Hendrik Jansen van Barrefelt (c. 1520 – c. 1594) was a weaver, a

Christian mystic Christian mysticism is the tradition of mysticism, mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative pr ...

and the author of several spiritual works using the pseudonym Hiël.

Life

Hendrik Jansen van Barrefelt was born c. 1520 in Barneveld,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and died in or after 1594 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. He married around 1550 and had several children. A former adherent of

Menno Simons Menno Simons (; ; 1496 – 31 January 1561) was a Roman Catholic priest from the Friesland region of the Low Countries who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and became an influential Anabaptist religious leader. Simons was a contempor ...

, the

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

religious leader, Van Barrefelt became a follower of

Hendrik Niclaes Hendrik Nicholis (or Hendrik Niclaes, Henry Nichlaes, Heinrich Niclaes; c. 1501 – c. 1580) was a German mystic and founder of the proto-deist sect " Familia Caritatis" (a.k.a. "Family of Love","''Familia Caritatis''" or "''Hus der Lieften''"). ...

and joined the Family of Love. However, in 1573 Hendrik van Barrefelt had a vision and from this moment on he called himself "Hiël" (the uniform life of God). Shortly after this vision he broke with Niclaes and began to write his own works. His followers called themselves Hiëlists (lovers of the truth).

Christophe Plantin Christophe Plantin (; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book Printer (publisher), printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp. He established in Antwerp one of the most prominent publishing houses of his time, th ...

, a well-known

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

, book printer and publisher in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

and

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, also broke with Niclaes and became a follower and the central figure around Hiël.

Works

The emphasis of Hiël’s works was on the search for Christ in the soul, an inward interpretation of the

Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

and an opposition to the visible church. As a result they attracted people with a personal and conciliatory spirituality who had very little with the services and ceremonies of the established churches, but at the same time had no wish to change from one confession to another.

Publication

Antwerp, Leiden and Cologne

Around 1580 Hiël’s writings began to appear and were printed in Antwerp and Leiden by Christophe Plantin. Around 1582 Hiël initiated two series of engravings for pictorial Bibles (''Imagines et figurae Bibliorum''), because he believed that the contemplation of biblical images would bring people closer to God. For this purpose he asked Pieter van der Borcht (1530-1608) to make two sets of illustrations of biblical stories for which Hiël wrote the explanatory texts. The Latin version was published in 1582 by Jacobus Vilanus, a pseudonym of Christophe Plantin. After the death of Plantin other books by Hiël were printed by Augustijn van Hasselt in

. In 1687 Jacob Clausen published the complete works of Hiël in a German translation which were very successful in

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

circles.

London

As from 1657 Hiël’s works began to appear in England. The first English translation called ''The Spiritual Journey of A Young Man towards the Land of Peace'' was printed in 1659 and sold by Giles Calvert, a prominent printer in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

who specialized in spiritual literature. The German translation of Hiël’s works of 1687 was read by the Behmenist

William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, George I of Grea ...

and his circle of friends interested in mysticism. As a result of this Hiël was to become considered as a precursor of

Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mysticism, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant Theology, theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the L ...

. The great admiration which William Law had for Hiël appears from the letter of Thomas Langcake to a friend, dated 30 November 1782, which said:

''Mr. Law said to me f … Protestant Mysticsthat Jacob Behmen was the first in Excellency, Hiël the next, and in the third place the Quakers … tho' the deep mystic writers of the Romish Church surpassed them in their exceeding Love of God and Divine Wisdom''.

On the title page of the ''Erklärung der Offenbarung Johannis'' Hiël wrote " The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation/The Kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21). This idea is expressed by William Law in ''The Spirit of Prayer'' (1749):

''God, the only Good of all intelligent Natures, is not an absent or distant God, but is more present in and to our souls, than our own Bodies.''

The prominent 17th century French mystic and Christian philosopher Pierre Poiret (1646-1719) dedicated a chapter to Hiël in his ''Lettre sur les Auteurs Mystiques''.Marjolaine Chevallier, Pierre Poiret 1646-1719: ''Du Protestantisme à la mystique'', Labor et Fides, 1994, pp. 30.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van Barrefelt, Hendrik 1520 births 1594 deaths 16th-century Christian mystics German Christian mystics People from Barneveld Dutch weavers 16th-century German writers 16th-century German male writers