Pirkheimer, Willibald

HUMANIST, LAWYER (HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE)
BORN 5 Dec 1470, Eichstätt, Bayern - DIED 22 Dec 1530, Nürnberg, Bayern
GRAVE LOCATION Nürnberg, Bayern: Sankt-Johannis Friedhof (I, 1414)

Willibald Pirkheimer was the son of a lawyer. He studied law in Padua and Pavia for seven years. He married a woman named Cresencia and they had a daughter, Felicitas. His own sister Caritas was abbess of St. Clare's concent in Nuremberg.

Pirkheimer was a member of a group of humanists that also included Conrad Celtis, Sebald Schreyer and Hartmann Schedel. He translated classical texts into German and Emperor Maximilian contacted him on literaty matters. Pirkheimer probably met Albrecht Dürer in 1495.

In 1499 he was selected to lead the troops from Nuremberg in the Imperial army against the Swiss. He received a gold cup after his return. He lent Dürer money for his voyage to Italy in 1506. Dürer sent him letters that show how close their friendship was. Scholars have suggested that they may have had a homosexual relationship.

Pirkheimer died in Nürnberg in 1530. In 1560 his grandson Willibald Imhoff bought the remaining Dürer collection after a member of Dürer's family had died.

Related persons
• was a friend of Dürer, Albrecht

Images

The grave of Willibald Pirkheimer at the Johannisfriedhof, Nürnberg.
Picture by Androom (28 Feb 2009)

 

The grave of Willibald Pirkheimer at the Johannisfriedhof, Nürnberg.
Picture by Androom (28 Feb 2009)

 

Dürer-Pirkheimer fountain in Nürnberg.
Picture by Androom (28 Feb 2009)

 

Sources
• Fischer, Manfred F., Ruhmeshalle und Bavaria, Bayerische Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser, München, 1987
P.M. History, Dezember 2002, 2002
• Schwemmer, Wilhelm, Nuremberg, A Guide to the Old Town, Nuremberg Tourist Office, Nürnberg, 1991
Willibald Pirckheimer - Wikipedia


Piscator, Erwin

Published: 04 Dec 2016
Last update: 05 Mar 2024