Comenius

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Comenius_University

Jan Amos Komenský (Latinized Comenius) (March 28, 1592, in Moravia (now the Czech Republic) – November 15, 1670, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) was a Czech teacher, scientist, educator and writer, known as teacher of nations. He was a Unity of the Brethren/Moravian protestant bishop, a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education eventually set forth in his book Didactica magna.

Life and work

The birthplace of Comenius is not known. There are three possible locations: Komná, Nivnice, or Uherský Brod in Moravia (now Czech Republic).

Komná is a small village where his parents lived and where he takes his name from. (Czech: Komná => Komenský; Comenius is a latinised form).
Nivnice is a village where he spent his childhood and the most likely birthplace.
Uherský Brod is a town where he moved during his childhood. There is a museum devoted to him there.

He studied at Herborn in Hesse and at Heidelberg. He was greatly influenced by the Irish Jesuit William Bathe, who wrote Janua Linguaram (The Messe of Tongues) as well as his teachers Johann Piscator, Heinrich Gutberleth and particularly Heinrich Alsted. The Herborn school held the principle that every theory has to be functional in practical use, therefore has to be didactic, ie morally instructive. Comenius had a few wrinkles on his mentors thoughts later published in Janua linguarum reserata which may have made him and the Moravian Church especial targets of the Counter reformation. Alternately, the work may have resulted from the pogroms which drove him and his church out of its homeland into exile, but in any event, the work led him to widespread prominence and fame while suffering exile.

Comenius became a pastor at age 24 and led the Brethren into exile when the protestants were persecuted under the counter-reformation. Comenius lived and worked in many different countries in Europe, among them Sweden, Poland, Transylvania, Germany, Prussia, England, Netherlands and Royal Hungary. Comenius took refuge in Leszno (Poland), where he led the gymnasium (a type of academy or preparatory school common in Central Europe of that time), then to Sweden to work with Queen Christina and the chancellor Oxenstierna. From 1642-1648 he went to Elbląg in Poland, then to England with the aid of Samuel Hartlib, who came originally from Elbląg. Comenius went to Leszno again and during Swedish aggression in 1655 declared his support for the protestant Swedish side, for which his house, his manuscripts and the school's printing press were burned down by Polish partisans in 1656. From there he took refuge in Amsterdam, where he died in 1670. For unclear reasons he was buried in Naarden, where his grave can be visited in the mausoleum devoted to him.

Among the interesting facts surrounding Comenius' life includes his being considered a father of modern education and being asked to be the first President of Harvard University.

His book, Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart, is actually a reflection of his life experience. Comenius and studies into his life and teachings have come to light since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

One of his daughters, Elisabeth, married Peter Figulus from Gdańsk. Their son, Daniel Ernest Jablonski, Comenius's grandson, later went to Berlin, where he became the highest official pastor at the court of Brandenburg - Prussia's Frederick I. There he was aided by count Ludwig von Zinzendorf. Zinzendorf was the first successor to Comenius as bishop in the renewed Moravian Brethren society.

Comenius was the author of numerous publications, such as Janua Linguarum Reserata (a new Dutch translation of CFJ Antonides has been completed), Orbis Pictus (World in Pictures) and the Protestant Hymn songbooks (Gesangbuch).

Legacy

During Czech National Revival (19th century) Jan Amos Komenský became idealised as one of the symbols of the Czech nation. This idealisation persists until today.

In Sárospatak (Hungary) a teacher's college is named after him (the college now belongs to the University of Miskolc.)

March 28, the birthday of Comenius, is celebrated as Teachers' Day in the Czech Republic.

The Comenius Medal, one of UNESCO’s most prestigious awards honouring outstanding achievements in the fields of education research and innovation is named after him.

In 1919 Comenius University was founded in Bratislava, nowadays the capital of Slovakia. It was the first university where Slovak language was spoken.

A European Union school partnership program Comenius - European Cooperation on School Education has been named after the teacher of nations.

Bibliography

Orbis Pictus
Gesangbuch
Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart
Spicilegium didacticum (1680)

External links

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Comenius

Life and work

Legacy

See also

Bibliography

External links