Hegius, Alexander (c. 1433–1498)

German humanist and educator. He was born at Heek, Westphalia, and was a pupil of Thomas à Kempis and Rudolphus Agricola. His school in Deventer in the Netherlands, which he opened in 1474, played an important role in the development of humanism in northern Europe, its pupils including Erasmus and the future Adrian VI. In his teaching he stressed the importance of reading original classical sources rather than medieval commentaries on them.

Hegius produced a number of works that were published posthumously, but his real importance rests more on his teaching methods and his rejection of the formalism of medieval scholastic education. Although he stressed the importance of Greek, his knowledge of the language was considerably inferior to his grasp of Latin.