Thomas Ebendorfer
Encyclopedia
Thomas Ebendorfer was an Austrian historian, professor, and statesman.

Born at Haselbach
Haselbach
Haselbach may refer to:*Haselbach, Bavaria*Haselbach, Thuringia*Haselbach , a tributary of the Reuss River in the Canton of Zurich...

, in Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...

, he studied at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

, where in 1412 he received the degree of Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

. Until 1427 he was attached to the Faculty of Arts and lectured on Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...

 and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 grammar. After 1419 he was also admitted to the theological faculty as 'cursor biblicus'. In 1427 he was made licentiate
Licentiate
Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...

 and in 1428 Master of Theology
Master of Theology
A Master of Theology is an advanced theological research degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries.-North America:In North America, the Master of Theology is considered by the Association of Theological Schools to be the minimum educational credential for teaching...

; soon after he became dean of the theological faculty, in which body he was a professor until his death.

He was rector of the University of Vienna in 1423, 1429, and 1445; and he was also canon of St. Stephen's church
Stephansdom
St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP...

, and engaged in the apostolic ministry as preacher and as pastor of Perchtoldsdorf
Perchtoldsdorf
Perchtoldsdorf is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, located about 16 km southwest of the viennese inner city.-History:...

 and of Falkenstein
Falkenstein
Falkenstein or Falckenstein is the name of several places and castles in Central Europe as well as a surname:- Places in Germany and Austria :* Falkenstein, Bavaria, district Cham...

 near Vienna.

He ranks high among the professors of the University of Vienna in the Fifteenth century. In the struggles which it had to sustain, he championed the rights and interests of the university with zeal and energy.

He represented the university at the Council of Basle (1432–1434), took an active part in all its discussions, and was one of the delegates sent by the council to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 to confer with the Hussites.

From 1440 to 1444 he was sent to various cities as ambassador of Emperor Frederick III
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...

. He disapproved of the attitude of the Council of Basle towards both pope and emperor, and eventually withdrew from it.

His advocacy of the rights of the Vienna University, coupled with the attacks of his opponents, lost him the favour of the emperor, who saw in him a secret enemy.

In 1451 and 1452 he was in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 where he obtained from the pope a confirmation of the privileges of the University of Vienna.

In the war between Frederick III and Albert of Brandenburg he tried to act as mediator but only fell into greater disfavour with Frederick.

His last years were clouded by the disturbances of the years 1461–1463 during which Austria had much to suffer from the King of Bohemia, George of Podebrady
George of Podebrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady , also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad , was King of Bohemia...

, and from internal conflicts.

Historical and Religious Works

Ebendorfer is one of the most prominent chroniclers of the Fifteenth century. His "Chronicon Austriae" is a dull but frank and very detailed history of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 to 1463. From 1400 on it is an indispensable source of Austrian history (ed. Pez in "Scriptores rerum Austriacarum", II, 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...

, 1725, 689-986; in this edition all of Book I and part of Book II were omitted).

His account of the Council of Basle appears in the "Diarium gestorum concilii Basileensis pro reductione Bohemorum" (ed. Birk in Monumenta concilii Basileensis, Scriptores, I, Vienna, 1875, 701-783).

He wrote also a history of the Roman emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

s, "Chronica regum Romanorum"; Books VI and VII, which are of independent value as sources, were edited by Pribram in the Mitteilungen des Instituts für österreichische Geschichtsforschung
Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung
Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung is an Austrian academic journal published since 1880 by the Institut für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung . Recent editors include Anton Scharer, Georg Scheibelreiter and Andrea Sommerlechner.-Further reading:*Stoy, Manfred...

, third supplementary volume (Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

, 1890-1894), 38-222.

Many of his writings are as yet unedited, among them commentaries on Biblical books, sermons, "Liber de schismatibus", "Liber Pontificum Romanorum" (see Levinson, "Thomas Ebendorfers Liber Pontificum" in "Mitteilungen des Instituts fur osterreichische Geschichtsforschung", XX, 1899, 69-99). 'Sermones Dominicales', printed in Strasbourg in 1478.
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