Johann von Wowern

Last updated
Johann von Wowern
Frans Denys - Portrait of Jan van den Wouwer.jpg
A portrait of Johann von Wowern by Frans Denys
Born(1574-03-10)10 March 1574
Died30 March 1612(1612-03-30) (aged 38)
Nationality German (Brabant/Hamburg)
Notable workDe Polymathia tractatio: integri operis de studiis veterum

Johann von Wowern was statesman, philologist, and lawyer from the Holy Roman Empire. He is known for his 1603 work De Polymathia tractatio: integri operis de studiis veterum, [1] the first work in Western Europe to use the term "polymath" in its title. [2] [3] [4] Wowern defined polymathy as "knowledge of various matters, drawn from all kinds of studies ... ranging freely through all the fields of the disciplines, as far as the human mind, with unwearied industry, is able to pursue them". [2] Von Wowern lists erudition, literature, philology, philomathy and polyhistory as synonyms.

References

  1. "Johann von Wowern - Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek". www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  2. 1 2 Murphy, Kathryn (2014). "Robert Burton and the problems of polymathy". Renaissance Studies. 28 (2): 279. doi:10.1111/rest.12054.
  3. Burke, Peter (2011). "O polímata: a história cultural e social de um tipo intellectual". Leitura: Teoria & Prática. ISSN   0102-387X.
  4. Wower, Johann (1665). De Polymathia tractatio: integri operis de studiis veterum.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Jan van den Wouwer at Wikimedia Commons