Johannes Despauterius

Jan de Spauter (Ninove, c. 1480 – Komen, 1520) was a prominent Flemish humanist.

At the age of 18 Despauterius went to the humanistic college De Lelie in Leuven where he studied for three years.

After several years of teaching experience, Despauterius published books on Latin grammar (Syntaxis, Ars versificatoria, Grammatica pars prima and Ortographia).

They became the standard works of reference for the study of Latin for the following centuries in Western Europe.

At the end of the 17th century, James Kirkwood was asked what he thought of the Latin grammar of Despauter.