Jacob Bidermann
Jacob Bidermann was a prominent German Jesuit poet and dramatist born in 1577 in Ehingen, Swabia. He joined the Jesuit Society in 1596 after receiving a Jesuit education, which included training in philosophy, theology, and rhetoric. As a professor at a Jesuit college in Munich, Bidermann became well-known for his theatrical works during the Counter Reformation. His plays, often rooted in the legends of saints and martyrs, creatively integrated slapstick humor, music, and stage machinery to engage audiences. His most significant work, "Cenodoxus," composed in 1602, explores themes of mortality in a Faustian narrative. In 1618, he produced "Philemon Martyr," which cleverly blended playfulness with theological teachings, providing a refreshing approach to rigid Jesuit education. His later works, including "Marcarius" (1613) and "Josephus, Aegypti Prorex" (1615), urged spectators to reflect on their own existence. Bidermann spent his final years in Rome, where he served as an assistant to the Jesuit general and continued his theological work until his death in 1639.
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Jacob Bidermann
Playwright
- Born: 1577
- Birthplace: Ehingen, Swabia (now in Germany)
- Died: August 20, 1639
Biography
Jacob Bidermann was born in Ehingen, Swabia (now in Germany), in 1577. He attended a Jesuit primary school in Ausberg, Germany, in 1586 and Jesuit Novitiate School in Landsberg, Germany, in 1594. In 1596, he joined the Jesuit Society, and he graduated from the Jesuit Novitiate School the following year. After graduation, he began teaching at a Jesuit college in Munich, serving as a professor of philosophy, theology, and rhetoric.
Bidermann became one of the most famous Jesuit poets and dramatists of the Counter Reformation in Germany. His plays were based on saint and martyr legends. They were skillfully composed and infused with a new acting style based on slapstick humor. Bidermann’s plays also incorporated stage machinery and music to entertain the audience.. His most noted work was Cenodoxus (1602), a Faustian drama about mortality.
Bidermann’s plays illustrated the Jesuit view of secular theater, religion, human nature, and the appropriate role of human life. His drama Philemon Martyr (1618), presented as a Jesuit school play, provided an antidote to rigid Jesuit education by using playfulness and music to teach students theology. Two of his his later works, Marcarius(1613), and Josephus, Aegypti Prorex (1615), sought to transcend ordinary stage performance by challenging theatergoers to ponder the meaning of their own existence.
Later in his life, Jacob Bidermann served as an assistant to the Jesuit general in Rome. He spent his final years as a theologian in Rome and died there in 1639.