Originally Alexander Alane, he was born at
Edinburgh. He studied at
St Andrews in the newly founded college of St Leonard's, where he graduated in 1515. Some time afterwards he was appointed a
priest at the University's church, where he preached vigorously in favor of
scholastic theology,
Renaissance humanism, and
anti-Protestantism. His views entirely changed, however, upon witnessing the 1528
execution by burning of Rev.
Patrick Hamilton, a Lutheran Pastor and former abbot of Fern. Fr. Ales was chosen to meet Hamilton in a theological debate, with a view to convincing him of the errors of
Lutheranism, but the theological arguments of the Scottish minister and, above all, his fortitude at the stake impressed Alesius so powerfully that he immediately embraced Lutheran theology. A sermon he preached before the
Synod at St Andrews against the dissoluteness of the clergy offended the
provost, who placed him in prison, and might have carried his resentment further if Alesius had not escaped to Germany in 1532. After travelling through northern Europe, he settled down at
Wittenberg, where he befriended
Martin Luther and
Philipp Melanchthon and signed the
Augsburg confession. Meanwhile, he was tried by the Bishops of the
Catholic Church in Scotland for
heresy and condemned to death
in absentia. In 1533 a decree by the Scottish Bishops, prohibiting the reading of the
New Testament by the laity, drew from Alesius a defence of the right of the people, in the form of an
open letter to King
James V of Scotland. but when he had delivered a few expositions of the Hebrew
psalms, he was prevented from continuing by the anti-Protestant party. Returning to London he supported himself for some time by practising as a physician. In 1537 he attended a convocation of the clergy, and at the request of Cromwell Alesius debated with
John Stokesley,
Bishop of London, on the nature of the
sacraments. His argument was published in 1544 under the title In 1539 Alesius was compelled to flee for a second time to Germany, as a result of Thomas Cromwell's fall from the King's favour and the enactment of the statute of the
Six Articles. He was appointed to a theological chair at the university of
Frankfurt an der Oder, where he was the first professor to teach Lutheran theology. He was in England again for a short time during
Edward VI's reign, and was commissioned by Cranmer to make a
Latin translation of the
First Prayer-Book (1549) for the use of
Martin Bucer, whose opinion was desired. Returning to
Leipzig he passed the remainder of his days in peace and honour, and was twice elected Rector of the
University. == Works ==