Wouter Deelen (, , ) (–1563) was a Dutch Anabaptist, Greek and Hebrew scholar, for a time librarian of Henry VIII, and then preacher at the Dutch church in London.

Biography

Wouter Deelen was born in

Balen Balen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Balen proper and Olmen. In 2021, Balen had a population of 22,853. Total area is 72.88 km2. Famous Inhabitant * Tom Boonen ...

in the province of Antwerp in Brabant. He made a trip to Wittenberg in 1522. Following studies at the University of Leuven he taught Greek and Hebrew at the University of Haarlem 1523-1527, then from July 1533 was the first professor of Greek and Hebrew at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

. Due to an interpretation of John 6:51b, he was accused of Anabaptist heresy, and removed on 1 May 1535. Nine days later 10 May 1535 Anabaptist uprising in Amsterdam occurred, after which Deelen was discovered to have met in secret with radical Anabaptist leaders including Jan van Geelen, although it is possible that Deelen's role was as a mediator. In 1535 he fled to England, later becoming a librarian to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, and working on a revision of the Latin New Testament of

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

. This he published under the Latin name Galterus Deloenus: ''Testamentum Novum Latinum'' in 1540. In 1550

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

appointed Deelen and Marten Micronius (c.1522-1559) as preachers of the Dutch refugee congregation at

Austin Friars Austin Friars is a coeducational private day school located in Carlisle, England. The Senior School provides secondary education for 350 boys and girls aged 11–18. There are 150 children aged 4–11 in the Junior School and the Nursery has pl ...

, where he worked with Polish Calvinist reformer

Jan Łaski Jan Łaski or Johannes à Lasco (1499 – 8 January 1560) was a Polish Calvinist reformer. Owing to his influential work in England (1548–1553) during the English Reformation, he is known to the English-speaking world by the Anglicised form ...

. It seems likely that Deelen was acquainted with

Immanuel Tremellius Immanuel Tremellius (; 1510 – 9 October 1580) was an Italian Jewish convert to Christianity. He was known as a leading Hebraist and Bible translator. Life He was born at Ferrara and educated at the University of Padua. He was converted about ...

and his student Christopher Carlisle at Cambridge, and may have been present at the latter's debate with Sir

John Cheke Sir John Cheke (or Cheek; 16 June 1514 – 13 September 1557) was an English classical scholar and statesman. One of the foremost teachers of his age, and the first Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, he played a great pa ...

on the doctrine of

harrowing of Hell In Christian theology, the Harrowing of Hell (; Greek language, Greek: – "the descent of Christ into Christian views on Hell, Hell" or Christian views on Hades, Hades) is the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his Resurre ...

in 1552, since he published sharing Carlisle's view on removing the doctrine from the creeds. Following the death of Edward VI (1553) aged 15, most of the Dutch, German and Polish Anabaptist community returned to the Low Countries. Deelen settled in

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

, Germany, where he worked with

Jan Utenhove Jan Utenhove (Ghent 1516 – London January 6, 1566) was a writer from the Low Countries best known for his translations into the Dutch language of the Psalms and the New Testament. Life Utenhove was born into a Flemish patrician family in Gh ...

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 ...

on a translation of the New Testament into Dutch and edited the Dutch translation of reformation historian

Johannes Sleidanus Johannes Sleidanus or Sleidan (1506 – 31 October 1556) was a Luxembourgish historian and annalist of the Protestant Reformation, Reformation. Life He was born at Schleiden in the Duchy of Luxembourg, then part of the Habsburg Netherlands. He st ...

' ''De statu religionis commentarii''. In 1559, a year after

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

succeeded Mary Tudor, Deelen returned to London, where he died in 1563.Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, pp. 221-222.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deloenus, Walter 1500 births 1563 deaths Dutch Anabaptists Dutch Mennonites Flemish academics Dutch Hebraists Translators of the Bible into Latin Old University of Leuven alumni Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam People from Balen