John of Falkenberg
John of Falkenberg or Johannes Falkenberg (born in Falkenberg, Pomerania, date unknown; died about 1418 in Italy — or, according to other accounts, in his native town) was a German Dominican theologian and writer.
His prominence in medieval history is due partly to the share he took in the
Life
Little is known about his early life, save that he entered the
In opposition to many of his brethren and the general of his order, Bernard de Datis, who were firm adherents of the antipopes Alexander V and John XXIII, Falkenberg was an adherent of Pope Gregory XII. He carried his opposition so far as to refuse publicly in the Council of Constance to acknowledge Bernard as his superior.
Works
In the conflict between the Teutonic Knights on the one side, and Polish King
At the time both sides submitted the dispute for mediation to the Council of Constance.
Falkenberg wrote a book, Liber de doctrina, published 1416,
Falkenberg also argued, in Liber de doctrina, that "the Emperor has the right to slay even peaceful infidels simply because they are pagans (...). The Poles deserve death for defending infidels, and should be exterminated even more than the infidels; they should be deprived of their sovereignty and reduced to slavery."[1] Stanislaus F. Belch in his work Paulus Vladimiri and his Doctrine concerning International Law and Politics wrote that he was the first writer to formulate justification of genocide.[1]
Falkenberg also published Satira in 1412, further attacking the Poles and King
By order of Nicolaus, Archbishop of Gniezno, Falkenberg was imprisoned. The Poles demanded the conviction of Falkenberg for heresy, but in vain. His works were condemned by the Council of Constance as scandalously libelous, but not heretical.[4] A similar verdict was given by the Dominican Order, assembled at Strasbourg from May to June 1417, which also condemned the author to life imprisonment. On his return to Rome, Pope Martin V took Falkenberg with him, and kept him for several years in close confinement. Whether he eventually regained his liberty or died there is uncertain.
References
- In-line
- ^ a b c Cassar, John (1997). "The Rights of Nations: Reflections on the Address of Pope John Paul II to the 50th Session of the United Nations General Assembly". Center for Global Education, St. John's University. Archived from the original on 2006-08-22.
- ^ "Geschichtsquellen: Werk/2253".
- ^ Schroeder cites: Giovanni Domenico Mansi, "Conc." XXVII, 765.
- ^ ISBN 0-14-026653-4.
- ^ Schroeder states: "Given as appendix to the works of Jean Gerson in the edition of Dupin, V, 1013-32."
- ^ "Geschichtsquellen: Werk/2256".
- Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Schroeder, Joseph (1913). "John of Falkenberg". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. This entry cites:
- Quetif and Jacques Échard, Scriptores ordinis prædicatorum recensiti, notisque historicis illustrati ad annum 1700 auctoribus I, 760;
- Allgem. Deut. Biogr., VI, 554–5;
- Johann Friedrich von Schulte, Gesch. Canon. Rechts, Ii, (1877), 381–2;
- Hubler, Die Konstanzer Reformation (Leipzig, 1867), 263;
- Dlugoss, Hist. Poloniae, I (Leipzig, 1711, 2, 376.