Karel Jozef de Graeve (October 23, 1731,

Ursel Ursel is a Flemish surname: Place Ursel, town in Flanders, part of Knesselare. Name * Noble house d'Ursel, Duke of Ursel, see too: D'Ursel Castle. ** Lancelot II of Ursel ** Charles-Joseph, 4th Duke d'Ursel ** Marie Joseph Charles, 6th Duke d ...

– August 2, 1805,

Sint-Denijs-Westrem Sint-Denijs-Westrem is a village in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It is part of the city of Ghent, lying to the southwest of the city center, between Sint-Martens-Latem, De Pinte, Zwijnaarde and Afsnee. History Sint-Denijs-Westrem lies ...

) − usually written Charles-Joseph De Grave after the French invasion− was Raadsheer in the Flemish Court and author of juridical, officialese and historical works.

Life

Karel Jozef de Graeve was born in 1731 (according to some sources in 1736) as son of Regina Verstraeten and Jan de Graeve, Secretary to the parish of Ursel. He studied literature, philosophy and law at the

Old University of Leuven The Old University of Leuven (or of Louvain) is the name historians give to the university, or ''studium generale'', founded in Leuven, Brabant (then part of the Burgundian Netherlands, now part of Belgium), in 1425. The university was closed in ...

. In 1789, over the age of fifty, he married Françoise Cathérine Kervyn de Oud Mooreghem (1744-1824), widow of Jean-Pierre Zoetaert, Secretary to the Raad van Vlaanderen, the highest

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

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 ...

. In 1760 Karel Jozef de Graeve became

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent (Dutch language, Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghen ...

and for some time functioned as

Pensionary A pensionary was a name given to the leading functionary and legal adviser of the principal town corporations in the Low Countries because they received a salary or pension. History The office originated in Flanders. Initially, the role was refe ...

to the city of

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 ...

. In

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

again from 1773 he worked as

schepen A schepen (Dutch; . ') or échevin (French) or Schöffe (German) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands. It has been replaced by the ' in the Netherlands (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''éch ...

to the local government and was mainly occupied with the city finances. As such he was second in command after first schepen Jean Jacques Philippe Vilain XIIII. In 1775 he was appointed Raadsheer in the main court of the County, called the Raad van Vlaanderen. He contributed in a protest by the

States of Flanders The States of Flanders were a representative institution in the medieval and early modern County of Flanders. Initially it consisted only of the Third Estate, with representatives of the three cities of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres. Around 1350 the rura ...

against the policies of

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

in 1787. A few days after his work on a manifesto on November 4, 1789 on behalf of the Flemish Court concerning the Austrian government the Patriots conquered

and de Graeve was appointed member of the 'Comité civil' that was in charge of the town. The states of Flanders appointed him as interim

, in replacement of François d'Hoop, who was loyal to the Emperor.

Publications

De Graeve contributed to the writing of a protest by the

against the intended reforms by

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

in 1787. On November 5, 1789 he composed a conception for a

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

, on behalf of the Court of Flanders, written in Alexandrines, that was meant to be sent to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

government, seated in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Meanwhile De Graeve finished a

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

work, that was published postumely by his friends in 1806 in three volumes under the title: ''République des Champs Elysées, ou Monde ancien''.Charles-Joseph de Grave, ''République des Champs Elysées, ou Monde ancien: Ouvrage dans lequel on démontre principalement: Que les Champs Elysées et l'Enfer des anciens sont le nom d'une ancienne république d'hommes justes et religieux, située a l'extrémité septentrionale de la Gaule, et surtout dans les îles du Bas-Rhin; Que cet Enfer a été le premier sanctuaire de l'initiation aux mystères, et qu'Ulysse y a été initié; Que la déesse Circé est l’emblème de l’Église élysienne; Que l’Elysée est le berceau des Arts, des Sciences et de la Mythologie; Que les Elysiens, nommés aussi, sous d’autres rapports, Atlantes, Hyperboréens, Cimmériens, &c., ont civilisé les anciens peuples, y compris les Egyptiens et les Grecs; Que la Voûte céleste est le tableau des institutions et de la philosophie des Législateurs Atlantes; Que l’Aigle céleste est l’emblème de la Fondateurs de la Nation Gauloise ; Que les poètes Homère et Hésiode sont originaires de la Belgique, &c.'' , De l'imprimerie de P.-F. de Goesin-Verhaeghe, Gent, 1806; OCLC: 53145878

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graeve, Karel Jozef de 1731 births 1805 deaths Flemish writers