Peter Thyraeus

Peter (or Petrus) Thyraeus (1546 – December 3, 1601)[1] was a German Jesuit theologian.

Thyraeus was born in Neuss,[1] the brother of Herman Thyraeus, also a Jesuit theologian.[2] He joined the Jesuits in 1561, and taught at Jesuit colleges in Trier and Mainz from 1574.[3]

In 1590, he was appointed professor of theology at the University of Würzburg, where he was well regarded by Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn. He died at Würzburg in 1601.[1]

He published a number of works on theology, which the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie grouped into three classes: writings on visions and apparitions, writings on possession and exorcism, and writings on traditional theological subjects such as the Eucharist and the role of the Catholic Church.[1] His writing on exorcism "has been called the first 'scientific' (i.e. systematic) research on modern exorcism, based in part on the experiences of Peter Canisius".[2]

  1. ^ a b c d Johann Friedrich von Schulte (1894). "Thyraeus, Petrus". Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 38. p. 238.
  2. ^ a b David Lederer (2006). Madness, Religion and the State in Early Modern Europe: A Bavarian Beacon. Cambridge University Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-521-85347-8.
  3. ^ Charles-Louis Richard (O.P.), Charles-Antoine Jombert, Cl. J. B. Bauche (1762). Dictionnaire universel, dogmatique, canonique, historique, géographique et chronologique des sciences ecclésiastiques... Jacques Rollin. p. 321.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)