Alexander Hegius von Heek (?1433/1439/1440?7 December 1498) was a German

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 ...

, so called from his birthplace Heek (located near

Ahaus Ahaus (; Westphalian: ''Ausen'') is a town in the district of Borken in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands, lying some 20 km south-east of Enschede and 15 km south from Gr ...

, then in the Duchy of Westphalia). Hegius learned, likely in Emmerich, Greek from

Rodolphus Agricola Rodolphus Agricola ( la, Rudolphus Agricola Phrisius; August 28, 1443, or February 17, 1444 – October 27, 1485) was a pre- Erasmian humanist of the Northern Low Countries, famous for his knowledge of Latin and Greek. He was an educator, music ...

.Akkerman, F., & Vanderjagt, A. J. (Eds.). (1988).
Rodolphus Agricola Phrisius, 1444-1485: proceedings of the international conference at the University of Groningen, 28-30 October 1985 (Vol. 6)
'. Leiden: Brill. P. 182. In 1474 he settled down at Deventer in the Netherlands, where he either founded or succeeded to the headship of a school, which became famous for the number of its distinguished alumni. First and foremost of these was

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

; others were

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 ...

and Murmellius, the missionaries of humanism, Conrad Goclenius (Gockelen), Conrad Mutianus (Muth von Mudt) and Frans van Cranevelt. This work in turn cites: * Dietrich Reichling, “Beiträge zur Charakteristik des Alex. Hegius, Joseph Hortenius, &c.” in the ''Monatsschrift fur Westdeutschland'' (1877) *Hermann Hamelmann, ''Opera genealogico-historica'' (1711) * Heinrich August Erhard, ''Geschichte des Wiederaufblühens wissenschaftlicher Bildung'' (1826) * Karl Krafft and Wilhelm Crecelius, editors, “Alexander Hegius und seine Schüler,” from the works of Johannes Butzbach, one of Hegius's pupils, in ''Zeitschrift des bergischen Geschichtsvereins'', vii (Bonn, 1871) *Nauert, C. G. (1985)
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 446 to 593 (1516 to 1517). (Collected Works of Erasmus, volume 4.) Translated by RAB Mynors and DFS Thomson; annotated by James K. McConica
Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1977. ''Renaissance Quarterly, 32''(2), 207-209. His writings, consisting of short poems, philosophical essays, grammatical notes and letters, were published after his death by his pupil Jacobus Faber. They display considerable knowledge of

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 ...

, but less 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 ...

, on the value of which he strongly insisted. Hegius's chief claim to be remembered rests not upon his published works, but upon his services in the cause of

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...

. He succeeded in abolishing the old-fashioned medieval textbooks and methods of instruction, and led his pupils to the study of the classical authors themselves. His generosity in assisting poor students exhausted a considerable fortune, and at his death he left nothing but his books and clothes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegius 1430s births 1498 deaths German Renaissance humanists German Roman Catholics People from Deventer