Jean-Joseph Raepsaet (29 December 1750 in

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; french: Audenarde ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heu ...

– 19 February 1832) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

politician and historian.

Biography

Jean-Joseph Raepsaet was born to a family that had grown from rural civil servants in the south-east of the

County of Flanders The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypr ...

to the highest ranks of society. He was the grandson of Jan Arent Raepsaet (1680-1752), scribe of Heestert, and Agnes Valcke. His father, Jan Raepsaet (died 1774) was the lawyer and clerk of the

Castellany A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant of ...

of Oudenaarde, and his mother was Maria Joanna Vispoel, daughter of the Grand Pensionary of Oudenaarde. Raepsaet went to school in Oudenaarde and high school in

Menen Menen (; french: Menin ; vls, Mêenn or ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French/Be ...

and

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. He studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and law at the

University of Louvain A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where he received his degree in law on 17 December 1772. A month later, on 16 January 1773, he became a lawyer at the Council of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. He settled down in his hometown and became clerk of the chancellery. He became one of the leading voices of the conservative party in Oudenaarde, and he disputed the reformations of Joseph II of the Holy Roman Emperor, while at the same time supporting the closing of several monasteries and the abolition of hermitages. On 20 May 1777, Jean-Joseph Raepsaet married Maria Olympa Bauwens, daughter of another high-ranking official from Oudenaarde, in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. Together they had seventeen children, of whom six died before reaching adulthood. Of the twelve that remained, six didn't marry, and the remaining six only had a modest number of children which, combined with the division of the inheritance between the many children, caused the name of Raepsaet to disappear from high society. 1750 births 1832 deaths 19th-century Belgian historians 19th-century Belgian lawyers Legal historians Austrian Netherlands historians Lawyers of the Austrian Netherlands {{Belgium-historian-stub