Celtis Celtes, Konrad eigentlich K. Pickel oder Bickel

Celtis (Celtes), Konrad (real name: K. Pickel or Bickel), b. Wipfeld (Germany), Feb. 1, 1459, d. Vienna Feb. 4, 1508, scholar, Latin poet, leading humanist in Germany and Austria. Appointed poet laureate by Emperor Friedrich III in 1487 and called to Vienna by Emperor Maximilian  I in 1497. Taught not only metrics and rhetoric at the university but also early German history on the basis of "Germania" by Tacitus, thus establishing history as an academic field of study; translated the 9 books of cosmography by Claudius Ptolemaus. Using globes and maps he made geography an empirical science. Founded influential scientific societies such as the "Sodalitas litteraria Rhenana" in Heidelberg, the "Sodalitas Vistulana" in Kraków, the "Sodalitas literaria Hungarorum" in Bratislava and the "Sodalitas litteraria Danubiana" (1497) in Vienna. Prompted Emperor Maximilian I to found the Collegium poetarum et mathematicorum (1501), which made him even more influential. Enriched Austrian theatre by performing Latin dramas and his own plays (e.g. "Ludus Dianae", 1501); worked his own experiences and his broad ideological horizons into his poetry (among others "Quatuor libri amorum", 1502; Oden, 1513) although he used the Latin language and imitated Horace and Virgil. Edited the works of classical and medieval authors (among others Apuleius, Tacitus, Hrotsvith von Gandersheim).

Works: Der Briefwechsel des K. C., ed. by H. Rupprich, 1934; K. Adel, K. C. - Poeta laureatus, 1960 (selected works, Latin-German).

Literature: L. W. Spitz, C. C., The German Arch-Humanist, 1957; D. Wuttke, Humanismus als integrative Kraft, 1985.