Geert Groote (1340 – 20 August 1384), otherwise Gerrit or Gerhard Groet, in Latin Gerardus Magnus,was a preacher and founder of the Brethren of the Common Life. Events Europe has about 74 million inhabitants. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events May / September 3 - Siege of Lisbon by the Castilian army, during the 1383-1385 Crisis Births Antoine, Duke of Brabant (died 1415) St Frances of Rome (died 1440) Khalil Sultan, ruler of Transoxiana (died 1411) Deaths January 1 - King Charles II of Navarre (b. ... The Brethren of the Common Life was a religious community founded in the 14th century by Geert Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a life of simple devotion. ...

Biography

Birth and education

He was born at Deventer in the diocese of Utrecht, where his father held a good civic position. He studied at Aachen, then went to the University of Paris when only fifteen. Here he studied scholastic philosophy and theology at the Sorbonne under a pupil of William of Occam's, from whom he imbibed the nominalist conception of philosophy; in addition he studied canon law, medicine, astronomy and even magic, and apparently some Hebrew. After a brilliant course he graduated in 1358. He pursued his studies still further in Cologne. Deventer is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel on the east bank of the IJssel river. ... The origin of the Diocese dates back to 695 when St. ... Aachen (French Aix-la-Chapelle, Dutch Aken, Latin Aquisgranum, Ripuarian Oche) is a spa city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, 65 km to the west of Cologne, and the westernmost city in Germany. ... The Sorbonne, Paris, in a 17th century engraving The historic University of Paris (French: Université de Paris) first appeared in the second half of the 12th century, but was in 1970 reorganized as 13 autonomous universities (University of Paris I–XIII). ... The Philosopher (detail), by Rembrandt Philosophy is a study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... This article is about the Collège de Sorbonne. ... William of Ockham (also Occam or any of several other spellings) (ca. ... In Western culture, canon law is the law of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. ... Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining human health or restoring it through the treatment of disease and injury. ... Lunar astronomy: the large crater is Daedalus, photographed by the crew of Apollo 11 as they circled the Moon in 1969. ... Magic or sorcery are terms referring to the alleged influencing of events and physical phenomena by supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel with the West Bank, the United States, and Jewish communities around the world. ... Events Jacquerie. ... Cologne Cathedral with Hohenzollern Bridge Cologne (German: (help· info) ; Kölsch: Kölle) is Germanys fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the largest...

Religious life

In 1366 he visited the papal court at Avignon. About this time he was appointed to a canonry in Utrecht and to another in Aachen, and the life of the brilliant young scholar was rapidly becoming luxurious, secular and selfish, when a great spiritual change passed over him which resulted in a final renunciation of every worldly enjoyment. This conversion, which took place in 1374, appears to have been due partly to the effects of a dangerous illness and partly to the influence of Henry de Calcar, the learned and pious prior of the Carthusian monastery at Munnikhuizen near Arnhem, who had remonstrated with him on the vanity of his life. Events Births Anne of Bohemia, Queen consort of Richard II of England. ... View over the Rhône River to North-East with Mt Ventoux at the rear Palais des papes Square below the Palace of the Popes Paul Vs coat-of-arms on the Palais des papes The Notre Dame des Doms cathedral is located in the heart of Avignon, near... Aachen (French Aix-la-Chapelle, Dutch Aken, Latin Aquisgranum, Ripuarian Oche) is a spa city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, 65 km to the west of Cologne, and the westernmost city in Germany. ... Events June 24 - Dancing mania begins in Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), possibly due to ergotism King Gongmin is assassinated and King U ascends to the Goryeo throne Births April 11 - Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, heir to the throne of England (died 1398) Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist (died 1444... A Carthusian Monastery in Jerez, Spain The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. ... Arnhem is a municipality and a city in the east of the Netherlands, located on the Lower Rhine, and the capital of the Gelderland province. ...

About 1376 Gerhard retired to this monastery and there spent three years in meditation, prayer and study, without, however, becoming a Carthusian. In 1379, having received ordination as a deacon, he became a missionary preacher throughout the diocese of Utrecht. The success which followed his labors not only in the town of Utrecht, but also in Zwolle, Deventer, Kampen, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Gouda, Leiden, Delft, Zutphen and elsewhere, was immense; according to Thomas à Kempis the people left their business and their meals to hear his sermons, so that the churches could not hold the crowds that flocked together wherever he came. // Events March – The treaty between England and France is extended until April of 1377. ... Events Robert of Geneva, the butcher of Cesena was elected as Pope Clement VII. This led to a schism in the Catholic church with one pope in Rome (Pope Gregory XI and the antipope (Clement VII) in Avignon. ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... Country: Netherlands Province: Overijssel Coordinates: 52°30′ N 6°5′ E Area - Land - Water 119. ... Kampen may refer: Kampen, Germany on the island Sylt Kampen, Netherlands a town a city district in Oslo, Norway a city district (in Finnish: Kamppi) in Helsingfors (Helsinki), Finland This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Amsterdam Location Flag Country Netherlands Province North Holland Population 742,951(1 January 2005) Coordinates Website www. ... Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, capital of the North Holland province. ... Goudas 15th Century Town Hall Flag of Gouda Gouda (population 71,797 in 2004) is a city in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. ... Leyden redirects here. ... Delft is a city in South Holland (Zuid-Holland), the Netherlands, located halfway between Rotterdam and The Hague (Den Haag). ... Zutphen (old alternate spelling: Zutfen) is a municipality and a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands on the right bank of the IJssel at the influx of the Berkel, and a junction station 29 km by rail N.N.E. of Arnhem. ... Thomas à Kempis Monument on Mount Saint Agnes in Zwolle. ...

The bishop of Utrecht supported him warmly, and got him to preach against concubinage in the presence of the clergy assembled in synod. The impartiality of his censures, which he directed not only against the prevailing sins of the laity, but also against heresy, simony, avarice, and impurity among the secular and regular clergy, provoked the hostility of the clergy, and accusations of heterodoxy were brought against him. It was in vain that Groot emitted a Publica Protestatio, in which he declared that Jesus was the great subject of his discourses, that in all of them he believed himself to be in harmony with Catholic doctrine, and that he willingly subjected them to the candid judgment of the Roman Church. The origin of the Diocese dates back to 695 when St. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... Simony is the ecclesiastical crime and personal sin of paying for offices or positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus, who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:18-24. ... Jesus (8-2 BC/BCE– 29-36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ...

The bishop was induced to issue an edict which prohibited from preaching all who were not in priest's orders, and an appeal to Urban VI was without effect. There is a difficulty as to the date of this prohibition; either it was only a few months before Groot's death, or else it must have been removed by the bishop, for Groot seems to have preached in public in the last year of his life. Urban VI, born Bartolomeo Prignano (Naples 1318 – Rome October 15, 1389), Pope from 1378 to 1389, was a devout monk and learned casuist, trained at Avignon. ...

At some period (perhaps 1381, perhaps earlier) he paid a visit of some days' duration to the famous mystic Johann Ruysbroeck, prior of the Augustinian canons at Groenendaal near Brussels; at this visit was formed Groot's attraction for the rule and life of the Augustinian canons which was destined to bear such notable fruit, At the close of his life he was asked by some of the clerics who attached themselves to him to form them into a religious order and Groot resolved that they should be canons regular of St Augustine. No time was lost in the effort to carry out the project but Groot died before a foundation could be made. Events June 12 - Peasants Revolt: In England rebels arrive at Blackheath. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430), are several Roman Catholic monastic orders and congregations of both men and women living according to a guide to religious life known as the Rule of Saint Augustine. ... Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, pronounced ; French: Bruxelles, pronounced in Belgian French and often by non-Belgian speakers of French; German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium, the French Community of...

In 1387 however, a site was secured at Windesheim, some 20 miles north of Deventer, and here was established the monastery that became the cradle of the Windesheim congregation of canons regular embracing in course of time nearly one hundred houses, and leading the way in the series of reforms undertaken during the 15th century by all the religious orders in Germany. To initiation of this movement was the great achievement of Groot life; he lived to preside over the birth and first days of his other creation, the society of Brethren of the Common Life. He died of the plague at Deventer in 1384, at the age of 44. Events June 2 - John Holland, a maternal half-brother of Richard II of England, is created Earl of Huntingdon. ... The Brethren of the Common Life was a religious community founded in the 14th century by Geert Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a life of simple devotion. ... Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411). ...

The chief authority for Groot's life is Thomas à Kempis, Vita Gerardi Magni (translated into English by JP Arthur, The Founders of the New Devotion, 1905); also the Chronicon Windeshemense of Johann Busch (ed. K Grube, 1886). An account, based on these sources, will be found in S Kettlewell, Thomas à Kempis and the Brothers of Common Life (1882), i. c. 5; and a shorter account in FR Cruise, Thomas à Kempis, 1887, pt. ii. An excellent sketch, with an account of Groots writings, is given by L Schulze in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopädie (ed. 3); he insists on the fact that Groot's theological and ecclesiastical ideas were those commonly current in his day. and that the attempts to make him a reformer before the Reformation are unhistorical.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

• The Catholic Encyclopedia
• History of the Christian Church - CCEL