THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
at Zurich probably Sept. 11, 1388; d. at Lucerne before 1464. He descended from an old and wellto-do family, and in 1406 was matriculated at the University of Erfurt. Soon afterward, in 1408 or earlier, he appeared in Bologna, where he seems to have remained until 1412. In the beginning of that year he was chosen canon of the chapter of St. Felix and Regula in Zurich. In 1413 he was matriculated a second time in Erfurt, remaining there until he obtained the degree of bachelor from the faculty of canon law, probably in 1418. He was present at the Council of Constance. Probably at the end of 1421 he became provost of St. Ursus at Soleure and began his activity there with necessary reforms. In 1423 he reentered the University of Bologna to complete his studies, and associated with Johannes Andreas de Calderinis, and famous canonists like Petrus Aristotiles, Salicetus, Antonius de Albergatis, and Lamola. In 1424 he was made doctor of canon law. He was in Zurich from 1427 till 1454, and in 1428 became cantor of the cathedral. In 1429 he appears also as canon of St. Maurice in Zofingen . He quarreled with his chapter, and many censures, both just and unjust, were hurled at him. Even his life was in danger. After the citizens of Zurich had concluded peace with the confederates, they invited the latter to a great festival in the middle of Feb., 1454. On this occasion, probably at the instigation of Gundolfinger, vicar of the cathedral church in Constance, whom Hemerli had provoked, the confederates captured the canon and delivered him over to Gundolfinger, who imprisoned him in the castle of Gottlieben, and later in Mersburg. Then he was handed over to the people of Lucerne, who imprisoned him in a tower, and afterward in the Franciscan monastery where he died.
Hemerli fought with much courage against the ignorance, stupidity, and immorality of the clergy, not halting before the highest authorities of the Church. He attacked the abuses of the Church, and wrote against the Lollards and mendicant friars, establishing his literary fame by a treatise, Contra validos mendicantes (1438), which was edited later in German by Nicholas of Wyle under the title Von den vermogenden Bettlern (possibly in Translation oder Tiitschungen etlicher Biicher, Esslingen, 1478 ?, Augsburg, 1536). In De libertate ecclesiastica he approved the efforts of the Council of Basel to abolish the celibacy of the clergy. Of his legal works may be mentioned Tractatus de matrimonio, De em-ptione et venditione unius pro viginti, and Processus judiciarius. His principal work is his great political Dialogus de nobilitate, in which he vehemently attacked the enemies of his native city, the people of the canton of Schwyz. In 1452 he wrote the story of his sufferings in his Passionate. During his captivity he wrote Registrum querele, a solemn assertion of his innocence and a vehement accusation against Gundolfinger, and a Dialogus de consolatione inique suppressorum. Most of his writings were first edited by Sebastian Brant in 1497 (Basel). They were nearly all merely occasional tracts, lack breadth of view, profundity, and consistency, and aim at sensational effect, with a predilection for scandalous stories. Therefore
Hemerli's admonitions had little influence toward promoting a real reformation. (A. Schneider.)
Bibliography: B. Reber, Felix Hemmerlin von Zurich Zurich, 1846; F. Fiala, Dr. Felix Hemmerlin als Probst des S. Ursenstiftes zu Soloihurn, Soleure, 1857; J. J, Vogeli, Zum Verstandnis von . . Hammerlis Schrifleri Zurich, 1873; O. Lorenz, DGQ, i. 78, 119-121, ii. 40,5,' Berlin, 1886; A. Schneider, Der Zurcher Kanonikus uni Kantor Magister Felix Hemmerlin, Zurich, 1888.
HEMMINGSEN, NIELS (Nicolaus Hemmingii): Danish theologian; b. at Erindlev, island of Lolland, Denmark, June 4, 1513; d. at Roskilde, Zealand, May 23, 1600. He studied under the humanist Niels Black at Roskilde, and at the age of twentyfour went to Wittenberg, where he was graduated B.D., and became a devoted follower of Melanchthon. In 1542 he returned to Denmark, and was appointed privat-docent at the University of Copenhagen; in 1543 he became instructor in Greek, and in 1545 lecturer in Hebrew and professor of dialectics; in 1553 he was appointed professor of theology.
In 1555 he published his De methodis, the second volume of which treats of hermeneutics and rhetoric. His Enchiridion theologicum appeared in 15.57, and became popular in Denmark and abroad as a handbook of dogmatics and ethics. He was a pronounced adherent of Melanchthon, and he considers his own work merely an aid to the deeper understanding of Melanchthon's opus sacrosanctum. His Enchiridion consists of four parts, the first treating of the covenant of grace and the kingdom of Christ; the second, of man's duties toward God, dwelling especially on the ten commandments; the third, of the three articles of faith, the Lord's Prayer, and the importance of traditional teachings; and the fourth, of the public and private duties of a Christian. Of still greater importance from an ethical point of view is his De lege natural apodictica methodus (Wittenberg, 1562).
When the waves of Crypto-Calvinism reached Denmark Hemmingsen was called upon to defend the Lutheran conception of the Lord's Supper, which he did in his Tavle om Herrens Nadvere (" Table of the Lord's Supper "); in consequence of this he came to be regarded as the foremost theologian in Denmark. In 1569 he was entrusted with the task of drafting the twenty-five articles of religion to which every foreigner who settled in Denmark had to conform; and in the following year he published his Livsens Vej (" The Path of Life "), a compendium of the teachings he himself followed during his long career.
When at the very summit of his greatness Hemmingsen published (1572 and 1574) certain writings which displayed a leaning toward Crypto-Calvinism, and King Frederick II. forbade him to engage in any disputations concerning the Lord's Supper. Repeated accusations on the part of the duke and duchess of Saxony, who were related to the king, compelled Frederick II. further to demand that he renounce his Crypto-Calvinistic tendencies altogether; and he had to retract his utterances publicly. The accusations continued, and the king finally deposed Hemmingsen. On July 29, 1579, he was dismissed from his professorship, and ordered to leave Copenhagen. He went to Roskilde, where for