Floris van Wevelinkhoven (ca. 1330 – Castle

Hardenberg Hardenberg (; nds-nl, Haddenbarreg or '' 'n Arnbarg'') is a city and municipality in the province of Overijssel, Eastern Netherlands. The municipality of Hardenberg has a population of about 60,000, with about 19,000 living in the city. It recei ...

, 4 April 1393) was Bishop of Münster from 1364 to 1379 and

Bishop 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

from 1379 to 1393. Floris van Wevelinkhoven descended from high nobility, and started his career in the

Bishopric of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History The Electorate of Cologn ...

, where he climbed to the position of vicedeacon of the cathedral chapter in 1356. He was appointed bishop of Münster by the pope as a result of several changes in positions, in which the

Bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Engelbert III of the Mark Engelbert III of the Mark (1333–1391) was the Count of Mark from 1347 until 1391. Adolph was the eldest son of Count Adolph II of the Marck and Margaret of Cleves. After his father died in 1347, Engelbert III ruled the County of Mark, mainly ...

was moved to Cologne, the bishop of Utrecht Jan van Arkel was moved to Liege, and the bishop of Münster

Jan van Virneburg Jan (or John) van Virneburg (died 23 June 1371) was a bishop of Münster from 1363 to 1364, and bishop of Utrecht from 1364 to 1371. Jan van Virneburg was transferred from Münster to Utrecht by pope Urban V after the transfer of bishop Jan van ...

was moved to Utrecht. Such movements were common in medieval times, because whenever someone became bishop of a new bishopric, he had to pay a large amount of taxes to the pope, the so-called servitia tax. In Münster, Floris fought the unruly nobility and put the bishopric's finances in order. In 1368 he signed a ''Landesvereinigung'' with the States. In 1379 another shuffle of ecclesiastical seats took place;

Arnold II of Horne Arnold (or Arnoud) II of Horne (1339–1389) was the son of Willem IV of Horne and Elisabeth of Cleves. He was canon, provost, Bishop of Utrecht from 1371 to 1378, and Bishop of Liège from 1378 to 1389. After the death of bishop Jan van Virne ...

was moved from Utrecht to Liege by

Pope Urban VI Pope Urban VI ( la, Urbanus VI; it, Urbano VI; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death in October 1389. He was the most recent pope to be elected from outside the ...

, and Floris was moved from Münster to Utrecht. Despite his advanced age at his accession (c. 50), Floris showed himself to be an able and powerful ruler, good organiser and diplomat, and he secured the support of his subjects. Firstly he had to deal with a rival candidate, the by

Antipope Clement VII Robert of Geneva, (french: Robert de Genève; 1342 – 16 September 1394) elected to the papacy as Clement VII (french: Clément VII) by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI, was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election l ...

appointed Reinoud van Vianen. The start of his reign was further made difficult by the rising faction struggles in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, which were finally put to rest by the banishment of the ''Gunterlingen'' faction in 1380. Once firmly established, Floris dealt with the unruly knights in the Sticht with support from the cities and chapters, and this way enlarged his authority. His predecessor Arnold van Hoorn had been forced to lease a lot of castles as a result of high debts, but Floris managed to take them back by arms. In the case of the castle of

Montfoort Montfoort () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. Montfoort received city rights in 1329. Population centres The municipality of Montfoort consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or district ...

it took a siege of five months. Though he later had to lease several castles and offices again, his secular rule can be considered to be a success. In the

Western Schism The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon bo ...

, Floris sided with Pope Urban VI. He was at first sympathic with the ideas of

Geert Groote Gerard Groote (October 1340 – 20 August 1384), otherwise ''Gerrit'' or ''Gerhard Groet'', in Latin ''Gerardus Magnus'', was a Dutch Catholic deacon, who was a popular preacher and the founder of the Brethren of the Common Life. He was a key figu ...

, but at the encouragement of Geert Grote's opponents, gave him a speaking ban. Later, however, he favored the monasteries of the

Modern Devotion Devotio Moderna (Latin; lit., Modern Devotion) was a movement for religious reform, calling for apostolic renewal through the rediscovery of genuine pious practices such as humility, obedience, and simplicity of life. It began in the late 14th-cen ...

, such as the

Congregation of Windesheim The Congregation of Windesheim ( la, Congregatio Vindesemensis) is a congregation of Augustinian canons regular (i.e., ecclesiastics living in community and bound by vows). It takes its name from its most important monastery, which was located at ...

Floris van Wevelinkhoven is buried in the

Dom Church St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht, or Dom Church ( nl, Domkerk), is a Gothic church dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, which was the cathedral of the Diocese of Utrecht during the Middle Ages. It is the country's only pre-Reformation cathedral, ...

. A gravestone on the highchoir commemorates him. In 2008 a square in

was named after him; the ''van Wevelinckhovenplein''. In

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

a street has been named after him.

Sources

*J.H. Huiting, ''Florens van Wevelinghofen'', in: Utrechtse biografieën, deel 1 (Amsterdam, z.j.) {{Authority control Bishops of Utrecht 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Burials at St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht Prince-Bishops of Münster 1315 births 1393 deaths Year of birth uncertain