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Doctor Johann Weyer, Ein Rheinischer Arzt, Der Erste Bekämpfer Des COLUMBIA LIBRARIES OFFSITE HEALTH SCIENCES STANDARD HX64108813 R529.W63 B51 1 896 Doctor Johann Weyer, R^~Z9.WG3 BSI COLUMBIA UXIVERSITV DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOCtV THE JOHN G. CURTIS LII'.R^RV Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 witii funding from Open Knowledge Commons http://www.archive.org/details/doctorjohannweyeOObinz Joannes Wiervs. ANNO .iTATIS LX SALUTIS M. D. LXXVI. Doctor Johann Weyer ein rheinischer Arzt der erste Bekämpfer des Hexenwahns. Ein Beitrag' zur Geschichte der Anfkläriing' und der Heilkimde. Von Carl Biiiz ord. Professor zu Bonn. Zweite, umgearbeitete und yermelirte Auflage. Mit dem Bildnisse Johann Weyers. Berlin 1896. Verlag' von August Hirschwald. NW. Unter den Linden No. 68. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Inhalt. Vorwort und Einleitung*. Seite 1. Der Zauberwahn am Ende des 15. Jahrhunderts .... 3 2. We3^ers Lehrer Agrippa von Nettesheim 12 3. Studienjahre 17 4. De praestigiis daemonum, Über die Blendwerke der Teufel 24 5. Erfolge dieser Schrift 65 Der Auszug daraus DeLamiis 68 6. Weyers Gegner 75 Liberapologeticus . 77 7. Weyers nächste Nachfolger 93 Ewicli 1584, Arzt in Bremen. Gödehnann 1584, Professor in Rostock. Scot 1584, Gutsbesitzer in England. Witekind (Wilcken, Lercheimer) 1585, Professor in Heidelberg. Loos um 1589, Professor in Trier. Flade 1589, Stadtschultheiss in Trier. Conrad Anten 1593. Greve 1622, Prediger in Arnheim. Tanner 1626, Jesuit. Anton Prätorius 1529. V. Spee 1631, .Jesuit. 8. Pseridomonarchia daemonum, Die Schwindelmonarehie der Teufel 130 9. De commentiis jejuniis. Über betrügerisches Fasten . 132 10. De irae morbo, Über die Krankheit des Zorns 139 11. Observationes medicae und Artzney Buch 149 12. Aus Weyers Leben (Politik 160. Religion 163) 159 13. Weyers Familie 173 14. Hinscheiden. — Rückblick 179 We^^ers Schriften 183 Namenverzeichnis 186 Tor wort. Dem beinahe verg-esseneii rheiniselien FacbgCDossen Dr. Johann Weyer ein schriftstellerisches Denkmal zu errichten, war manche Jahre mein Vorsatz. Er kam zur Ausführung-, als ich am 18. October 1885 beim x4ntritte des Rectorats der rheini- schen Hochschule in der Aula die Rede zur Eröffnung- des neuen akademischen Jahres zu halten hatte. Ich wählte als ihren Gegenstand das geistige Wirken des Mannes, der hier in Bonn die ersten Strahlen eines freien und befreienden Den- kens einsog, sie im Bereich unsers Stromes hegte, verdichtete und der schmachvoll gequälten Menschheit weitergab. Aus der Anlage zu dieser akademischen Rede erwuchs, mir selber unerwartet, die erste Auflage ^) dieser Schrift. Sie erfuhr freundlichen Empfang-, und das gab mir den Gedanken, allmählich zur zweiten Auflage zu schreiten. In den elf Jahren, die dazwischen liegen, habe ich über Johann Weyer manches neue gelernt. Seine eigenhändige, selten gewordene Übersetzung des Hauptwerkes, die ich 1885 nur aus einem Verzeichnisse alter Drucke kannte, Avurde von mir erworben. Sie bietet wert- volle Ergänzung dessen, w^as wir aus dem lateinischen Wort- laut über die innere Entwicklung Weyers erfahren haben. Ich gelangte ferner in den Besitz aller sieben lateinischen Aus- gaben des Hauptwerkes „De praestigiis daemonum" ; ich bekam 1) Zeitschrift des Bergischeii Ge.schiditsvereins. Bonn 1885, Bd. 21, und sodann gesondert Bonn 1885. Yl die mythenhaften „Poemata sacra" und die dritte Auflage des „Artzney Buches" von 1588 in die Hand und hatte damit end- lich alles vor mir, was er hatte drucken lassen und was andere von ihm gedruckt hatten. Ich lernte mehr über die politische Thätigkeit Weyers zur Zeit des Aufstandes der Niederländer, mehr über seine Familie; und von den nächsten Nachfolgern in der Bekämpfung der Hexenprocesse traten mittlerweile Lercheimer, E. Scot, Loos und Flade durch neue Ausgabe ihrer Schriften oder durch neue Forschungen klarer hervor. Ferner konnte ich eine zweite Lebensbeschreibung Weyers benutzen, die gleichzeitig mit der meinigeu durch einen rheini- schen Juristen bearbeitet und etwas später als sie ausgegeben wurde ^;. So ist heute, und zwar fast überall nach den Quellen, ein genaueres und sorgfältiger ausgeprägtes Bild des Mannes und der humanen Strömung entstanden, die von ihm ausging, und auch des unbewussten und bewussten Widerstandes, den sein Denken und Ringen damals und bis in unsere Zeit hinein 2) erfahren hat. Meinen Dank denen, die der ersten Auflage beifällige Worte spendeten, denn sie ermunterten mich zu der vor- liegenden: aber auch Dank denen, die sie in einzelnen Puncten mit Recht oder Unrecht tadelten, denn das trieb mich überall zu noch schärferer Abwägung, ob der Inhalt eines jeden von mir niedergeschriebenen Satzes die Probe vollwertiger Wahrheit aushalte und ob nichts fortgelassen sei, was zur vollständigen Wahrheit gehöre. 1) D/'. H. E.schbacJl, In den „Beiträgen znr Geschichte des Xieder- rheins. Jahrbuch des Düsseldorfer Geschichtsvereins". Düsseldorf 1886. I. 57—174. Einzelnes daraus besprach ich in meiner Abhandlung: -"Wier oder "Weyer?" In demselben Jahrbuch 1887. U. 48—58. Man vergleiche ferner meine an Joha.nnes Janssen gerichtete Aus- führungen in der wissenschaftlichen Beilage zur Allgemeinen Zeitung, München 11. Februar 1895. Xr. 42, Beilagenummer 34. 2) Man sehe unten S. 24, 38 — 41 und 127. Andere Belege dafür habe ich, da sie meiner Aufgabe weniger nahe standen, beiseite gelassen. VII Der Eechtstitel, deu ich als Mediciuer auf die Aiisfttlirimg dieser in das Gebiet der drei andern Facultäten übergreifenden Studie geltend machen darf, ist, dass sie einen Arzt angeht und dass sie vielfach inedicinische Dinge unmittelbar betrifft oder kreuzt. Indem ich sie einen Beitrag zur Geschichte der „Auf- klärung" nenne, soll damit natürlich nicht jene Periode des vorigen Jahrhunderts gemeint sein, der die Culturgeschichte diesen Namen gegeben hat, sondern das Eingen der Mensch- heit zu jeder Zeit, sich aus der Umklammerung unheilvoller Wahnvorstellungen frei zu machen. Dem leichteren Eindringen des Lesers in deu Inhalt wird das die Seitenzahlen nachweisende Verzeichnis der meisten Namen zugute kommen, die in dieser Auflage genannt sind. Während der Drucklegung dieser Schrift erschien das Buch von /3. Riezler, Geschichte der Hexenprocesse in Bayern. Im Lichte der allgemeinen Eutwickelung dargestellt. Stutt- gart 1896. 340 S. — Ich konnte es nur noch zur Entnahme und Einfügung einer lehrreichen Stelle benutzen. Es ist die unten auf S. 121 mit „S. 19" beginnende. Sie war mir in dem unerfreulich zu lesenden Original Laymanns, das die König- liche Bibliothek in Berlin mir geliehen hatte, entgangen. Bonn 1896. C. Binz. Drei Namen standen im Vordergründe, wenn von den ^[ännern die Rede war, die zuerst und zumeist an der Befrei- ung' Mitteleuropas von der .Schmach der Hexenprocesse gear- beitet haben: Friedrich von Spee, Balthasar Bekker und Christian Thomasius. Sogar Geschichtsehreiber von Fach wussten es nicht anders^). Derjenige, von dem lange vorher diese geistige Bewegung ausgegangen und der sie auf eine Grup])e wackerer Zeitgenossen übertragen, war samt seinen Mitkämpfern in dem Bewusstsein der Nation verschollen. Nur wenn man die Sonderwege der Fachforschung aufsuchte, er- klangen auch ihre Namen; aber die grosse Menge der gebil- deten Welt hatte sie nie gehört. Johann Wey er, der Leibarzt des Herzogs Wilhelm III. von Jülich-Cleve-Berg, war jener Rufer im Streite gegen Aber- glauben, Grausamkeit und unaulliörliche Rechtsmorde. Weyer, Weier, Wier, Wierus oder Piscinarius wurde geboren entweder 1515 oder ganz zu Anfang 1516 zu Grave an der ]Maas, in Nordbraljant. Sein Vater Theodor Weyer, der aus Seeland stammte, betriel) dort einen Grosshandel mit Kohlen, Hopfen und Schiefer. Seiner Mutter Mädchenname war Agnes Rhordam. Zwei Brüder hiesseu Arnold und Matthias. Die Erziehung in den alten Sprachen erhielt Johann zu Herzogenbusch in der berühmten Schule des J. PI. Colen-). Ich finde erwähnt'), dass der Knabe durch hohe Begabung sich auszeichnete. ^ 1) Vgl. unter andern Johannes Scherr, Neues Histnrionbuch. 2. Aufl. 1884. S. 390. 2) Weyer erwähnt lib. 1, cap. 10 neben Colen einen Hnnaens in Liiwen als seinen Lehrer. 3) Bei W. Teschentnacher in seinen Eulng-Ia virorum, qui fnmilia, nobilitate per Cliviae, .Juliae, Montini provincias nnitas floruerunt. Handschr. des Künig-liclien Art-hivs zu Düsseldorf. Die Grundlage dieser Notizen, soweit sie Weyer betreffen, stammt offenbar aus Melchior Adams bekanntem biographischem Sammelwerk. 1 Dass J. Weyer zur dentsclicn Nation zählte, gelit unter anderm hervor aus der damaligen politischen und sprachlichen Zugehörigkeit seiner Heimat zu Deutschland und aus seinen eigenen Worten im Liber apologeticus „adversus Leonis Suavii calumnias" Op. omnia 623. Er nennt dort die deutsehe Sprache, worin Paracelsus schrieb, nostra lingua. Wie der Name von uns zu schreiben ist, kann nicht zweifelhaft sein, da er auf dem Titel und unter dem Widmungs- briefe der eigenen Übersetzung des Hauptwerkes von 1567, ferner in allen drei Auflagen von des Mannes „Artzney-Buch" auf dem Titel und am Schlüsse der Vorrede „Johan Weyer" lautet. So wurde er also bei Lebzeiten genannt. Auch in den alten Cleveschen Acten steht überall Weyer oder Weier, und die Söhne schrieben den Namen so. Das wird man am Nieder- rhein oft Wier ausgesprochen und Wier geschrieben haben, ebenso wie man damals statt heilig „hillig" sprach und schrieb und jetzt noch vielfach spricht. Lateinisch wurde aus dieser niederdeutschen Schreibung Wierus. Wi-er, ausgesprochen Wei-er, ist im Mittelhochdeutschen oder Altholländischen unser Weiher (nach Johannes Franck), das heutige holländische vijver. Aus Wi-er und W^eyer leitet sich her Piscinarius.
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