Adolf van Meetkercke (1528–1591) ( la, Adolphus Mekerchus) was a Flemish diplomat and humanist.
Life
He was born in
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
, into a wealthy family of the nobility.
[ s:de:ADB:Meetkercke, Adolf van ]
In 1577, after the
Pacification of Ghent, he travelled to England on a diplomatic mission concerned with the
First Union of Brussels, with the Marquis of Havrech (Havré),
Charles Philippe de Croÿ (1549–1613).
In 1580, he became a Protestant convert. He accompanied
Philip Marnix of St. Aldegonde to France, to negotiate the
Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours with
François of Alençon. He was then appointed as chairman of the Flemish governing council.
His support for
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years.
Dudley's youth was ov ...
in 1587 led to his becoming an exile in England, leaving with
Hadrian Saravia
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
. This followed a failed plot to mount a coup in
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 ...
on behalf of Leicester.
He died in London.
Works
Hubert Goltzius published his translations of
Moschus
Moschus ( el, Μόσχος), ancient Greek bucolic poet and student of the Alexandrian grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace, was born at Syracuse and flourished about 150 BC. Aside from his poetry, he was known for his grammatical work, nothing o ...
and
Bion of Smyrna in 1565.
*''De veteri et recta pronuntiatione linguae Graecae commentarius''
He wrote a
commendatory poem
The epideictic oratory, also called ceremonial oratory, or praise-and-blame rhetoric, is one of the three branches, or "species" (eidē), of rhetoric as outlined in Aristotle's ''Rhetoric'', to be used to praise or blame during ceremonies.
Origin ...
for the ''
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'' (, "Theatre of the Orb of the World") is considered to be the first true modern atlas. Written by Abraham Ortelius, strongly encouraged by Gillis Hooftman and originally printed on 20 May 1570 in Antwerp, it consist ...
'' of
Abraham Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the ''Theatrum Orbis Terraru ...
.
Family
He married the widow of Jean Wijts of Bruges. With Jacoba Cerbina he had four sons: Adolf, Nicolaas, Anthony, and Baldwin.
Nicolaas and Baldwin were killed at the
siege of Deventer, Anthony
at Zutphen.
Margaret, daughter of John Lichtervelde, was his second wife;
Edward Meetkerke, an English clergyman, was his son with her.
His daughter Elizabeth married
Thomas Westfield
Thomas Westfield (1573 – 25 June 1644) was an English churchman, Bishop of Bristol and member of the Westminster Assembly.
Life
He was born in the parish of St. Mary's, Ely, in 1573, and went to the free school there under Master Spight. He proc ...
.
There was another daughter of this marriage, Salome.
Notes
References
External links
WorldCat pageCERL page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meetkercke, Adolf van
1528 births
1591 deaths
16th-century Dutch diplomats
Dutch Renaissance humanists
Nobility from Bruges