Das Gymnasium Francofurtanum – Kein Ort für Kunstbanausen

Abstract

In 1542, Frankfurt schoolmaster Jacobus Micyllus (1503–1558) composed an epigram in four elegiac couplets, entitled Inscriptio scholae Francofortensis. It pretends to be an inscription on the recently restored Barfüßerkloster, which was to house the school for the next three centuries. In the epigram, the school is depicted as a tranquil place of reflection and learning, in contrast to the wars raging outside the cloister walls. In this paper, the author will show how Micyllus places the Gymnasium Francofurtanum in the tradition of Plato’s Academy by alluding to the legendary inscription excluding all those ignorant of geometry from that institution. Micyllus modifies this idea by welcoming only those who worship the Greek and Latin muses. The Latin school thus becomes a retreat for those who wish to dedicate themselves fully to humanist education in Latin and Greek, sheltered from the turbulence and hostilities of the time.