TROTZENDORF, VALENTIN. - Protestant pedagogue, whose real surname was Friedland, but who is known by that of T. from the village (today Troitschendorf, near Görlitz) where he was born on 14 February 1490; he died at Liegnitz on 26 August 1556.
He studied Greek and Latin at the University of Leipzig and theology at Wittenberg under Luther and Melanchthon, of whom he was always a strenuous defender. Appointed rector in 1524 of the school of Goldberg, he directed it, apart from brief intervals, almost until his death, winning it European fame and attracting pupils to it from all nations. And Melanchthon, in admiration, used to say that T. was made to direct colleges, as Scipio Africanus was made to direct armies.
The school, divided into 6 classes, followed the humanistic model, and only Latin was used in speaking. T.'s bold innovation, still used with profit today in various countries, consists in "governing the school by means of the pupils themselves," organizing it on the model of the Roman Republic. He chose from among the older pupils the "economici," who had to watch over order, discipline and observance of the timetable; the "ephors," who took care of meals, helped by the "discophori," who looked after the dishes; the "quaestors," one per class, who supervised the practices of worship and school occupations. At the head of the Republic stood T. as "dictator perpetuus," who nevertheless shared the government with a Senate, composed of 1 consul, 2 censors and 12 senators, elected by him every month, who constituted the tribunal of punishments. In the school the spirit was profoundly Christian and fraternal, with absolute equality among the different social classes. As for subjects, alongside religion and the careful study of Latin, there was room for Greek, Hebrew, mathematics, astronomy and music. Didactic rule: few and brief rules, practical examples, numerous exercises, few authors studied deeply, rather than many viewed superficially. In all this concurrence of excellent rules and arrangements, however, there were too many personal traits, dependent on T.'s active and eminently organizing character, so that after his death the work did not last. He nevertheless remains one of the most significant pedagogues of the 16th century. He left, as his principal works: Cathechesis (Wittenberg 1558), a catechism in questions and answers; Rosarium (ibid. 1565), a collection of maxims taken from the Bible and accompanied by commentary; Praecationes (ibid. 1564), a collection of prayers for morning and evening and for Sundays and feast days.