Jacobus Arminius
Jacobus Arminius (October 10, 1560 – October 19, 1609), the Latinized name of the Dutch theologian Jakob Hermanszoon from the Protestant Reformation period, served from 1603 as professor in theology at the University of Leiden. He wrote many books and treatises on theology, and his views became the basis of Arminianism and the Dutch Remonstrant movement.
Following his death, his challenge to the Reformed standard, the Belgic Confession, provoked ample discussion at the Synod of Dort, which crafted the five points of Calvinism in response to Arminius's teaching.
Early life
Arminius, born in Oudewater, Utrecht, became an orphan while still young. His father Herman died, leaving his wife a widow with small children. His mother was killed during the Spanish massacre at Oudewater in 1575.
The pastor Theodorus Aemilius adopted Arminius and sent him to school in Utrecht, but died in 1574. Then Rudolph Snellius brought Arminius to Marburg and enabled him to study theology at the University of Leiden.
Arminius
Arminius (18/17 BC – AD 21) was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD. Arminius's influence held an allied coalition of Germanic tribes together in opposition to the Romans, but after defeats by the Roman general Germanicus, nephew of the Emperor Tiberius, his influence waned, and Arminius was assassinated on the orders of rival Germanic chiefs.
Arminius's victory against the Roman legions in the Teutoburg forest had a far-reaching effect on the subsequent history of both the ancient Germanic peoples and on the Roman Empire. The Romans were to make no more concerted attempts to conquer and permanently hold Germania beyond the river Rhine. Modern historians have regarded Arminius's victory as "Rome's greatest defeat" and one of the most decisive battles in history.
During the Unification of Germany in the 19th century, Arminius became hailed by nationalists as a symbol of German unity and freedom. Following World War II, however, schools often shunned the topic since it had become associated with the militant nationialism of the Third Reich, and many modern Germans have not heard about Arminius. The 2000th year anniversary of the battle was not commemorated by the German government. According to Der Spiegel, "The old nationalism has been replaced by an easy-going patriotism that mainly manifests itself at sporting events like the soccer World Cup."
Arminius (Bruch)
Arminius (op. 43) is an oratorio by the German composer Max Bruch. Bruch wrote the work between 1875 and 1877 during the consolidation of the newly founded German Empire. He picked the story revolving around Arminius and the Cherusci-led defeat of three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D., which served as a German national myth from the 16th to the early 20th century.
History
Since the rediscovery of Tacitus's Germania in the 16th century, Germans have exalted the Germanic tribes as their direct ancestors. They especially praised German liberty defended by Arminius in 9 A.D. when three legions of the Roman Empire were defeated on Germanic soil, thus putting an end to Roman plans to subjugate Germania.
This national myth inspired several poets and composers, amongst others Georg Friedrich Händel, Daniel Caspar von Lohenstein, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and Heinrich von Kleist, to dedicate their works to Arminius and to the battle that preserved German liberty.
