Johannes von Tepl (c. 1350 – c. 1415), also known as Johannes von Saaz ( cs, Jan ze Žatce), was a

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n writer of the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

, one of the earliest known writers of prose in

Early New High German Early New High German (ENHG) is a term for the period in the history of the German language generally defined, following Wilhelm Scherer, as the period 1350 to 1650. The term is the standard translation of the German (Fnhd., Frnhd.), introduce ...

(or late Middle German—depending on the criteria). He was literate in Czech, German and Latin. Not much is known about him; historians presume that he probably studied at universities in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

and

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. In 1383, he became a solicitor in

Žatec Žatec (; german: Saaz) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře river. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monumen ...

(Saaz) and in 1386 a rector of the town's Latin school. He lived in

from 1411. He spent almost all of his life in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

, during the reign of kings

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are german: Wenzel, pl, Wacław, Więcesław, Wieńczysław, es, Wenceslao, russian: ...

. Johannes von Tepl is best known for his early

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

poem ''

Der Ackermann aus Böhmen ''Der Ackermann aus Böhmen'' (German for "The Ploughman from Bohemia"), also known as ''Der Ackermann und der Tod'' ("The Ploughman and Death"), is a work of prose in Early New High German by Johannes von Tepl, written around 1401. Sixteen manu ...

'' (''Ploughman of Bohemia''), sometimes also called ''Der Ackermann und der Tod'' (''Ploughman and Death''), written around 1401 and first printed in 1460. It is a dialogue of Death and the ploughman, who accuses Death because his wife Margaretha recently died. Central themes of the book are their opposing views on life, mankind, and morality. (In the history of Bohemia, the ploughman is an important symbol of Bohemian kings—

Přemysl is a Czech masculine given name. The Polish alternative is Przemysł or Przemysław. Famous bearers Czech royals * Přemysl the Ploughman – mythical founder of the Bohemian royal dynasty of Přemyslids * Přemysl I Otakar – king of Bohe ...

, the legendary founder of the

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemyslid ( cs, Přemyslovci, german: Premysliden, pl, Przemyślidzi) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–130 ...

, was originally a ploughman.) The poem is regarded as one of the most important German poems in the

late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

References

External links

Complete text of ''Ackermann aus Böhmen''Illuminated manuscript of ''Ackermann aus Böhmen''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tepl, Johannes von 1350 births 1415 deaths People from Žatec German Bohemian people Bohemian literature German poets German Renaissance humanists German male poets