Ursula Canter

Ursula Canter (c. 1475 – c. 1510) was a Dutch scholar.

Because of her learning, she has been named 'Wonder of the world'. She is adopted into the works 1001 Vrouwen uit de Nederlandse geschiedenis; a compilation of 1001 biographies of famous women of the Netherlands.

Biography Ursula Canter was born around 1475 in Groningen. She was the daughter of the Groningen scholar and lawyer Johannes Canter (c. 1424–c. 1499) and his wife Abele (died after 15 June 1516), who was also reputed to be highly educated. Her brothers and sister became well-known scholars. Older sister Ghebbe Canter was a nun and scholar; Jacob Canter wrote a prose dialogue and poetry; Andreas Canter became a humanist and city poet of Cologne and Johannes Jr., became an astrologer at the court of Frederick III. The lived in the . Her father insisted that Latin be spoken in the household, including by the maid. As a result, the children spoke Latin more fluently than their native language.

The first mention of Ursula Canter appears in 1489 in the debut work of her brother Jacob, which he dedicated to her. He described her as a learned girl at the time. According to the Koelhoffsche Chronik, her Latin was described as very "artful" and "elegant." The humanist Johannes Butzbach mentioned her in his De illustribus mulieribus, stating that she was educated by her father from the cradle in all disciplines of philosophy, theology, and the liberal arts. Even the most learned men were said to have been outmatched by the eloquence of this "wonder of the world," who, according to Butzbach, was not only beautiful and learned but also honorable and virtuous. Ursula Canter left no known written works.

Although no writings by Ursula herself are known to survive, she is recognized as part of a rare group of educated women active in the humanist and religious life of the late medieval Northern Netherlands. She is adopted into the works 1001 Vrouwen uit de Nederlandse geschiedenis; a compilation of 1001 biographies of famous women of the Netherlands.