Theodor Zwinger
| Theodor Zwinger | |
|---|---|
 Theatrum Vitae Humanae (Basel, 1565) | |
| Born |
August 2, 1533 Basel |
| Died |
March 10, 1588 (aged 54) Basel |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Fields | Medicine |
| Alma mater | University of Basel, University of Lyon and University of Padua |
| Doctoral advisor | Bassiano Landi |
| Other academic advisors |
Thomas Platter Petrus Ramus Vettore Trincavelli Gabriele Falloppio |
| Doctoral students | Petrus Ryff |
| Influenced | Thomas Moffet |
Theodor Zwinger the Elder (August 2, 1533 – March 10, 1588) was a Swiss physician and humanist scholar. He made significant contributions to the emerging genres of reference and travel literature.[1] He was the first distinguished representative of a prominent early modern Basel academic family.
Life and work
Zwinger was the son of the furrier Leonhard Zwinger who had become Basel citizen in 1526. His mother was Christina Herbster, the sister of Johannes Oporinus (Herbster) the famed humanist printer. After Zwinger’s father’s death, Christina married the noted humanist Conrad Lycosthenes (Wolffhart).
Zwinger studied at universities in Basel, Lyon, and Paris before taking a doctorate in medicine at the University of Padua with Bassiano Landi, the successor of Johannes Baptista Montanus. In Paris he studied with the iconoclastic philosopher Petrus Ramus. He joined the faculty of the University of Basel as a member of the consilium facultatis medicae from 1559. At Basel he held successively chairs in Greek (1565), Ethics (1571), and finally theoretical medicine (1580).[2] While originally hostile to Paracelsus, in his later career he took an interest in Paracelsian medical theory for which he experienced some hostility. He associated with Paracelsians such as Thomas Moffet and Petrus Severinus.[3]
Zwinger was the editor of the early encyclopedia Theatrum Humanae Vitae (editions 1565, 1571, 1586, 1604). The work is considered "perhaps the most comprehensive collection of knowledge to be compiled by a single individual in the early modern period."[4] He was able to draw on the knowledge base of his stepfather Conrad Lycosthenes in compiling the Theatrum Humanae Vitae.
Zwinger’s son, Jakob Zwinger, briefly served as his successor as editor of the Theatrum. His descendant Theodor Zwinger the Younger (1597–1654) was a prominent preacher and theology professor.
Zwinger's works
- Theatrum Vitae Humanae — an early encyclopedia
- Methodus Apodemica — an early example of travel literature
- Specimen Materiae medicae : cum subjunctis ubique Remediorum Formulis in Gratiam & Usum Philiatrorum ac Juniorum Practicorum tumultuaria methodo inter plurimas Mentis Distractiones fideli tamen Opera adornatum. - Basileae : Thurnisius, 1722. Digital edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf.
- Theodori Zuingeri Theatrum botanicum, das ist: Vollkommenes Kräuter-Buch : worinnen allerhand Erdgewächse, Bäume, Stauden und Kräuter, welche in allen vier Theilen der Welt, sonderlich aber in Europa, hervorkommen, beschrieben. Itzo auf das Neue übersehen / durch Friedrich Zwinger. Basel : Bischoff, 1744. Digital edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf.
Further reading
- Gilly, Carlos. "Zwischen Erfahrung und Spekulation: Theodor Zwinger und die religiöse und kulturelle Krise seiner Zeit." Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde 77 (1977): 57–137 & 79 (1979): 125–233 (German).
- Herzog, J. W. (1778). Athenae rauricae: Sive catalogus professorum Academiae Basiliensis ab A. MCCCCLX ad A. MDCCLXXVIII. Cum brevi singulorum biographia. Adjecta est recensio omnium eiusdem Academiae rectorum. Basel: Car. Aug. Serini. p. 208. OCLC 43215846.
External links
References
- This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia.
- ↑
- ↑ Miescher, Friedrich (1860), Die medizinische Facultät in Basel und ihr Aufschwung unter F. Plater und C. Bauhin: mit dem Lebensbilde von Felix Plater: zur vierten Säcularfeier der Universität Basel, 6. September 1860. Basel: Schweighauser. pp. 18–19.
- ↑ Shackelford, Jole, A Philosophical Path for Paracelsian Medicine: The Ideas, Intellectual Context, and Influence of Petrus Severinus (1540/2–1602) (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2004), pp. 287–288.
- ↑ Helmut Zedelmaier, "Navigieren im Text-Universum: Theodor Zwingers Theatrum Vitae Humanae," Metaphorik 14 (2008): 113: "Theodor Zwingers Theatrum vitae humanae ist die vielleicht umfangreichste Wissenssammlung, die ein einzelner Mensch je in der frühen Neuzeit erstellte."
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