Career
Nikolaus Gerbel was part of a circle of literary men living in Strasbourg. He was born in Pforzheim in the Black Forest and studied at the University of Vienna (1502–1505), at the University of Cologne (1505–1506), at the University of Tübingen (1508–1512) and later at the University of Bologna. He published several works in ancient Greek geography (Descriptio Graeciae) and Roman history.