William of Enckevoirt, also spelled as Enckenvoirt (1464 in

Mierlo-Hout Helmond (; called ''Héllemond'' in the local dialect) is a city and municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant in the Southern Netherlands. Helmond is home to several textile and metal companies. The Vlisco f ...

– 19 July 1534 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) was a Dutch Cardinal,

bishop of Tortosa The bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Catalonia, Spain.

from 1524 to 1524, and bishop of Utrecht from 1529 to 1534.

Biography

Enckevoirt was the son of a farmer, Willem van Enckevoirt Sr., and aspired to a career in the church. He studied at Leuven, where he probably studied under Adriaan Boeyens, the later Pope

Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI ( la, Hadrianus VI; it, Adriano VI; nl, Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his d ...

. In 1489 he was sent to Rome, where he continued his studies at the

Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

, and he achieved his Licentiate in 1505. In 1495 William entered the papal court, and he collected many prebends, so that he collected the income of parishes without actually being there, an accepted practice in those days. He represented the interests of the parishes in Rome. He also managed to obtain high posts in Rome for several of his family members. Through the election of Pope Adrian VI in 1522 his influence further increased, and together with Theodoricus Hezius he was a personal confidant of the pope. Before pope Adrian died, one of his last requests was that William be made cardinal. Some cardinals opposed this, but Adrian pushed his decision through and William was created

Cardinal-priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of St. John and Paul on 10 September 1523.NNBW, part 2, p. 437 He was only the second cardinal ever created from the northern Netherlands, and the only cardinal created during Adrian's short reign. After the death of Adrian in 1523, William of Enckevoirt maintained his high positions and continued his involvement in politics, such as the transfer of all lands of the Bishopric of Utrecht to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the crowning of Charles V as emperor in 1530. During the 1527 sacking of Rome by imperial troops, he paid 40,000

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin ''s ...

to Captain Odone to protect his house and properties. In 1529 he was appointed bishop of Utrecht by pope

Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

, but he was hardly ever there; he last visited the Netherlands in 1532. William, who was the executor of Adrian VI's will, took the initiative in erecting a funerary monument for him in

Santa Maria dell'Anima , native_name= , image=Santa Maria del Anima I.jpg , caption=Façade of the church. , mapframe=yes , mapframe-caption=Click on the map for a fullscreen view , mapframe-zoom=12 , mapframe-marker=religious-christian , coordinates= , location=Via di ...

. The monument was designed by Baldassare Peruzzi and included William's name and arms. He also financed the decoration of the Barbara chapel in this church by painter Michiel Coxcie. William of Enckevoirt died on 19 July 1534. His monument, created by Giovanni Mangone, was originally located opposite of Adrian VI's tomb, but it was moved in 1575. It is still visible next to the main entrance of the church. While cardinal, he was the principal consecrator of: Pedro Malgareso, Bishop of Dulcigno (1529);

Bernardino de Soria Bernardino is a name of Italian, Hispanic, or Portuguese origin, which can refer to: Given name *Bernardino Baldi (1533–1617), Italian mathematician and writer * Bernardino Bertolotti (born 1547), Italian composer and instrumentalist * Bernar ...

Bishop of Ravello 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 ca ...

(1529); and

Miguel Torcella --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disa ...

, Bishop of Alife (1533).

Bibliography

;Notes ;References *P.J. Block and P.C. Molhuysen (1912), ''Nieuw Nederlandsch biographisch woordenboek(NNBW), deel 2''
Free digitalised version

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enckevoirt, Willem Van 1464 births 1534 deaths 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain Bishops of Utrecht Dutch cardinals People from Mierlo Old University of Leuven alumni Sapienza University of Rome alumni 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire