Klaus Cranc (Klaus Krank/Claus Cranc, fl. ca. 1350)

Klaus Cranc (Klaus Krank/Claus Cranc, fl. ca. 1350) OM. German Franciscan friar from Prussia. Custos in the custody of Thorn. Known for his German translation of the major and minor prophetical books of the Old Testament. This German translation, made on request of the general of the Teutonic Knights (Siegfried von Dahenfeld, reign 1347-1359), apparently follows the Latin of the Vulgate very closely (it includes also the introductions of Jerome to the major prophets and the general introduction to the minor prophets), and is generally considered to be the best biblical translation into German before the work of Luther. Nevertheless, Cranc's translations were not very influential and did not get widely known. They show that Cranc was well-acquainted with the Glossa Ordinaria and the Postilla Literalis of Nicholas of Lyra (from the latter, he also took several introductory texts, as well as elucidations concerning Ezechiel). Siegfried von Dahenfeld might have commanded this work (among several others, see the manuscript info) to make parts of the Bible available to non-latin reading members of the Teutonic Knights.

Works

• Die Prophetenübersetzung : MS Berlin Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußisches Kulturbesitz, Staatsarchiv Königsberg MS 1 (olim A 191) pp. 1-420. This beautiful illustrated manuscript also contains a German Job (Hiob) paraphrase and a paraphrase on the Acts of the Apostles. These latter works apparently are not made by Klaus Cranc. For an edition of the Hiob paraphrase, see: Die mittelhochdeutsche poetische Paraphrase des buches Hiob , ed. T.E. Karsten, DTM 21 (Berlin, 1910), v-xxiv. For an edition of Cranc's translation, see: Die Prophetenübersetzung des Claus Cranc , ed. W. Ziesemer, Schriften der Königsberger Gelehrten Gesellschaft Sonderreihe Band 1 (Berlin, 1930).

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