Humanizem Primoža Trubarja

Abstract

In order to determine the role of (Renaissance) humanism in the life and work of the “father of standard Slovenian” Primož Trubar (ca. 1508–1586), this study raises the following questions: 1) Where did or could Trubar encounter humanist ideas and meet their propagators? 2) Are there elements in his thought and writings that can be associated with humanism? 3) Did he help spread humanist values and, if so, to what extent? Trubar first encountered humanism around age sixteen at the court of the bishop of Trieste, Peter Bonomo (1458–1546), one of the leading Viennese humanists under Emperor Maximilian I (d. 1519). The young Trubar belonged to a group of clerics that attended the bishop’s readings of Virgil and Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. It was through Bonomo that Trubar must have come into contact with the Swiss humanist and Protestant reformer Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575). Trubar’s writings, especially his letters and Bible translations, reveal the prevailing influence of Christian humanism. Criticizing clerical abuses and popular superstitions, Trubar presents himself as an advocate of Church reform and renewal. On the other hand, he often refers directly to Erasmus, “the crowning glory of the Christian humanists.” Moreover, Kozma Ahačič’s systematic analysis of Ta evangeli svetiga Matevža (The Gospel of Matthew, 1555) shows that Trubar’s translation was based on the Basel edition of Erasmus’s Novum Testamentum (1542). Apart from the written word, Trubar highly appreciated preaching; his sermons, aimed at promoting “the true Word of God,” could likewise transmit (Christian) humanist ideals. However, the historical sources provide insufficient information to enable a reliable assessment of Trubar’s contribution to the spread of humanism.