Abraham a Sancta Clara (July 2, 1644December 1, 1709) was an

Augustinian monk Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–1 ...

Early life

He was born Johann Ulrich Megerle, in

Kreenheinstetten Kreenheinstetten (municipality Leibertingen) is a village located in the district of Sigmaringen (Baden-Württemberg) in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second ...

, Germany. He was described as "a very eccentric but popular Augustinian monk".

Chambers Biographical Dictionary ''Chambers Biographical Dictionary'' provides concise descriptions of over 18,000 notable figures from Britain and the rest of the world. It was first published in 1897. The publishers, Chambers Harrap, who were formerly based in Edinburgh, clai ...

, , page 5

Career

In 1662, Abraham a Sancta Clara joined the

Catholic religious order In the Catholic Church, a religious order is a community of consecrated life Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more ex ...

Discalced Augustinians The Order of Discalced Augustinians (; abbreviation: OAD) is a mendicant order that branched off from the Order of Saint Augustine as a reform movement. History During the Counter-Reformation, there was a special interest among the Augustinian f ...

, and assumed the name by which he is known. In this order, he rose ro become ''

prior provincialis A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of m ...

'' and ''

definitor {{Catholic Church hierarchy sidebar, Administrative and pastoral titles In the Catholic Church, a definitor (Latin for 'one who defines') is a title with different specific uses. There are secular definitors, who have a limited amount of oversight ...

'' of his province. He gained a great reputation for pulpit eloquence early on. He was appointed imperial court

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1669. The people flocked to hear him, attracted by the force and simplicity of his language, the grotesqueness of his humour, and the impartial severity with which he lashed the follies of all social classes. The predominant quality of his style was an overflowing and often coarse wit. Many passages in his sermons offer loftier thoughts and more dignified language. In his published writings, he displayed many of the same qualities as in the pulpit, shown best through the most notable specimen of his style, his didactic novel entitled ''Judas der Erzschelm'' (4 vols., Salzburg, 1686–1695). His work has been several times reproduced in whole or in part, though infected with spurious interpolations. He died in Vienna in December, 1709, after 65 years.

Works

*''Der alte Hafen scheppert'' - 167
- eLibrary Projekt ( - eLib - text in German)
*''Österreichisches Deo Gratias'' - 1688
- eLibrary Projekt ( - eLib - text in German)
*''Wunderlicher Traum von einem großen Narren-Nest'' (Wonderful Dream of a Great Nest of Fools) - 1703 (pub. 1710
- eLibrary Projekt ( - eLib - text in German)

References

External links

* *
Abraham a Santa Clara at the eLibrary Projekt (- eLib - )
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clara, Abraham A Sancta Sancta Clara Sancta Clara Discalced Augustinians Order Austrian Christian monks