Matthias Qualle

Matthias Qualle (1470–1518; Slovenized as Matija Hvale),^[1] was a Slovene philosopher. Between 1502 and 1514 he taught philosophy at the University of Vienna's Faculty of Arts, and in 1510 he served as the faculty's dean.^[2]

Life and work

Qualle was born in Vače, in present-day Slovenia. He started studying at Vienna in 1491, where he became a teacher. He was a mentor to, and later a colleague of, the Swiss humanist and reformer Joachim Vadian.^[2][3]

In 1513, his Commentarii in parvulum philosophiae naturalis (On the Origins of the Philosophy of Nature) was printed in Hagenau. It is considered the first known printed book written by a Slovene author. Qualle died in Vienna.