Valentin Weigel
Illustration — image of Valentin Weigel Valentin Weigel (or Weichel; 7 August 1533 – 10 June 1588) was a German theologian, pastor, philosopher and mystical writer, from Saxony, and an important precursor of later theosophy. In English, he is often called Valentine Weigel.
Valentin Weigel

Datenbank Tripota in der Wissenschaftlichen Bibliothek der Stadt Trier/Stadtarchiv · Public domain
- Born
- 1533 · Großenhain.
- Died
- 1588 · Zschopau.
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- philosopher · writer · theosophist · mystic · parson · protestant theologian
- Languages
- German
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Documentary summary
Illustration — image of Valentin Weigel Valentin Weigel (or Weichel; 7 August 1533 – 10 June 1588) was a German theologian, pastor, philosopher and mystical writer, from Saxony, and an important precursor of later theosophy. In English, he is often called Valentine Weigel.
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wikidata · Q77397 · wikipedia · Valentin Weigel
In this article
Biography
Biography
Weigel was born in Hayn, near Dresden, into a Catholic family. He studied at Meissen, Leipzig, and Wittenberg. In 1567, he became a Lutheran pastor in Zschopau, near Chemnitz. There, he lived out a quiet life, engaged in his writings. He died in Zschopau.
Beliefs
Beliefs
Weigel was best known for his belief that the Virgin Mary was herself the product of a virgin birth. He based his belief on the idea of the Immaculate Conception, which required that Mary must also be sinless in order to bear God in the flesh of a human that defecates daily. He kept his ideas secret, entrusting them only to personal friends (in contrast to Jakob Böhme). He carried out his parochial duties and kept a low profile. He left around 6000 pages in printed or manuscript works. His ideas on human nature were only gradually and posthumously published. Johann Arndt, Gottfried Arnold, and Gottfried Leibniz helped to spread Weigel's ideas. His teachings are known as Weigelianism. His mysticism was marked by that of Johannes Tauler and by doctrines of Paracelsus; he was also a follower of Sebastian Franck and Caspar Schwenckfeldt. Like these two latter, he emphasized the inner life. He advocated a "spiritual church" in which one could know Christ without books or scripture.
Works
Works
• Unterrichts-Predigt: Wie man christlich trauern und täglich solle im Herrn sterben, 1576 • Libellus de vita beata, 1609 • Ein schön Gebetsbüchlein, welches die Einfältigen unterrichtet, 1612 • Der güldene Griff, alle Ding ohne Irrtum zu erkennen, 1613 • Ein nützliches Traktätlein vom Ort der Welt, 1613 • Dialogus de Christianismo, 1614 • Erkenne dich selbst, 1615 • Informatorium oder Kurzer Unterricht, 1616 (expanded: Soli deo gloria, 1618) • Kirchen- oder Hauspostill, 1618 • Libellus disputatorus, 1618 • De bono et malo in homine, 1618 • Zwei schöne Büchlein, 1618 • Studium universale, 1618 • Tractatus de opere mirabili, 1619

Memorial plaque to Valentin Weigel at the protestant church in Zschopau
Unukorno
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1533
Valentin Weigel born at Großenhain.
1588
Valentin Weigel died at Zschopau.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Großenhain.
Birth place
Zschopau.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q77397: Valentin Weigel
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Valentin Weigel”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly index
- OpenAlex author record A5024116802 for Valentin Weigel.
Unverified · OpenAlex
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ne pas confondre cette théosophie avec la théosophie moderne orientalisante de Helena Blavatsky.
- 2.R. Kühn, « Valentin Weigel », in J.-F. Mattéi (dir.), Encyclopédie philosophique universelle – Les œuvres philosophiques, tome 1, Paris, PUF, 1992, p. 895.
- 3.Weigel 1616, chap. 5, repris dans Kühn 1992.
- 4.Weigel 1616, chap. 12, repris dans Kühn 1992.
- 5.H. Houssin, « Sophia (occident moderne) », in J. Servier (dir.), Dictionnaire de l'ésotérisme, Paris, PUF, 1998, p. 1208-1209.
- 6.Weigel 1578, repris dans Houssin 1998.
- 7.A. Koyré, Spirituels, mystiques, alchimistes du allemand, Paris, Armand Colin, 1955, sur Valentin Weigel : p. 81-116, rééd. Gallimard, 1971.
- 8.Y. Belaval (dir.), Histoire de la philosophie, tome 2, vol. 1, Paris, Gallimard, 1973, « De Caspar von Schwenckfeld à Jakob Boehme », p. 232-243.
- 9.Fritz Lieb, Valentin Weigels Kommentar zur Schöpfungsgeschichte, 1962.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 4
- Antoine Faivre, Accès de l'ésotérisme occidental, 2 tomes, Bibliothèque des Sciences Humaines, Editions Gallimard, 1996.
- Bernard Gorceix, La mystique de Valentin Weigel 1533–1588 et les origines de la théosophie allemande, (diss.) Université de Lille III, 1972.
- Chapitre
- Rudolf Steiner, Mystique et anthroposophie, Éditions Anthroposophiques Romandes, 1990.
References
Citations
References
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scholarly index
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Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,661 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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