4. =Thomas à Kempis=, formerly Hamerken, was born in A.D. 1380 at Kempen, near Cologne. He was educated at Deventer, and died as sub-prior of the convent of St. Agnes, near Zwoll, in A.D. 1471. To him, and not to the chancellor Gerson, according to the now universally accepted opinion, belongs the world renowned book _De Imitatione Christi_. Reprinted about five thousand times, oftener than any other book except the Bible, it has been also translated into more languages than any other. Free from all Romish superstition, it is read by Catholics and Protestants, and holds an unrivalled position as a book of devotion. A photographic reproduction of the original edition of A.D. 1441 was published from the autograph MSS. of Thomas, by Ch. Ruelans, London, 1879.[338] III. The Church and the People. § 115A. PUBLIC WORSHIP AND THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE. Preaching in the vernacular was carried on mainly by the Brothers of the Common Life, the mystics, and several heretical sects, _e.g._ Waldensians, Wiclifites, Hussites, etc.; and stimulated by their example, others began to follow the same practice. The so called _Biblia pauperum_ set forth in pictures the New Testament history with its Old Testament types and prophecies; _Bible Histories_ made known among the people the Scripture stories in a connected form; and, after the introduction of printing, the German _Plenaries_ helped also to spread the knowledge of God’s word by renderings for private use of the principal parts of the service. For the instruction of the people in faith and morals a whole series of _Catechisms_ was constructed after a gradually developed type. The “Dance of Death” in its various forms reminded of the vanity of all earthly pleasures. The spirit of the Reformation was shown during this period in the large number of hymns written in the vernacular. Church music too received a powerful impulse.