Matija Hvale

Matthias Qualle, born in 1470 in Vače, Slovenia, and died in 1518 in Vienna, was a significant Slovene philosopher. His Slovenized name is Matija Hvale. Qualle's academic career was primarily based at the University of Vienna, where he taught philosophy in the Faculty of Arts between 1502 and 1514. He reached a position of leadership within the faculty, serving as its dean in 1510. During his time in Vienna, he mentored and later collaborated with the Swiss humanist and reformer Joachim Vadian. A key event in his life and intellectual legacy was the printing of his work *Commentarii in parvulum philosophiae naturalis* (On the Origins of the Philosophy of Nature) in Hagenau in 1513. This publication is historically important as it is considered the first known printed book authored by a Slovene. Qualle's contributions place him as an early figure in Slovene philosophical and literary history.