Originary of Neuenrade, in
Westphalia, he studied in
Frankfurt (Oder) (1545/46) and in
Wittenberg (1547), where he was an alumn of
Philipp Melanchthon. In 1552 Wilken was recommended by him to teach at the Latin Cathedral School in
Riga, becoming rector in 1554. In 1561 he studied at the
University of Rostock and in 1563 he became professor of
Greek language in the Faculty of Arts at the
University of Heidelberg. In 1585 he published, under the
pseudonym of Augustine Lercheimer, "
Christlich bedenken und erinnerung von Zauberey" (i.e.:
Christian memory about witchcraft), his book against the
persecution of witches. Some
witchcraft theorists, as
Johann Georg Gödelmann and
Anton Praetorius, were influenced by Wilken. ==References==