reformation, particularly through his Zurich friend Ulrich Zwingli, the forerunner of the Reformation in Switzerland. The correspondence with Zwingli and other writings from 1522 show clear criticism of the Roman Catholic Church.
1521 took a seat on the Vadian St. Gallen City Council and has established itself as an influential member. In this role, he promoted the spread of Reformation ideas and became known by his lectures as supporters of the Reformation.
Beginning in 1526 Vadian was elected mayor of the city of St. Gallen and led in the following years through the Reformation, especially in St. Gallen monastery. Vadian enjoyed for the rest of his life as a reformer great reputation in Switzerland as well as in German-speaking countries and was appreciated for his diplomatic skills, he could be advantageously used in many conflicts, religious and political.
On April 6, 1551 Vadian died in St. Gallen.
Monument
In the center of St. Gallen and a memorial monument in the marketplace at the life and work Vadian. The bronze statue was designed in 1904 by renowned Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling.
Aftereffect
The former Ersparnisanstalt the city of St. Gallen was renamed in late 2006 after 196 years of existence in Vadian Bank AG. The bank, one of the oldest banks in Switzerland, has been one of its founding Ortsbürgergemeinde St. Gallen.
Works (selection)
- De poetica et carminis ratione liber, Vienna 1518th
- The Great Chronicle of the abbots of the monastery of St. Gallen, St. Gallen 1529th
- From state and nature of the times ..., The pious hermit St. Gallus, Thurgau, The city of St. Gallen, Lake Constance, from the origin of the monastic order - linguistically and restored for today's readers abridged geographical and historical texts Vadian. In: Sankt Gallus. History - Legend - Interpretation (Intellectual Heritage Switzerland, Volume 4 ). Publisher Bear, Niederuzwil, 2012. ISBN 978-3-9523212-7-0