Lambert Daneau (c. 1530 – c. 1590) was a French jurist and

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

theologian.

Life

He was born at Beaugency-sur-Loire, and educated at

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Adrianus Turnebus Adrianus Turnebus ( or ''Tournebeuf''; 151212 June 1565) was a French classical scholar. Life Turnebus was born in Les Andelys in Normandy. At the age of twelve he was sent to Paris to study, and attracted great notice by his remarkable abilitie ...

, and then law in Orléans from 1553. He moved to

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

in 1559; he was particularly influenced by François Hotman, and by

Anne du Bourg Anne du Bourg (1521, Riom – 23 December 1559, Paris) was a French magistrate, nephew of the chancellor Antoine du Bourg, and a Protestant martyr. Early life Educated at the university of Orléans, he became a professor and had Étienne de l ...

, who was executed in that year for heresy. He went to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

first in 1560, and studied at the Genevan Academy. He then became a pastor in

Gien Gien () is a Communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department in north-central France. Gien is on the river Loire, from Orléans. Gien station has rail connections to Montargis, Nevers and Paris. The town was bought ...

. After eight fruitful further years in Geneva from 1572, he made a reputation as preacher and theological writer. He left for a position in the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

. He taught also in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Orthez Orthez (; ; , ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the small village of Sai ...

, Lescar, and

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

Views

Scott Manetsch describes Daneau as a "champion of

orthodoxy, with the expansive vision of expanding and extending the domains of secular knowledge... on the basis of Scripture through the use of the scholastic method of

dialectic Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the ...

." Daneau wrote on many subjects, including a commentary on

Peter Lombard Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096 – 21/22 August 1160) was an Italian scholasticism, scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of ''Sentences, Four Books of Sentences'' which became the s ...

's ''

Sentences The ''Sentences'' (. ) is a compendium of Christian theology written by Peter Lombard around 1150. It was the most important religious textbook of the Middle Ages. Background The sentence genre emerged from works like Prosper of Aquitaine's ...

'', and a political treatise justifying armed resistance against tyranny. Daneau wrote a book on

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

in French, "Les sorciers"(1574) that was translated into Latin the following year as
Dialogus de veneficiis
' (1575) and into English by Thomas Twyne as ''A Dialogue of Witches'' (1575). His writing on the topic of witchcraft caused trouble for him in Leiden. His ''Physica christiana'' (1576) argued for a Scriptural basis for physics. It was translated by Twyne as ''The Wonderfull Workmanship of the World'' (1578).Christopher B. Kaiser, ''Creational Theology and the History of Physical Science: The Creationist Tradition from Basil to Bohr'' (1997), note p. 165.

Notes

* Olivier Fatio, "Lambert Daneau 1530-1595" in Jill Raitt, ed., ''Shapers of Religious Traditions in Germany, Switzerland, and Poland, 1560-1600'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981), pages 105-119.

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daneau, Lambert 1530s births 1590 deaths French Calvinist and Reformed theologians Witchcraft treatises Demonologists 16th-century French writers 16th-century French male writers 16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 16th-century French theologians French male writers Theologians from the Republic of Geneva Clergy from the Republic of Geneva Witchcraft in France