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Jacob Bidermann (1578-1627) was born in the village of Ehingen, about 30 miles southwest of Ulm. Photographs of his signature show that he actually spelled his first name Jacob instead of Jakob. Ulm is a city in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg (about 100 km south-east of Stuttgart). ...

Bidermann is remembered mostly for his plays; he was gifted at writing plays that began comically, with loud talk and clowning around, and then turning the tables on his characters, and switching to totally tragic circumstances. At the age of 22 he wrote his first play Cenodoxus, in Latin, a dramatization of the popular Legend of the Doctor of Paris, (the Faust theme). In the play, considered his most notable, a man dies and interrupts his own last rites to announce his own damnation. The play was performed in Augsburg on two consecutive days in July of 1602. Cenodoxus, is one of several mediaeval miracle plays by Jacob Bidermann, an early 17th century German seminarian and prolific playwright. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Faust (Latin Faustus) is the protagonist of a popular German tale of a pact with the Devil, assumed to be based on the figure of the German magician and alchemist Dr. Johann Georg Faust (approximately 1480-1540). ...

Another of Bidermann's notable plays is Philemon Martyr, dealing with the persecution of Christians in early Rome. In this play, a musician named Philemon agrees to substitute himself for a Christian friend, take his name, and pretend to render sacrifice to some pagan idols for him, thereby allowing him to avoid - however technically - the Ten Commandments prohibition of doing honor to idols. However, on approaching the altar, Philemon suddenly surprises everyone by saying that he was so adamant in his faith that he would rather die than do homage to an idol. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... The Ten Commandments on a monument on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol This 1768 parchment (612x502 mm) by Jekuthiel Sofer emulated 1675 decalogue at the Esnoga synagogue of Amsterdam The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives which, according to the Bible, were...

Bidermann also wrote a novel Utopia about a hundred years after Thomas More wrote a story by the same name. Portrait of Sir Thomas More, by Hans Holbein the Younger (1527). ...

Notable events

At the age of 8 years old Bidermann was enrolled in the Jesuit seminary of Augsburg where he devoted himself to his studies. By age 16 he excelled at Latin and Greek. Like the other students there, he studied Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and showed particular promise at writing poetry in Latin. His teachers included the famous grammarian Jacob Pontanus and also Matthaeus Rader, who became a lifelong friend. 1602. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ...

At age 25 he authored a book of epigrams, apparently in chapbook or pamphlet form, which inspired Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria to commission the Jesuits at the Munich Court to fashion a number of pictures to be printing for the masses. Raphael Sadeler, a renowned copper engraver of the time, was commissioned to draw up the plates for use with a printing press. The pictures were titled De Aeternitate Considerationes (Latin for "Considerations on Eternity"), and bore Bidermann's epigrams at the bottom; they were intended to serve as reminders to the faithful of what is lying in store for those who go to Purgatory, Hell, and Heaven. Many of the prints exist to this day and can be viewed at art museums. A chapbook is an item of popular literature, as would have formed part of the stock of a chapman, peddler, or other itinerant trader. ... Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria Maximilian I of Bavaria This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Munich and the Bavarian Alps Munich (German: München, (pronounced listen) is the largest city and capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria. ... The term purgatory is generally defined as the means by which the elect reach perfection before entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. The term purgatory in accordance with Catholic teaching, is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in Gods grace are not... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is a place and/or a state of painful suffering. ... Michelangelos interpretation of Heaven Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many religions or spiritual philosophies. ...

When he was in his twenties, he traveled about mostly at the behest of local dukes and barons in Germany, impressed with the play that he wrote at the turn of the century, Cenodoxus. Although he was often found in the company of actors for his play, being seminary students he brought along on a pilgrimage of sorts, he also made it a point to bring religious materials in service of the Counter-Reformation. Cenodoxus, is one of several mediaeval miracle plays by Jacob Bidermann, an early 17th century German seminarian and prolific playwright. ... The Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation was a strong reaffirmation of the doctrine and structure of the Catholic Church, climaxing at the Council of Trent, partly in reaction to the growth of Protestantism. ...

• Dillingen
• Ingolstadt
• Augsburg
• Lucerne

• 1606 Munich
• 1610 Ebersberg
• 1615 University of Dillingen

In 1617 he wrote the Cosmarchia and in 1619 he wrote the Josaphat. There are two towns named Dillingen in Germany Dillingen, Bavaria, capital of the district Dillingen Dillingen, Saarland This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ingolstadt is a city in the Federal State of Bavaria, Germany. ... Augsburg is a city in south-central Germany. ... Location within Switzerland View of the city from Lake Lucerne Another view across Lake Lucerne The Lion Monument Lucerne (German: Luzern) is a city in Central Switzerland with a population of 60,274 (December 31, 2003), capital of the Canton of Lucerne. ... Events January 27 - The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins ending in their execution on January 31 May 17 - Supporters of Vasili Shusky invade the Kremlin and kill Premier Dmitri December 26 - Shakespeares King Lear performed in court Storm buries a village of St Ismails near... Munich and the Bavarian Alps Munich (German: München, (pronounced listen) is the largest city and capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria. ... // Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ... Ebersberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the district Ebersberg. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ... Events May 13 - Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after having been accused of treason. ...

Literary influence

Bidermann inspired the Danish writer Ludvig Holberg, a contemporary, to write three plays, Jeppe on the Hill, The Mortgaged Peasant Boy, and The Arabic Powder. He inspired Johann Wolfgang Goethe to put his own spin on the old legend of the Doctor of Paris, Cenodoxus, but, following the Protestant tradition established by Marlowe before him, and familiar with the projected, but yet unfinished (and essentially fragmentary) work of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, called his version of the legend Faust. This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 26, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Cenodoxus, is one of several mediaeval miracle plays by Jacob Bidermann, an early 17th century German seminarian and prolific playwright. ... Christopher Marlowe (baptised February 26, 1564–May 30, 1593) was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. ... Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (January 22, 1729 – February 15, 1781), writer, philosopher, publicist, and art critic, is the most outstanding German representative of the Enlightenment era. ... Faust (Latin Faustus) is the protagonist of a popular German tale of a pact with the Devil, assumed to be based on the figure of the German magician and alchemist Dr. Johann Georg Faust (approximately 1480-1540). ...

Religious influence

In 1622, at the request of the Pope, Bidermann was sent to Rome to work as a public censor of books, with a duty of enumerating the books that were either worthy of official recommendation, or worthy of condemnation. He served in that post five years, until his death. Events January 1 - In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25. ...

• James Bidermann] - Article in Catholic Encyclopedia