Frederik Schenck van Toutenburg ( – 25 August 1580) was the first Archbishop of Utrecht from 1559 to 1580. Prior to Schenck's ministry as archbishop,

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

was a bishopric with a succession of sixty bishops. The last bishop of Utrecht, prior to Schenck was

George van Egmond George or Joris van Egmont (2 July 1504, Egmond (municipality), Egmond26 September 1559, Saint-Amand Abbey) was a Dutch nobleman who served as Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580), Bishop of Utrecht from 1535 until his death in 1559. Following the dea ...

. After Schenck's death in 1580, the see would remain vacant until Sasbold Vosmeer assumed the archbishopric in 1602.

Biography

Frederik Schenk van Toutenburg born around 1503 in Vollenhove. He was the son of

Georg Schenck van Toutenburg Georg Schenck van Toutenburg (German - ''Georg Schenk von Tautenburg'') (1480 – 2 February 1540) was Stadhouder of Friesland (1521-1540). Later he was also Stadholder of Overijssel, Drenthe and Groningen. His son Frederick was the firs ...

, and graduated in law at the

Reichskammergericht The ; ; ) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal proceedings in the Holy Roman Empire could be ...

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

. After being made a priest, he became

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of the Pieterskerk in Bishopric of Utrecht and priest at the Sint-Plechelmusbasiliek in

Oldenzaal Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border. It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the ...

. He spent his time writing tracts on church law until he was promoted to the Dutch

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

in 1559 by Philip II, who named him as the very first Archbishop of Utrecht (which was then confirmed in 1561 by

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

). Until that time, the Bishopric of Utrecht reported to the

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

. By agreement between Philip II and Rome in the spirit of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

, the low countries (at that time a loose set of

Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the France, French Departments of Franc ...

) received its own

archbishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

s, which besides Utrecht were

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

and

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

. This was an attempt to give the various parts of the low countries some self-government as a way of fending off the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. These measures were not very successful, and Scheck van Toutenburg's archbishopric saw the Catholic reaction against the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

in the northern Netherlands. Governor

Margaret of Parma Margaret (; 5 July 1522 – 18 January 1586) was Duchess of Parma from 1547 to 1586 as the wife of Duke Ottavio Farnese and Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of Ch ...

forced him to lead support for the decrees of the Council of Trent and led him to call a provincial

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

in 1565. The clergy and

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s were fiercely opposed to the new disciplinary measures and tried to frustrate their introduction, but Schenck van Toutenburg used his power to break the opposition and to give leadership in the fight against

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Protestant Reformation

Schenck van Toutenburg was unable to unite the Catholics under his archbishopric. Under his tenure, many good Catholic Utrechters became Crypto-Protestants. As the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

began and

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

since 1559, fled, Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard was named the official

of the Netherlands in 1567 with his base in Utrecht at Vredenburg Castle. Like Schenck van Toutenburg, he met with insurrection with those under his command. After unsuccessfully preventing the

Capture of Brielle Capture may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Capture", a song by Simon Townshend * Capture (band), an Australian electronicore band previously known as Capture the Crown * ''Capture'' (TV series), a reality show Television episodes * "Chapter ...

in April–June 1572, he convened a meeting of the States General in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in July 1572, but many representatives convened a new meeting in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

later that month, in which they pledged allegiance to William the Silent (or now, William of Orange). As the country turned to Protestantism and the Orange sympathies grew, Hénin-Liétard was taken prisoner at the Battle on the Zuiderzee on 11 October 1573. His Spanish troops based at Vredenburg thus lost their local leader. The nearby city of Oudewater was massacred by Spanish troops for its participation in rebellion on 7 August 1575. Only those who could pay ransom money escaped. This shocked many leading Utrecht burgers. Though Hénin-Liétard was released as a term of treaty in the

Pacification of Ghent The Pacification of Ghent, signed on 8 November 1576, was an alliance between the provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands. The main objectives were to remove Habsburg Spain, Spanish mercenaries who had made themselves hated by all sides due to their ...

in 1576, he no longer had command of Vredenburg and chose the side of William of Orange. This caused a problem of loyalties among the Spanish stationed at Utrecht. The city council of Utrecht sent representatives to Archbishop Schenk van Toutenburg to borrow money to pay the Spanish mercenaries at Vredenburg who had as a result pointed their canons at the city itself. These Spanish troops still had no leader and worse, had not been paid. Schenk van Toutenburg refused to pay, and the city fathers forced the lock on his money chest to "loan" 40,000 guilders.(Dutch) 1580
in the Utrecht Archives This was the end of Utrecht's allegiance with Catholicism, as they feared a fate like Oudewater. In June 1580 the city council of Utrecht decided to ban Catholic services in Utrecht. The archbishop died later that summer, on 25 August.

Legacy

He became the first and last Archbishop of Utrecht until 1853. Johannes Zwijsen became the next official Archbishop of Utrecht. The Cathedral of Utrecht was closed from June 1580 onwards, though Roman Catholics still received permission to bury their dead (including their late archbishop) in the cathedral. Schenck van Toutenburg's funeral ceremony on 30 August 1580 was the last Catholic service in Utrecht for a long while and was disturbed by Protestants, who sang their version of

Psalm 130 Psalm 130 is the 130th psalm of the Book of Psalms, one of the penitential psalms and one of 15 psalms that begin with the words "A song of ascents" (Shir Hama'alot). The first verse is a call to God in deep sorrow, from "out of the depths" or ...

against the Catholic version ("De Profundis"). After Schenck's death, the archbishopric would remain vacant until the election of

Sasbout Vosmeer Sasbout Vosmeer (13 March 1548, in Delft – 3 May 1614, in Cologne) was the first apostolic vicar to the Dutch Mission and succeeded Frederik V Schenck van Toutenburg, Frederick Schenck van Toutenberg, the second Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utr ...

in 1602.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schenck van Toutenburg, Frederik V 1503 births 1580 deaths People from Steenwijkerland 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Archbishops of Utrecht Burials at St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht 16th-century Dutch Roman Catholic bishops