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Entry | Thucydidis libri octo per Laurentium Vallam latinitate donati atque nunc ad Cru…

Thucydidis libri octo per Laurentium Vallam latinitate donati atque nunc ad Crusii exemplar collati accuratissimeque emendati per Thomam Hecalium [i.e. Naogeorgum]. Accesserunt Martini Crusii in eundem hunc auctorem aposemeioseis, una cum locuplete rerum atque verborum indice

Typology: Translation | Commentary | Language: Latin | Place of publication: Basel | Year: 1561

Greek Text: no

Content: Complete Work

Thomas Kirchmeyer, or Naogeorgus, (1508-1563), theologian, playwright, poet, and classical scholar. Originally a Dominican friar, Kirchmeyer left the order around 1526 and became an active figure in the Protestant movement, supported by Philipp Melanchthon and aligned with Reformed circles in southern Germany and the Palatinate. He gained European recognition for his Neo-Latin dramas, which fused theology, politics, and classical models to critique Church corruption and champion Protestant reform. His biblical tragedies used scriptural themes to expose the moral failures of contemporary society and rulers. Alongside his theatrical output, Kirchmeyer wrote extensive moral and theological poetry and contributed to Latin humanist scholarship through translations from Greek, including Sophocles. DB

Martin Kraus, or Crusius, (1526-1607), classical scholar and historian, educated in Ulm and Strasbourg. Kraus was a follower of Philip Melanchthon. In 1554 he became rector of the Latin school in Memmingen, and from 1559 he taught Greek and Latin at the University of Tübingen. He is best known for producing the first German commentary on the complete works of Homer. He also published the monumental Annales Suevici and the Diarium, which offer vast repositories of historical, cultural, and philological data. DB

Revision of Valla's 1542 translation, by Thomas Kirchmeyer, with Kraus' commentary. Kirchmeyer's revision is among those that diverge most significantly from Valla's translation – Kirchmeyer himself claims in the preface to his work to have corrected over 3,000 errors in Valla's version. The work, signed under the pseudonym Hecalius due to Kirchmeyer's conflicts with the Lutheran Church, was never printed, although it had been prepared for publication by the printer Johannes Oporinus. It is preserved in the ms. Öffentliche Bibliothek der Universität, A lambda II 20, s. XVI (a 1561), sig. a1r-p9r.

Related editions:

Thucydidis Atheniensis de bello Peloponnesiaco Libri Octo ab Laurentio Vallensi translati †

Global Thucydides

Thucydidis libri octo per Laurentium Vallam latinitate donati atque nunc ad Crusii exemplar collati accuratissimeque emendati per Thomam Hecalium [i.e. Naogeorgum]. Accesserunt Martini Crusii in eundem hunc auctorem aposemeioseis, una cum locuplete rerum atque verborum indice

+ Thomas Kirchmeyer (Translator)

+ Martin Kraus (Commentator)

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