MANUEL, NIKLAUS: One of the notable personalities at the closing period of the Reformation; b. at Bern 1484; d. there Apr. 30, 1530. Until 1522 he devoted himself almost exclusively to art. At the same time he figured as a satirical poet and as such helped very successfully the cause of the Reformation, especially in Bern. In 1512 he was elected into the great council of Bern, and in 1523 was appointed prefect in Erlach. After the disputation of Baden in 1526 the Reformation in Bern made rapid progress. Haller abolished the mass and, after six gilds of the town had joined his cause, received Guillaume Farel and Franz Kolb (qq.v.) as assistant preachers. In 1528 at the Disputation of Bern (see Bern, Disputation of) Manuel took an active part. Shortly afterward he entered the small council of Bern. After that he was almost entirely alienated from art, and the poet gave way to the statesman. Manuel now became an enthusiastic itinerant. Between 1528 and 1530 he advocated in more than thirty assemblies and conferences the cause of the Reformation and of Bern, and gathered new friends for the new teaching. His consider ateness and kindness made him appreciated every where. In May, 1528, he became member of the board which occupied itself with the organization of the new church, superintended the moral condition of the congregation, and settled matrimonial disputes. In the autumn of the same year Manuel advanced to the position of Venner of Gerbern, acting as judge and taking part in the government of the state. While he has a place in the history of German painting, popular poetry, drama and satire, and was influential in the political development of his native city of Bern, most significant was his atti tude toward the religious change of his time. As among the powerful men in Germany Hutten was the most ingenuous ally of Luther, so Manuel was the most popular ally of Zwingh in German Switzerland. Fight against Rome was the watchword of the day, and Manuel served this fight by the satire of his brush, pen, and spoken word, and he became the spiritual father and champion of the Reformation in Bern. He acquired his greatest fame and exercised his chief influence as a poet in the service of the Ref ormation. Satire and polemics form the core and essence of his poetical productions. His two mo ralities-Vom Papst und seiner Priesterherrschaft and Von Papsts and Christi Gegensatz performed at Bern in 1522, completely destroyed there the au thority of the bishop of Lausanne and induced the council of Bern to allow the free preaching of the Gospel. Thus Berchthold Haller (q.v.) had free scope for the development of his reformatory work. No less effect had his satires-Ablasskrdmer (1526 ) which belongs to the best satirical productions of the Reformation; Ecks and Fabers Badenfahrt (1527), a satire on the disputation of Baden and especially directed against Dr. Eck; Krankheit (1528); Klagred der arnten Gotzen (1528); Elsli Tragdenknaben and Uly Rechenzan (1530), a merry carnival play.

(F. List†.)

Bibliography: Biographies are by S. Scheurer, in Bernerischen Mausoleum, 1742; K. von Griineisen, Stuttgart, 1837 (against this Rettig wrote his Ueber tin Wandgemrilde von Niklaua Manuel, Bern, 1862); J. Baehtold, Frauenfeld, 1878 (a masterpiece); B. Handcke, ib. 1889. Further literature of minor interest is given in Hauck-Herzog, RE, xii, 241.