Tetrastyle ( TfTpdirTtiXov), a name given to the pe- riphery of the area or court be- tween the porch and Ihe church building proper in ancient limes. This court was with- out any covering except that each side had porticos or clois- ters, built upon columns. In the porch or in the porticos stood the first class of penitents to beg the prayers of the faithful rf-=-:^_ — — as they went into the church.
Tetzel, JoiiANN, the noto- rious Dominican monk whose shameless traffic in indulgences impelled Lntherto take tbetirst step towards the Ilelonnatidn, was born and reared at Leip- sic, where his father, .lohaini "■ Chunh ; (J- o<.'ter porch; c.
^' ' _ ^ Court; (id. ietrastyie.
Tietze, pursued the business of
goldsmith. In 1487 Tetzel received the degree of bach- elor of i)hilosophy, having disting\iished himself in the examination above all the other competitors. He pos- sessed an imposing tigure, a sonorous voice, and consid- erable skill in dialectics and oratorv-, and was accord- ingly selected to preach the indulgence connected with the year of jubilee, after he had associated himself with the Dominican fraternity in his native town, and had displayed great zeal in his monastic duties. He en- tered on the traffic in indulgences in 1502, and prose- cuted it to his own great pecuniary advantage and equal notoriety, making use of even blasphemies and obscenities to enforce his appeals for money. Nor was he more circumspect with regard to his conduct. The drinking-rooms of taverns were favorite places of resort in which to ])ly his trade; he permitted himself to com- mit crimes of violence; and an adulterous connection with the wife of a citizen led to his being sentenced to death by drowning at Innsjiruck. Having been par- doned, and. after a time, liberated from imprisonment, he resumed his traffic, and became, if possible, more bold and shameless than before.
When pope Leo X appointed commissaries for the sale of inilulgences for the alleged purpose of obtaining fuuils with which to complete the cditice of St. Peter's at Home, Tetzel was made an under-commissary. He held a special concession from the emperor for the pros- ecution of his business, and after a time obtained a papal brief permitting him to sell indulgences everj'where in (iermany. To these advantages he added that of being made an inquisitor. In 1517 he began to issue letters of indulgence in his own name, having previously acted as the agent of archbishop Albert of Mayence. He pro-
Tetinstyle.
nounced absolutions, for money, from the most heinons crimes, without regard to repentance and with the as- surance of complete exemption from the tires of purga- tory. His peculiarly im|mdent and frivolous bearing shocked all who possessed intelligence, wilhout at all restraining his conduct, until he arrived on the borders of Saxony. At this point of Tetzel's progress Lniher was made aware of the hurtful cmisequences of his op- erations through the confessional, and at once denounced the DominicaiTs business from the pulpit. Tetzel re- plied, and Luther drew up the famous Xinety-Jive T/ieses, which Tetzel, for his part, burned in the market-place of Jiiterbock. He then obtained the degree of licentiate and doctor of theology from Frankfort-on-the-Oiler, in or- der to combat Luther from a more favorable position, and he enlisted the services of Wimpina, rector of that uni- versity, in his cause. The latter drew up 100 theses antagonistic to those of Luther, which were in turn burned by the students at Wittenberg, and afterwards fifty additional theses, upon which Tetzel disijuted in January, 1518.
The dispute had in the meantime excited attention in Rome, and aroused the conviction that more positive measures must be employed to ]ireserve the authority of the Church. The negotiations of Cajetan with Lu- ther had failed, and the legate INliltitz was sent to Sax- ony to manage the aifair. Having arrived at Alten- berg, the legate cited Tetzel to appear before him ; but the latter declined to obey, on the ground that the jour- ney would involve his life in danger at the hands of Luther's adherents. He appeared, however, on the re- peated summons of the legate, after the lalter had reached Leipsic; and, having been found guilty of im- moralities and shameless ci>nduct, was liarshl}- repri- manded and threatened with the anger of the pope and expulsion from his order. He wished to flee from the coimtry in order to avoid the dangers which he now saw to be threatening his peace, but sickened before he could execute his purpose, and died in the Dominican convent at Leipsic in July, ]51I>. Luther pitied the man in his wretchedness, and forwarded him a letter of consolation. The statement that Tetzel died of the plague is without support.
Literature. — Cyprian, Fiid. ^fyconi^ Hist. Reform. etc. (Lips. 1718); Loscher, Volkt. lief. -Acta v. Docu- menta (ibid. 1720). i, 415; the works and letters of Ln- ther as gathered by Walch, De Wette, etc.; Hechtins, Vita Jo. Tezelii (Wittenb, 1717) ; Mayer, Diss, de Jc Tezelio (Vitemb. 1717); Kapp, Disp. Jlist.de Konnidlis Indulgent. Qucest. Scec. XV et XVI (Li)is. 1720); and Exercit. in Ambros. A Itamur. Elogium J oh. Tezelii (ibid. 1721) ; Kappen, Schaujdatz des Telzelischen A blasskrams, etc. (ibid. 1720), and Sammluvg einiger Schriften iibir d. Abldss, etc. (ibid. 1721); Vogel, Leben . . . Joh. Te- tzel's (ibid. 1717, 1727) ; Deutsche Ditcher u. Schriften, pt. viii; Hofmann, Leben.tbeschreibvng . , . Tetzel's (cd. Poppe, ibid. 1844) ; Seidemann, Carl ?•. Miltitz (Dresd. 1844) ; id. Luther's Briefe, etc. (Berl. 1856), p. 10, 18, 691); Grone, Tetzel u.Luther,etc. (Soest, 1853). — Herzog, /?ea/- Encyklop. s. v.