ECOLAMPADIUS, the Grecized name of Johanna Hausschein, one of the most eminent of the Reformers. He was descended by his mother's side from a Swiss family, and was born at Weinsberg in Franconia in 1482. His father, a wealthy merchant, at first intended him for trade, and afterwards sent him to Bologna to learn jurisprudence. But the timid youth, averse to the turmoil of business and fond of letters, soon entered upon the peaceful and studious life of an ecclesiastic. He studied divinity at Heidelberg, and Greek and Hebrew at Stuttgart; in 1516 he was preaching at Basle, and assisting his friend Erasmus in publishing Annotations on the New Testament; and in 1520 he retired into the monastery of Altenmünster, near Augsburg. Yet underneath this love of literary ease there was a strong sincerity of heart, which would not suffer him to remain undecided in the midst of the controversies of those reforming days. Before two years had passed, his attacks upon the creed of the Romish Church had brought him into danger: he escaped immediately from the convent, and took refuge in the castle of Eberburg; and in 1524 he undertook the duties of a preacher and a theological professor at Basle, with the avowed intention of teaching nothing but what was consistent with the Scrip-
tures. From this period Ecolampadius was a learned, tolerant, yet decided advocate of the opinions of the Reformed in Switzerland. In a short time his elegant and powerful eloquence had overcome all opposition in Basle; and a thorough reformation of the church in that town was going rapidly on under his superintendence. He then went to the assistance of Zwingle in the controversy with Luther regarding the real presence in the Eucharist. A treatise, entitled De vero intellectu verborum Domini "Hoc est Corpus Meum," was published by him in 1525; this was followed, as the controversy proceeded, by several letters and pamphlets; and in the celebrated discussion in 1529 at Marburg between the champions of the two parties, he entered the lists against the great German Reformer. He was still busily engaged both with tongue and pen in refuting the Lutherans, when death closed his career, in December 1531.
The principal works of Ecolampadius are—In Librum Job Exegemata—In Daniele Prophetam Libri Duo, fol. 1553; and Commentarii Omnes in Libros Prophetarum, in 2 vols. fol., 1558. His Life, written in Latin by Capito, and published in 4to, 1536, was translated into English, and printed along with those of Zwingle and Luther, by Henry Bennet Callesian, 8vo, London, 1561. There is also a Life, in German, by Herzog, in 2 vols., 1843.