See Also: Kempis, Thomas a(dictionary)
Thomas a Kempis(encyclopedia)
St Thomas(dictionary)
Thomas(2)(dictionary)
More, Sir Thomas(dictionary)
Kyd, Thomas(encyclopedia)
thomas(medicine)
Thomas, R S(dictionary)
Air St. Thomas(tourism)
Thomas(1)(dictionary)

Thomas a Kempis (sh)




orig. Thomas Hemerken

born 1379/80, Kempen, near Dusseldorf, Rhineland
died Aug. 8, 1471, Agnietenberg, near Zwolle, Bishopric of Utrecht

Christian theologian and probable author of The Imitation of Christ.

He went to Deventer, Neth., งใ 1392 and joined the Brethren of the Common Life, a community devoted to the care and education of the poor. In 1387 he entered the Augustinian monastery of canons regular at Agnietenberg. He was ordained a priest in 1413 and devoted himself to copying manuscripts and directing novices. He is credited with writing The Imitation of Christ, the most influential devotional work in Christian literature after the Bible. Noted for its simple language and style, it emphasizes spiritual over materialistic life and affirms the rewards of a life centred on Christ. The Imitation and his other treatises and sermons are the best representation of the devotio moderna, a new form of religious devotion that arose at the end of the 14th century.