Nikolaus Kempf

Nikolaus Kempf was a German mystical theologian. He was a professor at the University of Vienna until he became a Carthusian monk in 1440. He served as the prior of three different charterhouses between 1447 and 1490. Over 35 works have been attributed to him.

Life

Kempf was born around 1414 in Strasbourg. His father's name is not known. His mother, Elisabeth, died in 1461; his brother Matthias in 1474; and his sister Elisabeth in 1467. By 1433, he was teaching at the University of Vienna. By 1437, he was one of the regent masters there. On 6 September 1440, he entered the Gaming Charterhouse as a monk. He served as the prior of the charterhouses of , Gaming and Pleterje. He died on 20 November 1497 in Gaming.

Works

There are over thirty-five works in Latin attributed to Kempf, although not all survive.

Disputata super Libros posteriorum Aristotelis, a disputation on the Posterior Analytics
Regulae grammaticales, a treatise on grammar
Tractatus de sollicitudine superiorum habenda erga subditorum et innocentiam custodiam, a pedagogical treatise on bringing up children in the fear of God
Dialogus de recto studiorum fine ac ordine et fugiendis vitae saecularis vanitatibus, a tract for monastic novices
Tractatus de proponentibus religionis ingressum de anna probacionis usque ad professionem inclusive, a treatise on the novitiate
De discretione, a dialogue between Humility and Pride
De tribus essentialibus omnium religiosorum, a treatise on obedience, voluntary poverty and chastity
De vera, perfecta, et spirituali caritate
De vera et falsa caritate inter fratres in unum habitantes
De peccatis caritati contrariis scilicet inpatientia, ira, invidia, et odio et suis filiabus et nepotatibus
De suspicionibus
Tractatus de capitulo religiosorum, a long discourse on the weekly chapter of faults
Memoriale primorum principiorum in seolis virtutum
A pair of sermons: Sermones super epistolas et evangelia de tempore per totum annum and Super evangelia
De confirmatione et regula approbata ordinis cartusiensis, a defence of the Carthusian order
Tractatus de colloquio, a treatise on the sins of the tongue
Super statuta ordinis cartusiensis
De ostensione regni Dei, a summary of Kempf's mystical theology, based on material originally delivered to monks orally and thus containing some German phrases
Tractatus de mystica theologia
Explanatio in Cantica canticorum, a work of 400 pages in eight parts on the Song of Songs, containing some German phrases
Tractatus de affectibus formandis in horis sive in officio divino
Expositio canonis totius missae, a series of glosses on the words of the Divine Office
Sermones sanctorum dies et festis, a cycle of sermons

Works 8–11 on love and vice were usually copied as a group.
Among the known lost works of Kempf are De modo confitendi peccata; venialia all of his letters; and treatises on the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed and the Ten Commandments written for Elizabeth of Luxembourg. Kempf is reported to have translated several works, including some of his own, into German, but none of these survive. Among these translations are his own De discretione, De capitulo and De affectibus formandis in horis sive officio divino; sermons of Pseudo-Augustine and Pseudo-Origen; the Tractatus de proprietate monachorum of Heinrich von Langenstein; and works of Jean Gerson. On the basis of these reports, Kempf has been associated with the Viennese school of translation. The translation of the Carthusian statutes into German at Gaming may have taken place under Kempf's supervision.

Works cited

Category:1410s births
Category:1497 deaths
Category:Carthusians