author
von Tepl Johannes
d. 1414
Best known for Der Ackermann aus Böhmen, this late medieval Bohemian writer helped shape early German prose with a vivid dialogue between a grieving husband and Death. He was also a town clerk and notary, bringing a practical, worldly voice to one of the period’s most memorable literary works.
1 Audiobook
Der Ackermann aus Böhmen
by von Tepl Johannes
About the author
Born around 1350 in Bohemia, Johannes von Tepl is associated with places including Schüttwa and Tepl, and he is also known as Johannes von Saaz. Sources describe him not only as a writer, but also as a notary, schoolmaster, and later a town clerk, roles that place him firmly in the educated urban world of late medieval Bohemia.
He is remembered above all for Der Ackermann aus Böhmen (also known as Der Ackermann und der Tod), written around 1400 or 1401. In this striking prose dialogue, a ploughman argues with Death after the loss of his wife. The work is often described as an important early achievement in German prose and as a bridge between medieval thought and early humanist writing.
Johannes von Tepl appears to have died in Prague in 1414 or 1415. Even with some uncertainty about the details of his life, his reputation rests securely on a single extraordinary work that gave grief, anger, and moral debate an unusually powerful literary form.