Item 62: Note and Autograph from Georgius Volradus, 1600.
Item — Box: 2, Folder: 62
Dates
- Created: 1600.
Creator
Disclaimer for Name and Subject Authorities
Some of the name and subject authority tags have been assigned by educated guessing and estimation of persons and subjects by region, age, profession, and familial relationships. They have been thoroughly researched by using primary and secondary sources available digitally, and named in each description, or in some cases linked directly to the person tag.
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Note and Autograph
Condition Note:
Good, clear, unfaded, mostly legible
Measurements:
5 ⅝ in. x 3 ½ in.
Description:
The following item is an autograph from Georgius Volradus dated June 8, 1600. Volradus was a German scholar with doctorate degrees in civil and church law, as well as an influential figure during the Reformation. Volradus signed his name as “D. Scribebat Wit”, which can be read as “the distinguished scribe at Wittenberg, likely referring to one of the many churches in Wittenberg known for being the forefront of the Reformation. The note contains a quotation from Lactantius, an early Christian author that advised Constantine I in religious policy. After the quotation is a signature and date. The quote itself comes from Lactantius’s Institutiones Divinae ("The Divine Institutes"), Book 2, Chapter 3, which states “Sed concedamus timiditati, quae in sapiente esse non debet,” which roughly translates to “The wise man should not have a fear of being.” This is likely a sample of an album amicorum, which was a personal book popular in the time period among protestant students and scholars. In an album amicorum, two or more people would vow their friendship to one another, however, it was not limited to just friends; it also would include professors, priests, and celebrities that one could use as references when applying to jobs or other universities. Volradus’s excerpt may have been a rewording of the quote, or something like a senior quote in modern yearbooks. Volradus is found in other albums in Wittenberg, where he signed J. u. D. as a title (likely juris utriusque doctor) and an album in the University Library at Freiberg. He signed another at Wittenberg with a different quotation, from Psalm 37. Volradus’s promotion to J.u.D. took place on May 13, 1589, and he is listed as graduating from the University of Wittenberg in January 1576 as Georgius Vollrath, Awerbachensis [from Auerbach], followed by his promotion to J.u.D. in 1589. The Auerbach in question is most likely Auerbach im Vogtland, where there was a family of Vollrath pastors. “Volradus” was likely his onomastically latinised name. The book The Syntagma of Epitaphs: Which were erected splendidly and honorably in diverse places in the illustrious Septemvirate of the Saxon metropolis of Wittenberg is dedicated to Volradus, suggesting that he was an influential figure in the Reformation and likely signed the album amicora as a professor or celebrity, rather than as a student.
Location:
Wittenberg
Transcription:
Sincere thanks for transcription and research help from the following archivists and paleographers: Michael Palmer, Thomas Schmid, Karolis Lyvenis, Andrea Boltresz, Francesca Pontini, Christopher Patton, Mario Marzi, Diane Warne Anderson, Loredana Lanternini, Domingo Prostamo, and Marek Szczygielski.
Transcript Attempt:
Lact[antius]: Timiditas in sapiente else non debet.
Georgius Volradus D. Scribebat Wit:[tenbergæ] Prid:[ie] No:[nas] Junij Anno salutis 1600. Translation Lactantius: There is no need for timidness in a wise man. Georgius Volradus D[istinguished]. Scribe at Wittenberg The day before the ninth of June In the year of Salvation 1600
Lact[antius]: Timiditas in sapiente else non debet.
Georgius Volradus D. Scribebat Wit:[tenbergæ] Prid:[ie] No:[nas] Junij Anno salutis 1600. Translation Lactantius: There is no need for timidness in a wise man. Georgius Volradus D[istinguished]. Scribe at Wittenberg The day before the ninth of June In the year of Salvation 1600
Creator
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu