500th anniversary of death of Thomas von Kempen - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1971 - 30 Pfennig

Thomas Hemerken, called von Kempen, was born in 1379/80 in Kempen (Lower Rhine). Very early on, the son of ordinary people came to the school in Deventer, which had started the fraternal movement. At age 20, he joined the Augustinerchorherrenstift on the Agnetenberg in Zwolle. Here he stayed as a priest and monk until his death on May 1 or July 25, 1471. Through his tireless writing activity, he contributed to the maintenance of the community. A Bible written by him and decorated with pictures in 5 volumes is one of the treasures of the Hessian State Library in Darmstadt. The withdrawn quiet spirit of the monastery corresponded to the life and beliefs of Thomas. He had absorbed the teachings of the "new piety" (devotio moderna), which emanated from Gert Groote († 1384 in Deventer), and spread them in numerous sacred works. Its most mature fruit was found in the four books of the "following of Christ," next to the Bible the most widely read book of Christianity. Here Thomas gave the religious thought of his time its definitive and permanent formulation. It is a guide to Christian life for every Christian. His epitaph characterizes the man Thomas and the turbulent time in which he lived: nowhere is peace, except in the cell, in a book, in Christ. I sought peace everywhere and found it only "in a hunchback with a book" (= in a little corner with a little book).