death of Myconius (1546) he was entrusted with the oversight of Gotha, in addition to that of Eisenach; to Gotha he returned in 1547. The remainder of his life was not happy. He was against the Leipzig Interim (1548) with its compromise on some Catholic usages, and was involved in controversies and quarrels; with Georgius Merula, against whom he maintained the need of exorcism in baptism; with Osiander's adherents in the matter of justification; with his colleague, Nicholas von Amsdorf, to whom he had resigned the Eisenach superintendency; with Flacius Illyricus, and others. He lost favor with John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, fell into bad health, was deposed (1555) from his offices, and was disappointed in his hopes of being reinstated, after the colloquy at Eisenach (1556). He died at Leipzig. Menius was twice married, and had several sons, of whom Eusebius held a chair of philosophy at Wittenberg, and married Melanchthon's granddaughter, Anna Sabinus. G. L. Schmidt gives a full bibliography of the numerous writings of Menius, who translated several of Luthers biblical commentaries into German. His Oeconomia was reprinted in 1855. References G. L. Schmidt, Justus Menius, der Reformator Thüringens (1867); Wagenmann, in Allgemeine deutsche Biographie (1885); G. Kawerau, in Haucks Realencyklopadie (1903). (A. Go.*) 1499 births 1558 deaths People from Fulda 16th-century German Lutheran clergy German Renaissance humanists