Laevinus Torrentius, born Lieven van der Beke (1525–1595), was the second

bishop of Antwerp The Diocese of Antwerp () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. The diocese was restored in 1961. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen- ...

and one of the leading humanists of his time. He was a

Neo-Latin Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...

poet, who achieved fame as the editor of

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

and

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

. spending many years in Rome in his youth, he developed a serious interest in ancient numismatics. He possessed a large library of about 1,700 books.Francois de Callatay, ''The numismatic interests of Laevinus Torrentius (1525-1595), one of the foremost humanists of his time''
in U. PETER and B. WEISSER (eds.), Translatio Nummorum. Römische Kaiser in der Renaissance. Akten des internationalen Symposiums Berlin 16.-18. November 2011, Berlin, Verlag Franz Philipp Rutzen, 2013, p. 125-140

Career

He studied philosophy and law at Leuven University and then at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

. For five years he lived in Rome. He was appointed Canon of Liege cathedral, and became there vicar general. He was appointed bishop of Antwerp in 1576 but could not be installed in his see until 1587. He died in 1595, after being nominated to the see of Mechelen but before being appointed."Torrentius (Laevinius)", in A. J. van der Aa, ''Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden'', vol. 18 (Haarlem, 1874), 195-196. After his death, he left his library, worth an estimated 30.000 guilders, to the Jesuits of Louvain. He was buried inside Antwerp cathedral.

Selected works

*, L. (1572) ''Poemata sacra''. Antverpiae
1572 edition
an
expanded 1594 edition
on Google Books. *, L. (1578) ''In C. Suetonii Tranquilli XII Caesares commentarii''. Antverpiae: in officina Plantiniana
Expanded 1592 edition
on Google Books. *, L. (1608) ''Commentarii in Horatium''. Antverpiae.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrentius, Laevinus 1525 births 1595 deaths 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Bishops of Antwerp Clergy from Ghent Flemish numismatists Flemish humanists 16th-century writers in Latin