Johannes Von Tepl Article Index for
Johannes Von
Website Links For
Johannes
 

Information About

Johannes Von Tepl




Not much is known about him; historians presume that he probably studied at universities in Prague , Bologna and Padua . In 1383 , he became a solicitor in Žatec (Saaz) and in 1386 a rector of the town's Latin school. From the year 1411 on, he lived in Prague . He spent almost all his life in Bohemian kingdom during the reign of kings Charles and Wenceslaus .

Johannes von Tepl is best known for his early- Humanist poetry work ''Der Ackermann aus Böhmen'' (''Ploughman of Bohemia''), sometimes also called ''Der Ackermann und der Tod'', written around 1401 and first printed in 1460 . It is a dialogue of the Death and Ploughman, whose wife Margaretha recently died. Central themes of the book are their opposing views on life, mankind, and morality. (In history of Bohemia, ploughman is an important symbol of Bohemian kings — Přemysl , the legendary founder of the Přemyslid Dynasty , was originally a ploughman.) The poem is regarded as one of the most important German poems in Late Middle Ages .


EXTERNAL LINKS