In contact with numerous
Europeanintellectuals, he was actively involved and made his mark in the dissemination and propagation of early ideas of the
Reformation and the
Renaissance.
Biography
He was born in 1497 in
Hegau.[1][2] He was one of the first Protestant publishers, and he edited
Luther's texts in the 1520s.[3] He stayed in
Strasbourg from 1523 to 1528.[2] The publisher was very close to
Johann Froben, and both were significant in the spread of
Renaissance and
Reformation ideas.[1] In 1526, shortly after his death, he married his widow,
Gertrude Lachner.[2][4] His good knowledge of
Greek and
Latin allowed him to intervene directly and be consulted in case of printing disputes.[5] During his lifetime, he was recognized as an important publisher and was nicknamed by his Latin name, Hervagius.[6] He was relatively close to
Erasmus, among others,[7] and Erasmus declared about him that he 'was a man of good faith and not unlearned'.[2]
Despite Lachner and Herwagen's friendship with
Erasmus, the couple had conflicts with the humanist in the late 1520s regarding Erasmus Froben's education, as they did not wish to follow the Dutchman's advice for him to study at the
University of Louvain instead of remaining in
Switzerland or going to
Lyon.[8] Despite their serious conflicts, the humanist continued to use their presses, likely out of friendship for Lachner rather than for Herwagen.[9]
In addition to Luther's texts, he published other Protestant works as well as a variety of other works, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey,[10]Bede[11] or
mathematical treatises.[12][13] The Swiss printer established editorial connections with
François Rabelais[14] and
Sebastian Castellio, publishing the Castellio Bible in 1555.[15] Herwagen also had an interest in
patristics and was one of the first publishers to print the
Greek texts of certain
Church Fathers, such as
John Chrysostom.[16] In 1538, he was involved in scandal after seducing Katherina Weckart, the wife of his stepson Erasmus Forben, who left him.[2] He had to face a trial and was sentenced in 1542 to a heavy fine and exile.[2] Although he continued his activities and managed to return to
Basel, this significantly slowed down his publishing endeavors.[2]