Johannes Murmellius (c. 1480 – 2 October 1517) was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

teacher and

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 ...

, known for numerous textbooks, and his spreading of

humanism 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 "humani ...

, particularly in the

Prince-Bishopric of Münster The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (german: Fürstbistum Münster; Bistum Münster, Hochstift Münster) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Low ...

Life

He was born in

Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Roer ...

, and was a pupil of

Alexander Hegius von Heek Alexander Hegius von Heek (?1433/1439/1440?7 December 1498) was a German humanist, so called from his birthplace Heek (located near Ahaus, then in the Duchy of Westphalia). Hegius learned, likely in Emmerich, Greek from Rodolphus Agricola.Akke ...

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

. From 1496 to 1500 he was at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

. Then with the support of Rudolph von Langen he was brought in as assistant head of the cathedral school at Münster. After friction with the head, he moved to another school there, reforming textbooks and promoting the teaching of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

.Peter G. Bietenholz, Thomas Brian Deutscher, ''Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation'' (2003), p. 470. Pupils travelled from distant parts of Europe to study with him. He was then school rector in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

from 1513, where he insisted his pupils had a good reading knowledge of parts of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. The marauding

Arumer Zwarte Hoop The Arumer Zwarte Hoop, meaning "Black Army of Arum" ( fry, Swarte Heap) was an army of peasant rebels and mercenaries in Friesland fighting against the Habsburg authorities from 1515 to 1523. For four years they were successful under the former f ...

sacked Alkmaar in late June 1517, leaving Murmellius destitute. Nowadays, a school in Alkmaar is named after him as the Murmellius Gymnasium. He moved on to

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

, briefly working under Gerardus Listrius, and then to a position at Deventer. He died suddenly in early October 1517, giving rise to an unsubstantiated rumour that Listrius had poisoned him.

Works

Around 50 works of his are known, mostly written with pedagogical intent. He published an edition of the ''

Consolation of Philosophy ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius. Written in 523 while he ...

'' of

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

in 1511, followed in 1514 by a commentary. His ''Pappa Puerorum'' (1515) was a very successful

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

primer, and his Latin ''Lexicon'' was influential as far away as

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Life

Works

Notes

Further reading