The poetic works of Samuel Spilenberger (1572–1654)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present some of Samuel Spilenberger’s occasional poems and to analyse them with regard to their content and from the philological point of view. Samuel Spilenberger, doctor, pharmacist and humanist (*1572, Levoča – †1654, Levoča) completed his medical education and gained experience and contacts during his studies in several German towns. In Basle in 1597, Spilenberger successfully defended his dissertation Theses de morbo Hungarico. He regularly reported on his studies to the authorities in the town of Levoča, who provided him with financial support. The great plague in 1600, which affected the beginning of Spilenberger’s medical practice in Levoča, induced him to write other medical treatises (1622, 1634). Moreover, Spilenberger also published occasional poems, among which epithalamia (nuptial poems) and epicedia (funeral odes) predominated. His Latin and German poems can be found either as dedications at the beginning of other writer’s works, or in separate collections together with works by other authors. These were occasional collections intended for various personages, for example Laurentius Ludovicus, Tomáš Schnell, Abrahám Cebanius, Juraj Thurzo or Dávid Frölich. The philological analysis of the presented poems by Spilenberger focuses on his application of models from ancient authors and at the same time it assesses the metrical and stylistic aspects of his verse. Some of the later poems, judging by their composition, are revised forms of the older versions.