Johannes Trithemius

Johannes Trithemius
Detail of Tomb Relief of Johannes Trithemius by Tilman Riemenschneider
Born1 February 1462
Trittenheim, Electorate of Trier, Holy Roman Empire (now Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)
Died13 December 1516(1516-12-13) (aged 54)
Würzburg, Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, Holy Roman Empire (now Bavaria, Germany)
NationalityGerman
Alma materUniversity of Heidelberg
Known forSteganographia,
Polygraphiae,
Trithemius cipher
Scientific career
FieldsTheology, cryptography, lexicography, history, occultism
InstitutionsBenedictine abbey of Sponheim,
St. Jakob zu den Schotten
Notable studentsHeinrich Cornelius Agrippa
Paracelsus

Johannes Trithemius (/trɪˈθɛmiəs/; 1 February 1462 – 13 December 1516), born Johann Heidenberg, was a German Benedictine abbot and a polymath who was active in the German Renaissance as a lexicographer, chronicler, cryptographer, and occultist.[1] He is considered the founder of modern cryptography (a claim shared with Leon Battista Alberti) and steganography, as well as the founder of bibliography and literary studies as branches of knowledge.[2][3][4] He had considerable influence on the development of early modern and modern occultism. His students included Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Paracelsus.

  1. ^ Brann, Noel L. (1999-01-01). Trithemius and Magical Theology. Albany: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3962-3.
  2. ^ Holden, Joshua (2 October 2018). The Mathematics of Secrets: Cryptography from Caesar Ciphers to Digital Encryption. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-18331-2. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  3. ^ Rodriquez, Mercedes Garcia-Arenal; Mediano, Fernando Rodríguez (15 April 2013). The Orient in Spain: Converted Muslims, the Forged Lead Books of Granada, and the Rise of Orientalism. BRILL. p. 383. ISBN 978-90-04-25029-1. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. ^ Zambelli, Paola (2007). White Magic, Black Magic in the European Renaissance. BRILL. p. 251. ISBN 978-90-04-16098-9. Retrieved 20 February 2022.