Caspar Aquila

He was born at Augsburg, and educated there, at Ulm (1502), in Italy (he met Erasmus in Rome), at Bern (1508), and studied theology in Leipzig (1510) and Wittenberg (1513).

Openly proclaiming his adhesion to Martin Luther's doctrine, he was imprisoned for half a year (1520 or 1522) at Dillingen, by order of the bishop of Augsburg; a death sentence was commuted to banishment through the influence of Isabella, wife of Christian II of Denmark and sister of Charles V. Returning to Wittenberg, he met Luther, and acted as tutor to the sons of Franz von Sickingen at Ebernburg castle.

After the siege of the Ebernburg by Richard Greiffenklau, the archbishop of Trier, on 6 June 1523, he returned to Wittenberg to teach Hebrew, and aided Luther in his version of the Old Testament.

[2] The dates and particulars of his career are uncertain until 1527, when he became pastor at Saalfeld,[3] an office which Luther procured for him.

[3] He published numerous sermons, a few Old Testament expositions and some controversial tracts.