Tanchelm

Last updated

Norbert of Xanten fighting the heretical preacher Tanchelm; fresco by Johannes Zick in the church of Schussenried Abbey Schussenried Klosterkirche Fresken N07 Norbert gegen Tanchelm.jpg
Norbert of Xanten fighting the heretical preacher Tanchelm; fresco by Johannes Zick in the church of Schussenried Abbey

Tanchelm (approx. 1070 - Antwerp, 1115), also known as Tanchelm of Antwerp, Tanchelijn, Tanquelin or Tanchelin, was an itinerant preacher critical of the established Roman Catholic church, active in the Low Countries around the beginning of the 12th century.

Contents

History

Tanchelm was supposed to have been a monk, perhaps from the circle of Count Robert II of Flanders (1092–1111). From 1112 he preached in Antwerp, the Duchy of Brabant, Flanders and Zeeland against the official church and its hierarchy, against the Real Presence in the Eucharist. He opposed the payment of tithes and condemned those priests who lived with women.

He was apparently also in Rome, where he is supposed to have campaigned, in vain, for an extension of the Bishopric of Thérouanne to cover the islands of the Scheldt. He was briefly put under arrest in Cologne in 1113–1114 but released again, despite the vigorous protests of the cathedral clergy of Utrecht. In 1115, he was slain by a priest while on a water journey. [1]

The followers of Tanchelm, who is reported to have allowed himself to be venerated almost to the point of worship,[ citation needed ] were still to be found for a period after his death in Antwerp; in 1124 Saint Norbert of Xanten preached against them.

Tanchelm prefigured ideas in the Protestant reformation. [2]

Controversy about his views

The negative information regarding Tanchelm has been contained in no more than two documents:

As both these documents were written by enemies of Tanchelm and no contradictory documents have emerged, professor Henri Pirenne put question marks behind the accusations and formulated another thesis.

He theorized that Tanchelm was a collaborator of the count of Flanders and, like his master, took sides with the Pope regarding the investiture controversy. By acting so, he was declared an enemy by the bishop and the canons of Utrecht, who had taken sides with the Holy Roman Emperor. Hence the fierce opposition and the slanderous accusations against him and, in the end, his assassination.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard of Clairvaux</span> Burgundian saint, abbot and theologian (1090–1153)

Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist., venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the nascent Cistercian Order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Waldo</span> French theologian

Peter Waldo was the leader of the Waldensians, a Christian spiritual movement of the Middle Ages.

The Union of Utrecht was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Habsburg Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waldensians</span> Christian movement

The Waldensians, also known as Waldenses, Vallenses, Valdesi, or Vaudois, are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in the late twelfth century, the movement spread to the Cottian Alps in what are today France and Italy. The founding of the Waldensians is attributed to Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant who gave away his property around 1173, preaching apostolic poverty as the way to perfection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norbert of Xanten</span> Bishop of the Catholic Church, founder of the Premonstratensian order of canons regular

Norbert of Xanten, O. Praem (Xanten-Magdeburg), also known as Norbert Gennep, was a bishop of the Catholic Church, founder of the Premonstratensian order of canons regular, and is venerated as a saint. Norbert was canonized by Pope Gregory XIII in the year 1582, and his statue appears above the Piazza colonnade of St. Peter's Square in Rome.

Peter of Bruys was a medieval French religious teacher. He was called a heresiarch by the Roman Catholic Church because he opposed infant baptism, the erecting of churches and the veneration of crosses, the doctrine of transubstantiation and prayers for the dead. An angry Roman Catholic mob murdered him in or around 1131.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Sawtrey</span>

William Sawtrey, also known as William Salter was an English Roman Catholic priest and Lollard martyr. He was executed for heresy.

Henry of Lausanne was a French heresiarch of the first half of the 12th century. His preaching began around 1116 and he died imprisoned around 1148. His followers are known as Henricians.

Michael Glykas or Glycas was a 12th-century Byzantine historian, theologian, mathematician, astronomer and poet. He was probably from Corfu and lived in Constantinople. He was a critic of Manuel I Komnenos, and was imprisoned and blinded due to his participation in a conspiracy against the emperor. He is also identified by modern scholarship with Michael Sikidites, who was condemned as a heresiarch in 1200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bartolomé Carranza</span> 16th-century Navarrese priest persecuted in the Spanish Inquisition

Bartolomé Carranza was a Navarrese priest of the Dominican Order, theologian and Archbishop of Toledo. He is notable for having been persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition. He spent much of his later life imprisoned on charges of heresy. He was first denounced in 1530, and imprisoned during 1558–1576. The final judgement found no proof of heresy but secluded him to the Dominican cloister of Santa Maria sopra Minerva where he died seven days later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pataria</span>

The pataria was an eleventh-century movement focused on the city of Milan in northern Italy, which aimed to reform the clergy and ecclesiastic government within the city and its ecclesiastical province, in support of papal sanctions against simony and clerical marriage. Those involved in the movement were called patarini, patarines or patarenes, a word chosen by their opponents, the etymology of which is unclear. The movement, associated with urban unrest in the city of Milan, is generally considered to have begun in 1057 and ended in 1075.

Heresy in Christianity denotes the formal denial or doubt of a core doctrine of the Christian faith as defined by one or more of the Christian churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Calvinism</span>

Calvinism originated with the Reformation in Switzerland when Huldrych Zwingli began preaching what would become the first form of the Reformed doctrine in Zürich in 1519.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonne-Espérance Abbey</span>

Bonne-Espérance Abbey was a Premonstratensian abbey that existed from 1130 to the end of the 18th century, located in Vellereille-les-Brayeux in the Walloon municipality of Estinnes, province of Hainaut, Diocese of Tournai, in present-day Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Norbert Abbey</span> Norbertine monastery in De Pere, Wisconsin

St. Norbert Abbey is a Roman Catholic monastery of Canons Regular of Premontre, located in De Pere, Wisconsin. The Abbey is named after Saint Norbert of Xanten, the founder of the order, after whom, members are known as, "Norbertines". St. Norbert Abbey was established in 1898 by Norbertines from Berne Abbey in the Netherlands. St. Norbert's is the oldest religious community of its kind the United States, serving as the Mother Canonry to Norbertines across North America.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Ecumenical Councils.

Johannes Saliger was a sixteenth century radical Lutheran theologian and controversialist. He was a leading protagonist in "the Saliger Controversy" which bears his name.

Apostolici, Apostolic Brethren, or Apostles, are the names given to various Christian heretics, whose common doctrinal feature was an ascetic rigidity of morals, which made them reject property and marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proto-Protestantism</span> Precursors to the Protestant Reformation

Proto-Protestantism, also called pre-Protestantism, refers to individuals and movements that propagated ideas similar to Protestantism before 1517, which historians usually regard as the starting year for the Reformation era. The relationship between medieval sects and Protestantism is an issue that has been debated by historians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stedinger Crusade</span> Papally-sanctioned war against the rebellious peasants of Stedingen

The Stedinger Crusade (1233–1234) was a Papally-sanctioned war against the rebellious peasants of Stedingen.

References

  1. Jacob Cornelis van Slee (1894), "Tanchelm", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), vol. 37, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 364–365
  2. Reddy, Mike Megrove (2017). "The forms of communication employed by the Protestant Reformers and especially Luther and Calvin" (PDF). Pharos Journal of Theology. 98. The Pre-Reformers: All groups that spoke out against the church were regarded as "heretical" groups. In the same light, the present-day church considers those individuals that questioned the church "doctrine" and "teachings" as heretics. McCallum (2002:n.p.) states that there were eight heretical groups of pre-reformers between the 12th and 15th centuries during the various European regions. McCallum 2002:n.p. mentions them as follows:
    • Flagellants were in 1259. They marched with only loincloths through the streets crying out to God to show mercy on them (McCallum 2002:n.p.). In 1349 they were condemned.
    • Then there was a variety of lay groups known as Beguines who had no specific set of forms (McCallum, 2002;n.p.). They were followers of Lambert le Begue who was a stammerer.
    • In the 12th century Tanchelm preached in the diocese of Utrecht. He denied the author of the pope and the church and attacked the structure of the Catholic Church (McCallum, 2002:n.p.).
    • Peter of Bruys in the 12th century also rejected christening of infants. He rejected prayers for the dead, the Eucharist veneration of the cross and ecclesiastical ceremonies (McCallum, 2002:n.p.).
    • In the first half of 12th century Henry of Lausanne preached in what is known as France. His followers were known as the Henricans. The clergy were condemned for the love of wealth and power by Henry of Lausanne (McCallum, 2002:n.p.).
    • The Adamists engaged in behaviour that was socially unacceptable and indulged in the practice of nude worship.
    • Arnold of Brescia wanted the church to follow Christian ideals (McCallum 2002:n.p.). He attacked the bishops for their dishonest gains. He was hanged in 1155 and his body was burned.
    • The Pataria, in Northern Italy were in reaction to the corruption which was taking place in the church. McCallum (2002:n.p.) states that the self-indulgent practices within the Roman Catholic Church were also opposed by other smaller movements.

Sources