Frans van Cranevelt (

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

, 3 February 1485 –

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

, 8 September 1564), also known as Franciscus Craneveldius, was a Flemish humanist and lawyer.

Life

Cranevelt was the son of Herman van Cranevelt (1442–1518), secretary of three successive dukes of

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in pr ...

, and Irma van Heusden-Helshout (died 1528). In 1509 he married Elisabeth van Baussele (d.1545) from Leuven, who bore him at least eleven children, and in 1560 he married the widow Catherine de Plaine. After having received home education, together with

Gerard Geldenhouwer Gerardus Geldenhouwer (1482 – 10 January 1542) was a Dutch historian and Protestant reformer. Geldenhouwer descended from a patrician family of Nijmegen, where he was born. His father, also named Gerard, was chamberservant at the court of Arnol ...

, and having studied at the Latin school in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

, in 1497 he went to Cologne for his university studies. At that time he was barely thirteen and when he completed his studies in 1500 he was not awarded a degree because he was too young. He then went to

Leuven University KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

, where he studied under

Johannes Despauterius Jan de Spauter (Ninove, c. 1480 – Komen, 1520) was a prominent Flemish humanist. His name was Latinized to Johannes Despauterius as was common in the Middle Ages. Life At the age of 18 Despauterius went to the humanistic college ''De Leli ...

and Adriaan Floriszoon, the future Pope Adrian VI. In 1505 he graduated licentiate of philosophy as the top of his year (''primus''). In 1506 he became a licentiate in civil and canon law and in 1510 doctor of laws. From 1507 he taught law. In 1515 he took up the position of city pensioner of Bruges and in this capacity he pronounced speeches to welcome important guests to the city, including King

Christian II of Denmark Christian II (1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union who reigned as King of Denmark and Norway, from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke ...

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

, and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. On 27 September 1522, Emperor Charles V appointed him a councillor in the Great Council of Mechelen. He continued to exercise this office until his death. On the Council and at the Court in Mechelen he became a man of considerable influence. Despite his political responsibilities Cranevelt maintained a lively correspondence with many of the most important humanists of his time, such as Erasmus, Thomas More,

Adrianus Barlandus Adriaan van Baarland or Adrianus Barlandus or Hadrianus Barlandus (1486–1538) was a Dutch historian of merit. He was born in the village of Baarland, from which he took his name. He studied at Ghent and Leuven, at which latter place he was elec ...

, and his close friend Juan Luis Vives. He enjoyed the esteem of all not only because of his erudition, but also for his sound judgment, his pleasant character and the good mood he kept in all circumstances.

Bibliography

* Peter G. Bietenholz, Thomas Brian Deutscher Eds. (1987). Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation, Volumes 1-3. University of Toronto Press. * Vocht, H. (1953). History of the Foundation and the Rise of the Collegium Trilingue Lovaniense 1517-1550 - Part 2 The development. Humanistica Lovaniense - vol.11, pp. pp. 95–224. * Vocht, H. (1928) Litterae ad Craneveldium

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van Cranevelt, Frans 1485 births 1564 deaths Flemish humanists Lawyers from the Habsburg Netherlands