Everything about Thomas Kempis totally explained
Thomas à Kempis (orig. Thomas Haemerkken; Thomas Hammerlein; also Thomas Hemerken, Thomas Hämerken, Thomas van Kempen, Tomás de Kempis) (ca.
1380 -
July 25 1471) was a late Medieval
Catholic monk and author of
Imitation of Christ, one of the best known Christian books on devotion.
He was born at
Kempen (Germany),
County of Cleves in 1380 and died in 1471 near
Zwolle in the
Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, 75 miles north of his birthplace. He was apparently (accidentally) buried alive, in that splinters were later found embedded under the fingernails of his corpse. He was denied canonization on the grounds that a saint wouldn't fight death in this way.
His paternal name was Hemerken,
Kleverlandish for "little hammer."
In
1395 he was sent to the school at
Deventer conducted by the
Brethren of the Common Life.
He became skillful as a copyist and was thus enabled to support himself.
Later he was admitted to the
Augustinian convent of Mount Saint Agnes near Zwolle, where his brother John had been before him and had risen to the dignity of prior. Thomas received priest's orders in 1413 and was made subprior in 1429.
The house was disturbed for a time in consequence of the pope's rejection of the bishop-elect of Utrecht,
Rudolf van Diepholt; otherwise, Thomas' life was a quiet one, his time being spent between devotional exercises, composition, and copying. He copied the
Bible no less than four times, one of the copies being preserved at Darmstadt in five volumes. In its teachings he was widely read, and his works abound in Biblical quotations, especially from the
New Testament.
His life is no doubt fitly characterized by the words under an old picture first referred to by
Francescus Tolensis: "In all things I sought quiet and found it not save in retirement and in books."
A monument was dedicated to his memory in the presence of the archbishop of Utrecht in St. Michael's Church, Zwolle, on
November 11,
1897. Because of the closing of the church, his shrine was replaced in 2006 in an historical church in the centre of Zwolle.
Thomas à Kempis belonged to the school of
mystics who were scattered along the Rhine from Switzerland to Strasburg and Cologne and in the Netherlands. He was a follower of
Geert Groote and
Florentius Radewijns, the founders of the
Brethren of the Common Life.
His writings are all of a devotional character and include tracts and meditations, letters, sermons, a life of
Saint Lydewigis, a Christian woman who remained steadfast under a great stress of afflictions, and biographies of Groote, Radewijns, and nine of their companions.
Works similar in content to the
Imitation of Christ and pervaded by the same spirit are his prolonged meditation on the life and blessings of the Savior and another on the Incarnation. Both of these works overflow with adoration for Christ.
The following quotes are attributed to him:
"Without the Way,
there is no going,
Without the Truth,
there is no knowing,
Without the Life,
there is no living."
"If thou wilt receive profit, read with humility, simplicity and faith, and seek not at any time the fame of being learned."
"At the Day of Judgement we shan't be asked what we've read but what we've done."
» The Imitation of Christ, Book I, ch. 3
"For man proposeth, but God disposeth"
» The Imitation of Christ, Book I, ch. 19
"If, however, you seek Jesus in all things, you'll surely find Him. "
» The Imitation of Christ, Book II, ch. 7
Books written by Thomas à Kempis
The Imitation of Christ (Edited by Harold C. Gardner, S.J.), Doubleday, 1955. ISBN 978-0-375-70018-7
References and External links
This article incorporates Public Domain material from the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. VI: Innocents - Liudger, Schaff, Philip.
Read Imitation of Christ online
Thomas à Kempis at The Catholic Encyclopedia
Quotes from Thomas à Kempis
Imitation of Christ in PDF
Further Information
Get more info on 'Thomas Kempis'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://thomas____kempis.totallyexplained.com">Thomas à Kempis Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
