THOMAS À KEMPIS

Spiritual writer; b. Kempen, near Düsseldorf, the Rhineland, 1379 or 1380; d. Zwolle, the Netherlands, Aug. 8, 1471. À Kempis was the younger of two sons of a peasant family, Hammerken; his name, À Kempis, was derived from his native village. His first schooling he received in Kempen, possibly in the school for local children conducted by his mother. From 1393 to 1398 he was a student in Deventer, under the patronage of florentius radewijns, successor of Gerard groote, founder of the Brothers of the Common Life. In 1399, instead of joining the Brothers of the Common Life as he had planned, he entered Mt. St. Agnes, a newly founded monastery of the canons regular of st. augustine, where his brother, John, 15 years his senior, was prior.

À Kempis was not clothed as a novice until 1406, a fact sometimes alleged as evidence that he was a dullard, but the delay was due to the unfinished state of the buildings. In 1413 he was ordained, and the remainder of his long life he spent at Mt. St. Agnes, except for a period of three years when the community moved because of an interdict. Little is known of his activity, aside from his transcription of manuscripts and composition of numerous works. He was subprior in 1425 and again in 1448, and for a time acted as master of novices.

Besides the copying of numerous manuscripts, including one of the Bible, Thomas is most commonly credited with the authorship of the imitation of christ. He also wrote many works of devotion, collections of sermons, and contemporary chronicles. He is considered the most complete and outstanding representative of devotio moderna. This is evident especially from his treatises on the life of the soul and his spiritual conferences. Outstanding among these are: Soliloquium animae, considered one of the most characteristic works of the windesheim school, which contains practical counsels on fidelity to the movements of grace; De tribus tabernaculis, considerations on poverty, humility, and chastity; De fideli dispensatore, counsels to a contemplative in charge of the material goods of the monastery; Sermones ad novicios, 30 conferences for the novices at Mt. St. Agnes, concerned with the common life, keeping guard over the senses, the spiritual combat of the religious, and devotion to Our Lady.

À Kempis wrote a number of chronicles and lives of the saints. Among these are: Vita Gerardi Magni, an account of the life of Gerard Groote; Vita Florentii, a life of Gerard's successor; Chronica Montis Sanctae Agnetis, a history of Mt. St. Agnes, one of the principle sources for À Kempis's life. His works have been published in a critical edition: Opera Omnia ed. M. J. Pohle (7 v. Freiburg 1910–22).

Bibliography: j. mercier, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique 15.1:761–765. a. hyma, The Brothers of the Common Life (Grand Rapids, Mich. 1950).

[p. mulhern]