Antonius Sanderus ( Antwerp, 15 September 1586 – Affligem, 10 January 1664) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Catholic cleric and historian.

Biography

Sanderus was born "Antoon Sanders", but like all writers and scholars of his time he Latinized his name. Having become master of philosophy at the

University of Douai The University of Douai (french: Université de Douai) ( nl, Universiteit van Dowaai) is a former university in Douai, France. With a medieval heritage of scholarly activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started ...

in 1609, he studied theology for some years under

Johannes Malderus Johannes Malderus (1563–1633) was the fifth bishop of Antwerp and the founder of Malderus College at the University of Leuven. Ch. Piot, "Malderus (Jean)", ''Biographie Nationale de Belgique''vol. 13(Brussels, 1895), 223-226. Life Malderus ...

(Jan van Malderen) at the University of Leuven, and Willem Hessels van Est (Estius) at Douai, and was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

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 i ...

. For some years he was engaged in parochial duties, and combated the Anabaptist movement in Flanders with great zeal and success. In 1625, he became secretary and

almoner An almoner (} ' (alms), via the popular Latin '. History Christians have historically been encouraged to donate one-tenth of their income as a tithe to their church and additional offerings as needed for the poor. The first deacons, mentioned ...

of Cardinal Alfonso de la Cueva, later becoming

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 ca ...

and

scholaster A scholaster, from the Latin ''scholasticus'' (schoolmaster), or magister scholarum, was the head of an ecclesiastical school, typically a cathedral school, monastic school, or the school of a collegiate church, in medieval and early-modern Europe ...

of St Martin's Cathedral, Ypres. Publication of the first volume of his sumptuously illustrated ''

Flandria illustrata ''Flandria Illustrata'' is a historiographical and topographical work from 1641 by the Flemish canon Antonius Sanderus. It contains historical descriptions of the main towns and villages of the former County of Flanders, in addition to the lives ...

'' (1641) nearly bankrupted him, and he was rescued from ruination by an award of 1,000 florins through the Lille Chamber of Accounts. Further such subventions in support of his work followed in 1645, 1651, 1655 and 1662.Finot, ''Inventaire sommaire'', vol. 6, pp. 178, 205, 231, 273. In 1654, he was appointed

penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

. After three years, however, he resigned this office to devote himself entirely to scientific, and especially to historical studies. He soon found himself compelled to claim the hospitality of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

of Afflighem, since he had reduced himself to absolute poverty by the publication of numerous works.

Writings

He combined high intellectual gifts with great zeal, and left behind forty-two printed, and almost as many unprinted, works. The most important are the following: * ''De scriptoribus Flandriae libri III'' (Antwerp, 1624) * ''De Gandavensibus eruditionis fama claris'' (Antwerp 1624) * ''De Brugensibus eruditionis fama claris libri II'' (Antwerp, 1624) * ''Hagiologium Flandriae sive de sanctis eius provinciae liber unus'' (Antwerp, 1625; 2nd ed., Lille, 1639). A general edition of these four works appeared under the title: ''Flandria illustrata'' (2 volumes, Cologne, 1641–44; The Hague, 1726). Of his other works may be mentioned: * ''Elogia cardinalium sanctitate, doctrina et armis illustrium'' (Louvain, 1625) * ''Gandavium sive rerum Gandavensium libri VI'' (Brussels, 1627) * ''Bibliotheca belgica manuscripta'' (2 parts, Lille, 1641–3) * ''Chorographia sacra Brabantiae sive celebrium in ea provincia ecclesiarum et coenobiorum descriptio, imaginibus aeneis illustrata'' (Brussels, 1659; The Hague, 1726); this is his chief work.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sander, Anton 1586 births 1664 deaths 17th-century Latin-language writers Flemish priests Flemish historians Clergy from Antwerp Old University of Leuven alumni University of Douai alumni Writers from Antwerp