HEMMINGSEN, NIELS (Nicolaus Heinmingii): Danish theologian; b. at Erindlev, island of Lolland, Denmark, June 4, 1513; d. at Roskilde, Zealand, May 23, 1600. He studied under the humanist Niels Black at Roskilde, and at the age of twentyfour went to Wittenberg, where he was graduated B.D., and became a devoted follower of Melanchthon. In 1542 he returned to Denmark, and was appointed privat-docent at the University of Copenhagen; in 1543 he became instructor in Greek, and in 1545 lecturer in Hebrew and professor of dialectics; in 1553 he was appointed professor of theology.

In 1555 he published his De methodis, the second volume of which treats of hermeneutics and rhetoric. His Enchirldion theologicum appeared in 1557, and became popular in Denmark and abroad as a handbook of dogmatics and ethics. He was a pronounced adherent of Melanchthon, and he considers his own work merely an aid to the deeper understanding of Melauchthon's opus sacrosanetum. His Enchiridion consists of four parts, the first treating of the covenant of grace and the kingdom of Christ; the second, of man's duties toward God, dwelling especially on the ten commandments; the third, of the three articles of faith, the Lord's Prayer, and the importance of traditional teachings; and the fourth, of the public and private duties of a Christian. Of still greater importance from an ethical point of view is his De loge naturm apodictica methodes (Wittenberg, 1562).

When the waves of Crypto-Calvinism reached Denmark Hemmingsen was called upon to defend the Lutheran conception of the Lord's Supper, which he did in his Tavle om Herrens Nadvere (" Table of the Lord's Supper "); in consequence of this he came to be regarded as the foremost theologian in Denmark. In 1569 he was entrusted with the task of drafting the twenty-five articles of religion to which every foreigner who settled in Denmark had to conform; and in the following year he published his Livsens Vej (" The Path of Life "), a compendium of the teachings he himself followed during his long nareer.

When at the very summit of his greatness Hemmingsen published (1572 and 1574) certain writings which displayed a leaning toward Crypto-Calvinism, and King Frederick II. forbade him to engage in any disputations concerning the Lord's Supper. Repeated accusations on the part of the duke and duchess of Saxony, who were related to the king, compelled Frederick II. further to demand that he renounce his Crypto-Calvinistic tendencies altogether; and he had to retract his utterances publicly. The accusations continued;' and the king finally deposed Hemmingsen. On July 29, 1579, he was dismissed from his professorship, and ordered to leave Copenhagen. He went to Roskilde, where for

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$emeru Henderson twenty years he occupied himself with studies, officiating also as protector of the cathedral there. Upon the death of Frederick II. he again ventured to publish his writings, and his commentary on the Gospel of St. John, accompanied by a Tractatus de gratis universali (Copenhagen, 1591), showed that he was no adherent of Calvin as far as the latter's teachings of predestination were concerned. In 1599, however, he wrote some Spbrgsmaal og Svar om Alterens Sakramente (" Questions and Answers concerning the Lord's Supper "), which proved that his conceptions of the Lord's Supper were more Calvinistic than Lutheran.

(F. Nielsen).

Bibliography: E. Pontokopidan AnnaUs eodesim

Danie~. vol. iii., Copenhagen, 1747; H. Roerdam, %i~= Unioeraiteta Historie 165'7-1621, ii. 425 sqq., ib. 1869 sqq.; J. H. Paulli, Niels Hemmingsem Pastoradtheologie, ib. 1851.