De Sélestat a Lisboa: Beato Renano e Damião de Góis

Abstract

The commemorations of the century of Victor Hugo’s death (1885), and of the revocation of the edict of Nantes (1685) by Louis XIV have perhaps damaged the commemorations of the great humanist Beatus Rhenanus born in Alsatia (1485) at Sélestat. This was the French name of the very old Schlestadt, a city of the sacred Empire and famous cultural Center, where other celebrated personalities were born, such as Jacob Wimpfeling, Mathias Schiirer, John Botzheim, Mathias Ringmann, John Sapidus (Witz), Martin Butzer and Jacob Taurellus (Oechsel). Friend, biographer and editor of Erasmus, he printed in 1540 the nine volumes of Opera Omnia of the prince of humanists. He may be considered the first great historian of Germany, with Rerum Germanicarum Libri Tres, and his bibliography is very wide, either in works of classical authors or of the Patristic: among these we can mention the Opera Omnia of Tertullian. In the tumular inscription, there is a mistake of two months: he died on 20 July, and not on 20 May 1547. Of this did John Sturm take no notice in the biography he wrote. Damião de Góis, a remarkable Portuguese diplomat, humanist and historian, belonged to his Circle of friends, and offered him several works of his authorship, and lent him others. The silver golden Cup which is spoken of in the text, was not the one that Damião de Góis offered to Erasmus. But Beatus Rhenanus must have admired it more than once, at Fribourg (Freiburg). While associating myself to the homages paid by Sélestat from May to December 1985, I drink a toast with hearty greetings to both celebrated humanists, Beatus Rhenanus and Damianus a Goes, under the blessing of their patron Erasmus of Rotterdam.