Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg., 1: 1401-1437 Mai 17 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg. 2: 1437 Mai 17 -1450 Dezember 31 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg. 3a: 1451 January-September 5 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg. 3b: 1451 September 5-1452 März ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg. 4: Literatur und Register zu Bd. 1 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. II, Lfg. 1: 1452 April 1-1453 Mai 29 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen (review)
- Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg., 1: 1401-1437 Mai 17 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg. 2: 1437 Mai 17 -1450 Dezember 31 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg. 3a: 1451 January-September 5 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg. 3b: 1451 September 5-1452 März ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. 1, Lfg. 4: Literatur und Register zu Bd. 1 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen, and: Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Bd. II, Lfg. 1: 1452 April 1-1453 Mai 29 ed. by Hermann Hallauer and Erich Meuthen
Nicholas of Cusa (1401-64) is an important figure in Renaissance history—a churchman, intellectual, and bibliophile. The son of a prosperous [End Page 553] boatman of Bernkastel-Kues on the Mosel River, he studied at leading universities and received a doctoral degree in canon law from the University of Padua (1423). After attending the Council of Basel (1431-47) as a representative of a contestant in a fight over the Archbishopric of Trier, Nicholas became a major conciliar theorist, presenting a vision of unity, representation, and concord in his De concordantia catholica. When the council fell short of that ideal, Nicholas departed to serve Pope Eugenius IV (1431-47) in his efforts to bring the Eastern churches into unity with Rome while resisting the attempt of the Council of Basel to depose him. Nicholas also worked to reconcile the German princes with the pope, earning the nickname "The Hercules of the Eugenians" and more tangible rewards: promotion to the College of Cardinals (1448/49) and the Bishopric of Brixen in the Tyrol (1450). His interests turned from law to theology and philosophy, resulting in works advancing controversial ideas of "learned ignorance" and "coincidence of opposites," "enfolding" and "unfolding," ideas for which he remains a noted figure in Renaissance intellectual history.
Nicholas's legation to the German lands (1451-52) involved efforts to promote reform of the Church. These reforms were resisted and often treated as ploys to subject the German church to the Roman Curia. Nicholas was unsuccessful as a bishop, showing little flexibility; and he twice had to retreat to Rome. He also tried promoting reform in the Roman Curia and offered a concept of religious harmony in his reaction to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Nicholas died in Todi in August...
