Johannes Veghe (c.1435 – 21 September 1504) was a German preacher and religious writer.

Life

Veghe was born in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. His father seems to have been a physician. In 1450 he matriculated 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 ...

; in the register of students he is called ''Johannes ten Loc alias Veghe clericus Monasteriensis''. In 1451 he entered the house of the

Brethren of the Common Life The Brethren of the Common Life (Latin: Fratres Vitae Communis, FVC) was a Roman Catholic pietist religious community founded in the Netherlands in the 14th century by Gerard Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religio ...

of Münster, in 1469 became first rector of the house of the Brethren at

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

, returned to Münster in 1471, and was made

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

there in 1475. On account of ill health he resigned in 1481 and became confessor to the Sisters of Niesink in Münster; this position which he retained until his death, gave him time to gratify his literary tastes. He lived to see the victory 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 ...

in Münster and Westphalia; the humanists Johannes Murmellius and

Hermann von dem Busche Hermann von dem Busche (also Hermannus Buschius or Pasiphilus; 1468–1534) was a German humanist writer, known for his ''Vallum humanitatis'' (1518). He was a pupil of Rudolph von Langen. ''Vallum humanitatis, sive Humaniorum litterarum contra ob ...

in their poems praise his pious life and his study of religious books.

Works

His earliest work is his ''Geistliche Jagd'', dedicated to

Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Güstrow Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Güstrow (1441 – 20 November 1503) was duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1477 until his death. Biography He was the son of Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Dorothea of Brandenburg, daught ...

. This is a description of a spiritual chase, whose object is God; all the details of an actual hunt are applied to the sphere of spiritual things. This work was followed by the: ''Marientrost'', in which Veghe wishes to show how and why one should appeal to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

; ''Geistliches Blumenbett'' (Lectulus Floridus), dedicated to the Sisters of Niesink; and ''Weingarten der Seele'' (Vineyard of the Soul), which treats in three books of the progress of man from the beginning of Christian life to perfection. Veghe's main work consists of sermons delivered in

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

before the Sisters of Niesink 1492. They are notable for the keen observation of nature and knowledge of the human heart. His sermons were edited by Professor Franz Jostes in 1883. In dogma Veghe held rigidly to the teachings of the Church, but he would not accept the gaining of

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...

s for the dead, who he believed were entirely under the hand and judgment of God.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veghe, Johannes 1435 births 1504 deaths Clergy from Münster 15th-century German Roman Catholic priests German spiritual writers German male non-fiction writers