Johann von Kaisersberg, Swiss Catholic Orator

Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg (March 16, 1445 - March 10, 1510), was a Swiss-born priest, considered one of the greatest of the popular preachers of the 15th century. He was closely connected with the humanists of Strasbourg, whose leader was Jacob of Wimpheling, called the educator of Germany'. Both fought the ecclesiastical abuses of the age and looked for salvation and preservation only in the restoration of Christian morals in Church and State through the faithful. maintenance of the doctrines of the Church. The numerous volumes of Geiler's sermons and writings which have been published do not give a complete picture of the characteristic qualities of the preacher. An orator, Geiler sought, without regard to other considerations, was to produce the most powerful effect on his hearers. His works are an important source for the history of the civilization of those times. His thoughts were expressed in the language of ordinary life: Geiler's writings are a source for the knowledge of the speech, customs and beliefs of the common people at the beginning of the sixteenth century. In 1510 he began having kidney trouble which developed into dropsy. He died on the fourth Sunday of Lent four days shy of his 65th birthday. He was buried at the foot of the pulpit which had been especially built for him

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