John Krämer (known also as Institor, a Latin form of his surname) was a German

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

writer. Born about the end of the fourteenth century, he must have died between 1437 and 1440, as a manuscript of the Carthusian monastery of Memmingen speaks of the gift made to it by Krämer in 1437, and the general chapter of the Carthusian Order held in 1440 mentions his death. He entered Buxheim Charterhouse, in the

Diocese of Augsburg Diocese of Augsburg () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich. History Early history The present city of Augsburg appears in Strabo as ''Damasia'', a stronghold of t ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

; he is sometimes called John of Buxheim.

Works

His works include two treatises published by

Bernard Pez Bernhard Pez (22 February 1683, at Ybbs near Melk – 27 March 1735, at Melk, Lower Austria) was an Austrian Benedictine historian and librarian. Life He studied at Vienna and Krems, and in 1699 entered Melk Abbey. Having studied the classi ...

in his ''Bibliotheca ascetica''. Typically for the Carthusians of the fifteenth century, they show a rigorous

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

, only a little qualified (under the influence of

Denis the Carthusian Denis the Carthusian (1402–1471), also known as Denys van Leeuwen, Denis Ryckel, Dionysius van Rijkel, Dionysius Carthusianus, Denys le Chartreux (or other combinations of these terms), was a Roman Catholic theologian and mystic. Life Denis w ...

). One of these is entitled ""; it consists of two parts. In the first part the author teaches a good religious divers means and practices which he should observe in order to remain a faithful Christian, to acquire, on earth, the grace of perfection and, in heaven, ever-lasting happiness. In the second part, by a quaint allegory, he puts the religious on his guard against the faults of monastic life which are represented by twenty birds of prey, the eagle, the vulture, the hawk, the owl, etc., whose characteristics and manners he describes. Though written in an uncultured style, the book was much read in the monasteries of the Middle Ages. The subject of Krämer's second book is against

anger Anger, also known as wrath ( ; ) or rage (emotion), rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong, uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experie ...

, as indicated by its title, "". An unpublished treatise, "", has also been sometimes attributed to Krämer, but without sufficient warrant.

References

;Attribution The entry cites: *

, VII (Ratisbon, 1723-), 119–388; *Theodorus Petreius, (Cologne, 1609); *

Johann Albert Fabricius Johann Albert Fabricius (11 November 1668 – 30 April 1736) was a German classical scholar and bibliographer. Biography Fabricius was born in Leipzig, son of Werner Fabricius, director of music in the church of St. Paul at Leipzig, who was the ...

, (Florence, 1898 -) III; *Pierre Edouard Puyol, (Paris, 1899). {{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, John 15th-century German writers Carthusians German Christian monks 15th-century Roman Catholics German male writers Writers from Bavaria