Daniel Tossanus (Toussain, Toussaint) (1541–1602) was a French Reformed theologian.

Life

He was born at

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...

on 15 July 1541, the son of

Pierre Toussain Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French language, French form of the name Peter (given name), Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via ...

. He was educated at

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

and

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thre ...

. Returning to France he preached for six months in his native town, and went to

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Montargis Montargis () is a commune in the Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, and contains light industry and farming, i ...

, where he was protected by the

duchess of Ferrara Lady of Ferrara House of Este, 1187–1264 Marchioness of Ferrara House of Este, 1264–1471 Duchess of Ferrara House of Este, 1471–1598 Notes Sources

* *{{MLCC , warning=1 , url=http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/MODENA, ...

until the king of France demanded the expulsion of all

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

s. He now sought refuge in

Sancerre Sancerre () is a medieval hilltop town (ville) and commune in the Cher department, France overlooking the river Loire. It is noted for its wine. History Located in the area of Gaul settled by the powerful Celtic (Gaule Celtique) tribe, the B ...

, and after a year returned to Montbéliard. Here he was charged with teaching

Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

and

Zwinglian The theology of Ulrich Zwingli was based on an interpretation of the Bible, taking scripture as the inspired word of God and placing its authority higher than what he saw as human sources such as the ecumenical councils and the church fathers. H ...

heresies; his reply was an affirmation of his

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

belief. In 1571 he was recalled to Orléans, and held service in the castle Isle, a few miles away. At the news of the massacre on St. Bartholomew's Day, he left just in time to escape the massacre and pillage at Isle the next day; and he was concealed by a Roman Catholic nobleman at Montargis and later by the duchess in a tower of her castle. In November 1572, he was able to return to his father at Montbéliard, but Lutheran intolerance again drove him out, and he accepted a call to the French refugees at Basel. In March 1573, he was appointed chaplain to the

Count Palatine Frederick III Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (14 February 1515 – 16 October 1576) was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, branch Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Pa ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, but in 1576 the Calvinistic Frederick was succeeded by his son, the Lutheran Louis VI, and the Reformed were expelled. They found a Calvinist patron, however, in John Casimir, the brother of the count, at Neustadt, where Tossanus became inspector of churches and also helped found an academy in which he was one of the teachers. After the death of

Zacharias Ursinus Zacharias Ursinus (18 July 15346 May 1583) was a sixteenth-century German Reformed theologian and Protestant reformer, born Zacharias Baer in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). He became the leading theologian of the Reformed Protestant movement ...

, he was also preacher to the refugees' church of St. Lambert. In 1583 Louis VI died, and John Casimir became regent. Calling Tossanus onto his council, he expelled the Lutherans from Heidelberg, and Tossanus later became professor of theology, and in 1584, rector.

Family

Paul Tossanus Paul Tossanus (Toussain; 1572–1634) was a Huguenot minister, who spent most of his life in Germany. Life He was born at Château de Montargis, owned by Renée of France, and was the son of Daniel Tossanus. The family moved to Heidelberg the ne ...

was his son. His daughter Maria was mother of

Theodore Haak Theodore Haak (1605 in – 1690 in London) was a German Calvinist scholar, resident in England in later life. Haak's communications abilities and interests in the new science provided the backdrop for convening the " 1645 Group", a precursor of ...

Works

As an author he was prolific, producing 33 works, listed in F. W. Cuno, ''Daniel Tossanus'' (Amsterdam, 1898).

References

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tossanus, Daniel 1541 births 1602 deaths Writers from Montbéliard French Calvinist and Reformed theologians 16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 16th-century French writers 16th-century male writers 16th-century French theologians