Alexander Alesius

Alesius, Alexander (1500–65), also ‘Aless’ or ‘Alane’, Scottish Lutheran divine. As a canon of St Andrews, he was selected to confute Patrick Hamilton, but was won over by his arguments and steadfastness at the stake (1528). Soon afterwards he preached a sermon attacking the morals of the clergy. He was imprisoned but escaped to Germany, where he signed the Augsburg Confession. For a short time he was lecturer in divinity at Cambridge; in 1540 he became professor of theology at Frankfurt-on-Oder. He wrote many exegetical and controversial works.

Alexander Alesius , 1500-1565, Scottish Protestant theologian. As canon of the collegiate church at St. Andrews he tried to reclaim Patrick Hamilton from his Lutheran views but was himself persuaded to accept the reformed teachings. In 1532 he escaped to the Continent, where he gained the confidence of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon and joined in signing the Augsburg Confession. He was commended to Henry VIII by them, and arriving in England in 1535, he enjoyed friendly association with Archbishop Cranmer, Thomas Cromwell, and others. He lectured on divinity at Cambridge and afterward practiced medicine in London. After Cromwell's fall in 1540, Alesius returned to Germany, where he was professor of theology, first at Frankfurt-an-der-Oder and later at Leipzig.