← Explore on the interactive map

Thomas à Kempis

Type Figure Region Low Countries Time c. 1380–1471 Also known as Thomas à Kempis、Thomas Hemerken、Thomas van Kempen

Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471) was a Dutch Augustinian friar and devotional writer who lived long at the Agnieten monastery near Zwolle;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1380–1406Kempen · KempenBorn in Kempen in the Rhineland, educated by the Brethren of the Common Life in Deventer, he entered the Agnieten monastery around 1406, engaged in manuscript copying and devotional practice.
  2. 1431–1440Zwolle · ZwolleIn the 1430s he served as priest and copyist at the Agnieten monastery, writing short devotional treatises and sermon material; scholars generally hold that the core chapters of the Imitation of Christ were completed or finalized in this period.
  3. 1440–1471Agnieten monastery · OverijsselAfter the 1440s he continued manuscript copying, preaching and spiritual direction at the monastery; the Imitation of Christ was widely copied in the Low Countries and Germany, and he died at the monastery on 25 July 1471.

Sources