Gerard Groote, otherwise Gerrit or Gerhard Groet, in Latin Gerardus Magnus, was a Dutch Catholic deacon, who was a popular preacher and the founder of the Brethren of the Common Life. He was a key figure in the Devotio Moderna movement.
The beginning of the Book of the Hours of Geert Groote
Museum Geert Grote Huis, Deventer (2016)
Excerpt from a "simple" Middle Dutch book of hours, using the translation of Geert Groote. Made in the 2nd half of the fifteenth century in Brabant.
Brethren of the Common Life
The Brethren of the Common Life was a Roman Catholic pietist religious community founded in the Netherlands in the 14th century by Gerard Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a life of simple devotion to Jesus Christ. They believed that Christianity should be practiced not only in formal religious settings, but also in everyday life, and they sought to promote a practical spirituality that emphasized personal piety and devotion.
Entrance of the Waghäusel monastery