Macropedius

Georgius Macropedius (born Joris van Lanckvelt; 23 April 1487 – 23 July 1558) was a Dutch humanist, schoolmaster and "the greatest Latin playwright of the 16th century."

==Biography== Macropedius was born as Joris van Lanckvelt in Gemert (Northern Brabant, the Netherlands) in 1487. Little is known about his boyhood. After having attended the parish school, Joris van Lanckvelt moved to 's-Hertogenbosch. Here, he attended the local grammar school. Joris lived in one of the boarding-houses of the Brothers of the Common Life, who were followers of the Modern Devotion. In 1502, at the age of fifteen, he became a member of the fraternity and prepared for a career in teaching. About ten years later he was ordained and started teaching Latin at the municipal grammar school. In the years 1506–1510 he had already started writing plays in Renaissance Latin for his students. The first drafts of his drama Asotus (The Prodigal Son) date from this period. He took on a classic name, as was the custom among sixteenth century humanists. Joris became Georgius and Van Lanckvelt was translated into Macropedius.