Petrus Vulcanius otherwise Pieter De Smet (born c. 1503–1571) was a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

scholar and local government official 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 ...

Life

Petrus Vulcanius, born Pieter De Smet in

, was the son of Andries De Smet and Margriete Krippijn. He was educated in the Bogaerdenschool in Bruges, a school for poor and abandoned children, supported by the city. In June 1523 he was registered at the University of Leuven as a "poor man" (''arme''). Here too he was supported financially by the city of Bruges. He was awarded a degree in law in 1527. He continued his studies at the ''

Collegium Trilingue The Collegium Trilingue, often also called Collegium trium linguarum, or, after its creator Collegium Buslidianum (French: Collège des Trois Langues, Dutch: Dry Tonghen), was founded in 1517 under the patronage of the humanist, Hieronymus van Bus ...

'' in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

, where he further developed his skills in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. He gained the friendship of

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

, of the Hellenist J. van Stazeele, and of the teacher of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, John van Campen, and was also close to his fellow townsmen

Johannes Vasaeus Jan Was or Waes, Latinized Johannes Vasaeus (1511 – 21 October 1561) was a Flemish humanist, teacher and historian, who spent his working life in Spain and Portugal. Life Vasaeus was born in Bruges in 1511. At the age of twenty, while he was ...

(Jan Was) and Jacob van Halewijn, a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

in the chapter of the Church of Our Lady in Bruges. Thanks to the recommendations of Erasmus and of

Juan Luis Vives Juan Luis Vives March ( la, Joannes Lodovicus Vives, lit=Juan Luis Vives; ca, Joan Lluís Vives i March; nl, Jan Ludovicus Vives; 6 March 6 May 1540) was a Spanish (Valencian) scholar and Renaissance humanist who ...

, Vulcanius lived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

between 1529 and 1531 as the tutor of Charles Blount, son of William Blount, Lord Mountjoy. On 1 September 1531 he was appointed ''taalman'', or legal functionary, of the city of Brugge. From this time onwards he maintained relations with many humanists both in Bruges, such as Vives, Jacobus Curtius, Jan Fevijn and

Joris Cassander George Cassander (or Cassant) (1513 – 3 February 1566) was a Flemish Catholic theologian and humanist. Life Born at Pittem near Bruges, he went at an early age to Leuven, where he was graduated in 1533. In 1541 he was appointed professor of bell ...

, and many others outside the city. In 1543 Vulcanius undertook a long journey to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In the same year he married Adrianette Truwaert. They had five children, including

Bonaventura Vulcanius Bonaventura Vulcanius (30 June 1538, Bruges – 9 October 1614, Leiden) was a Flemish humanist who played a leading role in Northern humanism during the 16th and 17th century. He was a professor of Latin and Greek at Leiden University for 30 ...

. On 1 February 1550 Petrus Vulcanius was appointed administrator (''stadspensionaris'') of

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

. His career reached its highest point when in February 1557 he was appointed procurator of the

Great Council of Mechelen From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen (Dutch: ''De Grote Raad der Nederlanden te Mechelen''; French: ''le grand conseil des Pays-Bas à Malines''; German: ''der Grosse Rat der Niederlände zu Mecheln'') w ...

, an office which he retained until his death in Mechelen in 1571.

Sources

*Dewitte, Alfons, 1978: ''Peter en Bonaventura De Smet, alias Vulcanius'', in: Handelingen van het genootschap voor geschiedenis in Brugge, 1978, pp. 17–42. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vulcanius, Petrus 1503 births 1571 deaths Flemish Renaissance humanists People from Bruges French male non-fiction writers People from the Habsburg Netherlands