Caspar Peucer

Caspar Peucer ( , ; January 6, 1525 – September 25, 1602) was a German reformer, physician, and scholar of Sorbian origin.

Personal life

Early life

Caspar Peucer was born on January 6, 1525, in Bautzen, (Sachsen, Germany) and died on September 25, 1602, in Dessau, (Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany). He was the child of Gregor Peucer, a known craftsman, and Ottilie Simon. Peucer's father, Gregor, was trusted with certain tasks from the Bautzen elite regarding the city quarters between the town council and burghers. The Bautzen elite was an interconnected family with relational ties, this indicates that Peucer himself was also related to Gregorius Mattig, who was a highly respected humanist and intellectual during this time. Mattig himself, was a director of Upper Lusatia representing the Estate town during their uprising in the early 15th century. Peucer's education began in his hometown of Sachsen where he began studying at a local Protestant grammar school. This education system was excelling under the Joachim Knemiander administration, originating from the Upper Lusatian town which, is now present day Poland.

Middle life

After some time Peucer was later sent to a Latin school (named 'Trotzendorf') of Valentin Friedland. It was here he learned more regarding the new and developing Lutheran education, here he met other students who were interested in the same ideologies. Not too long after Peucer was at Trotzendorf, he was recommended to attend the University of Saxon Wittenberg. Wittenberg was a university where many Lutherans enrolled, this was also the place that the main disputes of the Reformation occurred. Then, Peucer enrolled in the University of Wittenberg in March 1543, after he finished his undergraduate he went on to graduate with his masters in September 1545. After graduation Peucer quickly became a professor at the University of Wittenberg, replacing Erasmus Reinhold following his death in 1553. After his research and schooling he later graduated with his master's degree. Peucer went on to marry his first wife, Magdalena, daughter of theologian and humanist Philipp Melanchthon. During their marriage she gave birth to three sons and seven daughters, she later died in 1575.

Later life

Around 1570, Peucer became the doctor to the Elector of Saxony, Augusts, who was a significant figure during the time of the Schmalkaldic war. In the position he became one of August's trusted advisors and acted as the head of the Philipistic. The main goal was to gain followers of the Lutheran church, this quickly created some suspicion that there was a connection with Peucer and Calvinism. Created by John Calvin, a Protestant reformer, Calvinism was an immediately popular religion that quickly spread throughout Europe. It came at the perfect time when religion began expanding, and freedom of searching religion was brought forth. Calvinism was thought to be against the views of astrology; as Peucer was thinking more critically about astrology fitting into a teleological world, this was a stepping stone indicating his views were differing from society. Peucer was soon accused of a Calvinism plot and was captured on April 1, 1574, in Wittenberg; it was there that Peucer's works were searched, and he had to explain his religious and political ties in front of the Dresden Consistory. His accusation stems from his interpretation of the Lord's Supper because strict Lutherans believe that Christ was in the Eucharist. It was the Consistory that charged Peucer with Calvinism and suspected he tried to expand his teaching to Saxony. He pleaded not guilty but, after countless trials, he was found guilty from his own personal writings. This was the start of Peucer's twelve years in prison, it began in the Rochlitz castle, where Magdalena could stay with him. But, later he was moved to Leipzig, where he stayed for the rest of his sentence. At this point, he was unable to teach math, astronomy, or medicine. So, Peucer turned towards writing poetry. It was here that wrote his poem, Idyllium, and his longest poem reflecting on his birthplace in Upper Lusatia. During this time he was waiting for his family to bring forth a petition to get him out of his sentence early, which was granted in 1586. After his release he became the personal doctor to Anhalt princess in Desseau, he died in the capitol on September 25, 1602. The Protestant astrologers of the time held the belief that before the original sin, nature did not deviate from its expected laws. But then after the Fall, God and the devil began to send supernatural messages through nature. This could be seen through medical diagnoses, astrological horoscopes, and meteorology, according to Peucer. That being said, in his texts, Peucer believed that these event could somewhat predict the future as they were signs that appeared not only to our world, but also the sublunar world. He justified this on the basis that, there would be no point in astrological signs appearing from unknown sources if they did not mean anything.

Religious conflict

There is evidence that there were strict rules regarding the Lord's Supper, any mishandling or deviations from the traditions of taking it were seen as something that could be punishable by law. Peucer's denial of Christ's physical presence in the bread got him in trouble. Because Peucer held such a high power position in education, he was also able to hire chairmen that were not Orthodox Lutherans, they were known as Philippists (followers of Philip Melanchthon).

Elementa doctrinae de circulis coelestibus et primo motu (1551)
Opera Melan, 1562–65
Epistolae, 1565
De Essentia et ortu animae 1590 - about the connection of the constellations to the immaterial soul and the mortal soul
Idyllion de Lusatia, 1583 (printed 1594)

De Dimensione Terrae (1550)

Peucer's De Dimensione Terra [On the Dimensions of the Earth] was first published in 1550, when Peucer was 25. was intended as a textbook of mathematical geography for the study of philosophy by students of the Lutheran University of Wittenberg. This octavo covers matters of physics, astronomy, astrology, and history. It built upon Melancthon's work, in the form of relatively simple figures for the ease of comprehension for its intended audience; however, mathematics calculations in the latter part of the book were far above the capability of the average Wittenberg student. Although it was originally published in 1550, it was subsequently updated 3 times in 1554, 1579, and 1587.

The original 1550 edition incorporated figures explaining the measurement of spheres and the determination of geographical coordinates. The 1554 edition adds to this by providing the calculations necessary for discerning the distance between two points from coordinates. The works found in this book are based on the trigonometric tables of Copernicus, the flat and spherical geometry developments of Georg Joachim Rheticus, and works of Johnannes Regiomantus. Another interesting addition to the 1554 version is the inclusion of two works that describe the Holy Land by Burchard of Mount Sion and an explanation of Biblical place names. The religious tie-in arises from Peucer's belief that the ability of man to calculate the nature of the earth reveals the "action of Divine Providence in the world."

In the first chapter, this point is hammered home as it implies that history must be inferred or understood in terms of its Christian context. Thus, Geography should then be thought of in mainly mathematical terms as opposed to historical or ethnic descriptions. Furthermore, in the second part of his work, he reiterates a foundation of longitude and latitude known by many at the time. However, in his work he aims to inspire his audience to make inferences of their own and improve the status quo of cartography to a certain extent. In the Copernican world system, the sun is the center of the universe, rather than the earth, and everything rotates around the sun. Peucer formulated a geometrical construction of the universe to illustrate the movement of heavenly bodies. Melanchthon's inner circle or those who closely followed his teachings are respectfully referred to as the 'Philippists'. They studied and formulated many works under the teaching of Melanchthon. The pupils viewed Melanchthon as one of the only scholars who could actually properly interpret the divine providence and celestial writing through his knowledge of astrology. In the mid-1540s, he published a formula for solving cubic equations in his Ars Magna. However, this group was mainly influenced by Cardano's contribution to the studies of horoscopes. Cardano is famous for drawing horoscopes for both the living and dead. He later was tried by the Roman Inquisition, which found his astrological ideas especially problematic.

Tycho Brahe, another well-known astronomer during this period, was not so much an influence to Peucer's work, but they did share their views with each other. Tycho very much disagreed with some aspects of Ptolemy's view of the cosmos. He did not like his approach to the motions of the heavens, and use of the equant point. Peucer, on the other hand, took a liking to Ptolemy's views. In 1588, Brahe wrote a letter to Peucer addressing where he felt Ptolemy fell short, and how the Copernican system provided a resolution for the shortcomings. Brahe and Peucer have a history of exchanges, where they share their views on particular aspects of natural philosophy, but it is unclear if they actually contributed to or worked together to learn more about the cosmos.

Personal life

Early life

Middle life

Later life

Religious conflict

De Dimensione Terrae (1550)

References

Further reading

External links