Niels Hemmingsen

Niels Hemmingsen (1513 to 1600), who used the Latin name Nicolaus Hemmingius, was a Danish Lutheran theologian born at Errindlev on Lolland. After Latin schooling at Nysted and Roskilde he studied at Wittenberg from 1537 to 1542, where the humanistic theology of Philipp Melanchthon made a strong impression on him. He became professor of Greek at the University of Copenhagen in 1543 and of theology in 1553, and was its vice chancellor from 1572. He gained great influence as a teacher and as adviser to the king, and wrote prolifically in Latin, including a 1575 warning against witchcraft. He was suspended from teaching in 1579 and spent his last years at Roskilde.