_Johannes Trithemius_ (Vol. iv., p. 442.).--This noted historian and
divine was born at Trittenheim, in the electorate of Treves, in 1462. He
became abbot of Spanheim about 1482, where he made a rich collection of
manuscript and printed books. In 1506 he was appointed abbot of St.
James at Wurtzbourg. His writings are numerous, and there is an ample
collection of them in the British Museum. In his _Nepiachus_ he gives an
account of his life and studies. He died at Wurtzbourg in 1516. The
learned and judicious Daunou thus characterises the volume _De
scriptoribus ecclesiasticis_: "Malgre beaucoup d'omissions et d'erreurs,
ce livre a ete fort utile a ceux qui ont depuis mieux traite la meme
matiere; on le consulte encore aujourd'hui."
Leland, Bale, Pits, and Wharton, have recorded their obligations to
Trithemius. The venerable Leland quotes him frequently, under the name
of Trittemius, and styles him "homo diligentiae plane maximae nec minoris
lectionis."