Johan Decavele (born Tielt, 1943) is a Belgian historian and archivist who worked as head of the Culture Department of the City of Ghent. He has mainly published on the history of Ghent and of the Reformation. He contributed to the Algemene Geschiedenis der Nederlanden , Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques , Monasticon belge, The Golden Delta of the Low Countries and The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation.
Decavele studied history at the University of Leuven and at the Institut für Europäische Geschichte, Abteilung für Abendländische Religionsgeschichte in Mainz. In 1971 he obtained his PhD in history at the KU Leuven. His dissertation earned an award from the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts and was published in two volumes as De dageraad van de Reformatie in Vlaanderen (The dawn of the Reformation in Flanders). [1] With its almost 850 pages, the dissertation is generally regarded as the foundational work for the history of the early Protestant Reformation in the Netherlands, [2] with the use of many hitherto unknown sources. [3] "Decavele’s achievement is considerable. On the basis of new archival information he has radically revised the chronology of the Reformation in Flanders and set this firmly within the contemporary religious and social context". [4] "Pour la Belgique, où le protestantisme a pu passer, quelquesfois, pour une curiosité, il était nécessaire, il était bon que l'on rappelât son balbutiement, sa séduction et son martyrologe. J. Decavele y a réussi pour la Flandre". [5]
From 1971, Decavele had a career of almost 35 years at the City of Ghent. His philosophy on cultural preservation emphasizes the importance of safeguarding historical records and cultural heritage for future generations. As a historian and archivist, he believed in making archives accessible to the public while maintaining their integrity. His work in modernizing the Ghent city archives and organizing exhibitions like "Eenheid en Scheiding in de Nederlanden" in 1976 reflects his commitment to preserving and sharing cultural history. He also advocated for critical research and collaboration to ensure that cultural preservation is both accurate and meaningful. On his 25th anniversary as the city's archivist, a liber amicorum was published in his honour, Qui valet ingenio, with contributions from 37 colleagues and friends. [6] . Beyond his archival and historical contributions, Decavele chaired the Gentse Straatnaamgeving Commission, which played a pivotal role in renaming approximately 600 streets after the 1977 merger. Since 1 December 1984 he was director of Cultural Affairs, with breaks in between, until in 2003 he was appointed head of the Department. He put the service back on track. Despite his busy ministry, he continued his scholarly work and became an authority on the Reformation. A chapter from his 2004 book was called by reviewer Henk van Nierop "one of the clearest overview articles of early Dutch Protestantism that I know of". [7] He gave numerous lectures in Flanders and the Netherlands. At his farewell on 23 December 2005, he was honoured by family, colleagues and friends, the city council and the entire Ghent cultural sector.
During his pension, he continued to publish. In addition to the Reformation, [8] he took back his series of lectures, including six afternoons of courses for the history department of HOVO University Leiden. In early 2018 an unfortunate eye procedure, resulting in impaired vision, put an end to his scientific work.