Philip van Marnix

Philip van Marnix , 1540-98, Flemish patriot, lord of Sainte-Aldegonde. He became a Calvinist in his youth and was the chief author of the Compromise of Breda (1566; see Gueux ). A leader in the Dutch and Flemish struggle for independence from Spain, he actively supported William the Silent. He wrote (c.1570) the hymn Wilhelmus van Nassauwe, which was used as the rallying song of the insurgents and which remains the national anthem of the Netherlands. In 1572 he represented William at the estates of Holland, held at Dordrecht, and secured the recognition of William as lawful stadholder of Holland. Among his writings are the vehement anti-Catholic pamphlet, De Biënkorf der H. Roomsche Kercke (1569; tr. The Bee Hive of the Romish Church, 1578?) and a versification of the Psalms (1580).

Marnix, Philipp van (1540–98), Baron de Sainte-Aldegonde, Dutch Calvinist theologian and statesman. Between 1562 and 1569 he won fame by his Protestant and nationalist writings, of which the most celebrated was the satirical De biënkorf der heilige roomsche kerche (1569; Eng. tr., 1579). About 1566–7 he took up arms as an anti-Spanish leader and became a close friend of William the Silent. After 1585 he devoted himself to literary activity, most notably to his Dutch translation of the Psalms.