Johannes a Leydis or Jan Gerbrandszoon van Leiden was a
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
chronicler
A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, ...
from the 15th century. A Leydis died in 1504.
Life
Not much is known with certainty about Johannes a Leydis' life. In all likelihood he came from a family of
poorter
Poorter () is an historical term for a type of Dutch, or Flemish, burgher who had acquired the right to live within the walls of a city with city rights.
In the Dutch Republic, this ''poorterrecht'' or ''poorterschap'' (citizenship) could be ...
s (a special type of citizenship) from
Leiden
Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
. He entered the
carmelite
The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
in
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
before 1455. In 1476 he was named
prior
The term prior may refer to:
* Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery)
* Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case
* Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics
* Prio ...
of the monastery, but in 1479 we find him as prior of the monastery at
Woudsend
Woudsend () is a village in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,380 in January 2017.
There are two windmills in the village, 't Lam and De Jager.
History
The village was first mention ...
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 ...
. It seems that, during the struggles between the
Vetkopers and Schieringers, discipline had become lax in the monastery. A Leydis attempted to reform the monastery, but apparently encountered so much resistance to his reforms that he was forced to leave in 1480. From sources we know that A Leydis was back in the monastery in Haarlem in 1495, filling the function of subprior. A Leydis died in 1504 in Haarlem.
During the
Hook and Cod wars
The Hook and Cod wars (; sometimes semi-anglicised as the wars of the Hoecks and the Cabbeljaws) comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over who should hold the title ...
, A Leydis supported the Hook faction. His sympathies lay in particular with the family
van Brederode
The Lords of Brederode (''Heeren van Brederode'') were a noble family from Holland who played an important role during the Middle Ages and the Early modern period. The family had a high noble rank and hold the titles ''Count of Brederode'', Count ...
and the
Egmond Abbey
Egmond Abbey or St. Adalbert's Abbey (, ''Sint-Adelbertabdij'') is a Rule of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation, situated in Egmond-Binnen, in the municipality of Bergen, North Holland, Bergen, in the Neth ...
.
Historical work
Johannes a Leydis is mostly known as a historian. He wrote the following works:
*''Chronicon comitum Hollandiae et episcoporum Ultraiectensium'', a chronicle of the
counts of Holland
The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century.
The Frisian origins
While the Frisian kingdom had comprised most of the present day Netherlands, the later province of Friesland ...
and the
bishops 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
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Bishops
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. The first edition of the work is known only from manuscripts and was written between 1467 and 1469. The second edition, begun between 1485 and 1494, was printed in 1620 in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
by Franciscus Sweertius.
*''Opusculum de gestis regalium abbatum monasterii sancti Athalberti ordinis sancti Benedicti in Egmonda'', a chronicle of the abbots of Egmond. Written between 1477 and 1484, commissioned by abt Nicolaus van Adrichem. Published by
Antonius Matthaeus III.
*''Cronica illustrium dominorum de Brederueden'', a chronicle of the lords of Brederode. Written between 1483 and 1486. There is also a
middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or , there was no overarching sta ...
version of this chronicle. The relation between the two versions is unclear.
The work of Johannes a Leydis was well known in the first half of the 16th century, and was used as a source by early humanist historians like
Cornelius Aurelius and
Reinier Snoy. Later on, the tendency of A Leydis to include fantastic stories in his work was criticised, with the harshest criticism coming from
Janus Dousa
Janus Dousa (Latinized from Jan van der Does), Lord of Noordwyck (6 December 1545 – 8 October 1604), was a Dutch statesman, jurist, historian, poet and philologist, and the first Librarian of Leiden University Library.
Biography
He was born i ...
.
Secondary literature and other sources
*Romein, J.M. (1932) ''Geschiedenis van de Noord-Nederlandsche geschiedschrijving in de Middeleeuwen. Bijdrage tot de beschavingsgeschiedenis'', Tjeenk Willink (Haarlem)
*Roefs, V.J.G. (1942) ''De Egmondsche abtenkroniek van Iohannes a Leydis O.Carm.'', Alberts (Sittard). Contains a good biography on A Leydis, as well as a version of the Egmond Abbey chronicle.
*Alberts, W.J., Rutgers, C.A. (1957) ''Johannes a Leydis. Cronica illustrium dominorum de Brederueden (Fontes minores medii aevi 5-6)'', Wolters (Groningen). A version of the chronicle of the lords of Brederode
*Ebels-Hoving, B. (1985) ‘Johannes a Leydis en de eerste humanistische geschiedschrijving van Holland’, in: ''
Bijdragen en mededelingen betreffende de geschiedenis der Nederlanden'' 100, 26-51
Narrative Sources database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leydis, Johannes A
1504 deaths
Burgundian Netherlands historians
People from Leiden
Carmelites
Year of birth unknown
Historians from the Habsburg Netherlands