Guillaume Damasi Van Der Linden
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William Damasus Lindanus or Van der Lindt (1525 – 2 November 1588) was a 16th-century
Bishop of Roermond The Diocese of Roermond () is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, located in the Netherlands. The diocese is one of the seven suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht. The ter ...
and
Bishop of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropol ...
.


Biography

William Damasus Lindanus was born at
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 ...
in 1525, the son of Damasus van der Lint. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Leuven, and having during this time applied himself also to
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and
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
, went to
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to perfect himself in these languages. In 1552 he won the licenciate at Leuven, and the same year was ordained to the priesthood. Two years later, he was appointed professor of Sacred Scripture at the
University of Dillingen The University of Dillingen, at Dillingen an der Donau in southern Germany, existed from 1551 to 1803. It was located in Swabia, then a district of Bavaria. Foundation Its founder was Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg, Prince-Bishop of Augsb ...
. In 1556, he took the
doctor's degree A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''Licentiate (degree), licentia docendi' ...
at Leuven, and was appointed
vicar-general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar ...
to the
Bishop of Utrecht List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht. Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580 Founders of the Utrecht diocese * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...
and dean of the chapter at the court chapel of the
Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...
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 ...
. Soon afterwards he became a royal counsellor and inquisitor in
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
. In 1562, the Habsburg king
Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
designated Lindanus for the newly erected See of Roermond, and the following year, on 4 April, he was consecrated in
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by
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. He was, however, unable to enter his diocese until 11 May 1569. The erection of this bishopric had caused displeasure throughout the
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, especially in the country of
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, of which Roermond was a part: where every act of the royal authority excited defiance. The Protestants were dissatisfied with the appointment of Lindanus, who was a staunch defender of the Catholic faith. The new bishop began at once to reform his diocese, assisted in person at the Provincial Synods of
Mechlin 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 ...
(1570) and of
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(1573) and carried out 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 ...
laws and regulations of the
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. In 1572, he was obliged to flee for several months from Roermond to the south of the Low Countries; on his return to his see, he defended vigorously the properties of the Church against the civil authorities. In 1573, a violent conflict broke out between himself and the
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; and the Protestants obliged him to flee on several occasions. In 1578, he travelled to
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and
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in order to obtain justice against the
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of
Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...
, which had refused to execute the regulations concerning the episcopal endowment, and to confer with the Pope and the king upon the measures necessary for the safeguarding of the Faith in the Low Countries. Returning to Roermond, with the help of Philip II, he founded the royal seminary or college at Leuven, for the education of young clerics. Lindanus went to Rome again in 1584 to treat of the interests of his diocese and of the state of the Church in the Low Countries and in Germany; he insisted particularly upon the urgent necessity of replying in a scientific way to the
Centuriators of Magdeburg The ''Magdeburg Centuries'' is an ecclesiastical history, divided into thirteen ''centuries'', covering thirteen hundred years, ending in 1298; it was first published from 1559 to 1574. It was compiled by several Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg, k ...
. His work in Roermond was brought to a close by his elevation to the See of Ghent, where he began his new episcopal duties on 22 July 1588. He died there three months later on 2 November.


Writings

Among his numerous works the following are especially worthy of mention: ''De optimo scripturas interpretandi genere'' (Cologne, 1558); ''panoplia evangelica'' (Cologne, 1560); ''Stromatum libri III pro defensione Concilii Tridentini'' (Cologne, 1575); ''Missa apostolica'' (Antwerp, 1589), and in a more popular form, the dialogues, ''Dubitantius'' and ''Ruwardius'' (Cologne, 1562-3). He edited the academic discourses of Ruard Tapperus (1577–78), and wrote many works in Dutch for the instruction of his flock, in order to keep them from Protestantism and to refute the Confession of Antwerp of 1566.


See also


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindanus, William Damasus 1525 births 1588 deaths 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Inquisitors People from Dordrecht Old University of Leuven alumni Bishops of Ghent Bishops of Roermond