Peter Nigri
Encyclopedia
Peter Nigri, known also as Peter George Niger (b. 1434 at Kaaden in Bohemia
; d. between 1481 and 1484) was a Dominican
theologian, preacher and controversialist.
, Montpellier
, Bologna
, etc.) and entered the Dominican Order in 1452 at Eichstätt
, Bavaria
. After his religious profession he took up philosophy and theology at Leipzig
, where he also produced his first literary work De modo praedicandi (1457). In 1459 he defended publicly in Freiburg
a series of theses so successfully that the provincial chapter then in session there sent him to the University of Bologna
for advanced courses in theology
and canon law
.
Recalled after two years, he was made lector of theology and engaged in teaching and preaching. In 1465 he taught philosophy and was regent of studies in Cologne
; in 1467 taught theology at Ulm
; in 1469 or 1470 was elected prior in Eichstätt, on 31 May, 1473, the newly founded University of Ingolstadt
conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Theology
; in 1474 he taught theology in the convent at Ratisbon and in 1478 became professor of Old Testament
exegesis
in the University of Ingolstadt.
Shortly after, on the invitation of the patron of learning, Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, he became rector of his newly-erected Academy of Philosophy, Theology, and Sacred Scripture at Buda
, in gratitude for which Nigri dedicated to the king his Clypeus Thomistarum adversus omnes doctrinae doctoris angelici obtrectatores (Venice, 1481), in which he defends the teaching of Thomas Aquinas
against the Scotists and Nominalists.
He devoted most of his time to preaching to the Jews
. He had learned their language and become familiar with their literature at Salamanca and Montpellier by associating with Jewish children and attending the lectures of the rabbis. At Ratisbon, Worms
, and Frankfort-on-the-Main he preached in German, Latin, and Hebrew, frequently challenging the rabbis to a disputation.
He wrote two anti-Semitic works, one in Latin, Tractatus contra Perfidos Judaeos (Esslingen, 1475), which is probably the earliest printed anti-Jewish work, and in which he severely attacked the Jews and the Talmud
. The other, written in German, is entitled Stern des Messias (Esslingen, 1477). Reuchlin in his Augenspiegel declared them absurd.
Both works are furnished with appendices giving the Hebrew alphabet
in Hebrew and Latin type, rules of grammar and for reading Hebrew, the Decalogue
in Hebrew, some Messianic
texts from the Old Testament, etc. They are among the earliest specimens of Hebrew printing in Germany, and the first attempt at Hebrew grammar
in that country by a Christian scholar. They were afterwards published separately as Commentatio de primis linguae Hebraicae elementis (Altdorf, 1764).
Peter Teuto, O. P. (Quétif, I, 855) and Peter Eystettensis (Eck
, "Chrysopassus Cent.", XLIX) are most probably to be identified with this Peter Nigri.
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
; d. between 1481 and 1484) was a Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
theologian, preacher and controversialist.
Life
He studied at different universities (SalamancaUniversity of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...
, Montpellier
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
, Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
, etc.) and entered the Dominican Order in 1452 at Eichstätt
Eichstätt
Eichstätt is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the District of Eichstätt. It is located along the Altmühl River, at , and had a population of 13,078 in 2002. It is home to the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, the lone Catholic university in Germany. The...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. After his religious profession he took up philosophy and theology at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, where he also produced his first literary work De modo praedicandi (1457). In 1459 he defended publicly in Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
a series of theses so successfully that the provincial chapter then in session there sent him to the University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
for advanced courses in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
.
Recalled after two years, he was made lector of theology and engaged in teaching and preaching. In 1465 he taught philosophy and was regent of studies in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
; in 1467 taught theology at Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
; in 1469 or 1470 was elected prior in Eichstätt, on 31 May, 1473, the newly founded University of Ingolstadt
University of Ingolstadt
The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of five faculties: humanities, sciences, theology, law and medicine, all of which were contained in the Hoheschule...
conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology is a terminal academic degree in theology. It is a research degree that is considered by the U.S. National Science Foundation to be the equivalent of a Doctor of Philosophy....
; in 1474 he taught theology in the convent at Ratisbon and in 1478 became professor of Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
in the University of Ingolstadt.
Shortly after, on the invitation of the patron of learning, Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, he became rector of his newly-erected Academy of Philosophy, Theology, and Sacred Scripture at Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
, in gratitude for which Nigri dedicated to the king his Clypeus Thomistarum adversus omnes doctrinae doctoris angelici obtrectatores (Venice, 1481), in which he defends the teaching of Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
against the Scotists and Nominalists.
Works
Niger ranks among the most eminent theologians and preachers of the latter half of the fifteenth century. He was a keen disciple of Aquinas, zealous for the integrity of his teachings and adhering strictly to the traditions of his school. In his few theological works he limits himself almost entirely to the discussion of abstract questions of logic and psychology.He devoted most of his time to preaching to the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. He had learned their language and become familiar with their literature at Salamanca and Montpellier by associating with Jewish children and attending the lectures of the rabbis. At Ratisbon, Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
, and Frankfort-on-the-Main he preached in German, Latin, and Hebrew, frequently challenging the rabbis to a disputation.
He wrote two anti-Semitic works, one in Latin, Tractatus contra Perfidos Judaeos (Esslingen, 1475), which is probably the earliest printed anti-Jewish work, and in which he severely attacked the Jews and the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. The other, written in German, is entitled Stern des Messias (Esslingen, 1477). Reuchlin in his Augenspiegel declared them absurd.
Both works are furnished with appendices giving the Hebrew alphabet
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...
in Hebrew and Latin type, rules of grammar and for reading Hebrew, the Decalogue
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
in Hebrew, some Messianic
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
texts from the Old Testament, etc. They are among the earliest specimens of Hebrew printing in Germany, and the first attempt at Hebrew grammar
Hebrew grammar
-History of studies in Hebrew grammar:The Masoretes in the 7th to 11th centuries laid the foundation for grammatical analysis of Hebrew. As early as the 9th century Judah ibn Kuraish discussed the relationship between Arabic and Hebrew...
in that country by a Christian scholar. They were afterwards published separately as Commentatio de primis linguae Hebraicae elementis (Altdorf, 1764).
Peter Teuto, O. P. (Quétif, I, 855) and Peter Eystettensis (Eck
Johann Eck
Dr. Johann Maier von Eck was a German Scholastic theologian and defender of Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation. It was Eck who argued that the beliefs of Martin Luther and Jan Hus were similar.-Life:...
, "Chrysopassus Cent.", XLIX) are most probably to be identified with this Peter Nigri.