Johannes a Leydis or Jan Gerbrandszoon van Leiden was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, 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 ...

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 ...

s (a special type of citizenship) from

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. He entered the

carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

in Haarlem before 1455. In 1476 he was named prior of the monastery, but in 1479 we find him as prior of the monastery at Woudsend in

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

. It seems that, during the struggles between the

Vetkopers and Schieringers The Vetkopers and Schieringers ( fry, Fetkeapers en Skieringers) were two opposing Frisian factional parties from the medieval period. They were responsible for a civil war that lasted for over a century (1350–1498) and which eventually led to t ...

, 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 ( nl, Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten) comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the u ...

, A Leydis supported the Hook faction. His sympathies lay in particular with the family

van Brederode The Lords of Van 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'', ...

and the

Egmond Abbey Egmond Abbey or St. Adalbert's Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Egmond, ''Sint-Adelbertabdij'') is a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation between Egmond aan den Hoef and Bakkum in Egmond-Binnen in the municipality of Bergen in the ...

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. House of Holland The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests ...

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 * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

. 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, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

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 Antonius is a masculine given name, as well as a surname. Antonius is a Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Latin, Norwegian, and Swedish name used in Greenland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, part of the Republic of Karelia, Estonia, Belgium, Netherland ...

. *''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 c. 1550, there was no overarch ...

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 Cornelius may refer to: People * Cornelius (name), Roman family name and a masculine given name * Pope Cornelius, pope from AD 251 to 253 * St. Cornelius (disambiguation), multiple saints * Cornelius (musician), stage name of Keigo Oyamada * Me ...

and

Reinier Snoy Reinier is the Dutch form of the Germanic masculine given name ''Raginheri'', composed of the two elements ''ragin'' ("advice") and ''heri'' ("army"). It is equivalent to Scandinavian '' Ragnar'', German '' Rainer'', French '' Rainier'', and Span ...

. 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 in ...

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 Habsburg Netherlands historians