Peder Palladius

Peder Palladius (1503 – 3 January 1560) was a Danish theologian, Protestant reformer, and bishop of Zealand. As the first protestant bishop in Denmark, he oversaw the conversion of ecclesiastic affairs. He helped create the church ordinance which founded the Church of Denmark, produced a Danish translation of the Bible, and removed Catholic images and rituals from his diocese.

Early life and education Peder was born in Ribe in 1503. Little information is known about his childhood. Palladius’ own published account of his childhood suggests that he grew up near Ribe and attended school there ca. 1510–1515. He describes his father, Esbern Jensen, as a devout layman. Though his father was illiterate, he had memorised much of the gospel and chastised his son when he failed to recite it properly.

By 1530, Peder was employed as a school teacher in Odense. He was later sponsored by the city’s mayor, Mikkel Pedersen, to study in Wittenberg along with his son, Knud Mikkelsen, and another young man from the city. On September 3, 1531, “Petrus Esbernus Pladius” matriculated at the University of Wittenberg. The origin of his latin name is uncertain. Petrus is the latinized version of his given name, Peder, while Esbernus is in reference to his father, Esbern. However, his chosen surname is of unclear origins. Some sources speculate that he was born Peder Esbern Plade or Plad, having adopted the name Palladius as a latinized version of his surname.

He obtained a master’s degree in 1533 and began working towards a doctorate in theology. Palladius spent approximately six years studying in Wittenberg. While there, he had become closely acquainted with the reformation movement for which the University became famous. Palladius described his own conversion to Lutheranism in a 1550 letter to the Catholic bishop of Holar in Iceland, wherein he illustrated his realisation that the teachings of papism were inconsistent with those of Jesus Christ.

Works Christian III's Danish bible, 1550Christian III commissioned a Danish translation of the bible, which Palladius oversaw and published in 1550. As directed by the king, the translation largely followed Luther’s High German translation from 1545. The introduction to the Danish translation, however, is attributed to Palladius. He was also responsible for the Visistatsbogen, which remains an important historical source. Palladius wrote most of his own literary works in Latin.