Nicolaus Clenardus

Biography
1495 - 1542

About the artist

Nicolaus Clenardus (1493/1495, Diest – 1542, Granada), also called Nicolas Cleynaerts or Clenard, was a humanist and among the first generation of students to be imbued with the educational and religious ideals of Erasmus at the newly founded Collegium Trilingue (trilingual college) Busleiden of the University of Leuven. He received his degree in Theology in 1527 and entered the priesthood in that same year. Cleynaerts published a Hebrew grammar and a Greek grammar, which latter became very popular throughout Europe, and he developed a method for learning Latin, based on conversation. In 1532 he left for Spain. For a while he was appointed a librarian to Fernando Colón, son of Cristóbal Colón (Columbus). Further he taught Greek at Salamanca. In 1533 he travelled to Portugal and was invited to the Court as a tutor to Dom Henrique, brother of João III. Cleynaerts established a humanist college at Braga. Returning home he found another patron in Louis Mendoza, Governor of Granada. In that city he met a Moorish slave, who familiarized him with islamic theology. To harmonize christianity and islam was Cleynards goal in life. He didn’t succeed in getting access to Arabic manuscripts in Spain. Therefore he travelled to Africa in 1540. He stayed in Fez, where he also lacked cooperation. Disappointed he returned to Granada. There he died in the autumn of 1542 and was buried in the Alhambra.

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