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375:. Delrio professed a sincere conversion to the religious life, but with his career side-lined and his family connections either dead or in exile he might also have had little choice. At the same time his close personal involvement as well as his family's role in the Dutch Revolt also meant that Martin could only ever see the conflict in religious terms. Not waiting for a reply he headed for Spain entering the Society of Jesus on 9 May 1580.
1159:
581:, Delrio's was not based on personal experience. His credibility could less easily be called into question. It has, however, been suggested that, divorced from the real world, as a result its relevance for witchcraft persecutions was rather limited. Sceptics seized on the work's more moderate comments, to Delrio's annoyance. A translation into English began appearing in 2000, making the work accessible to a wider audience.
490:, where he despaired of the quality of the students, describing them as "students for our saliva". In the autumn of 1607 Delrio petitioned Rome to be allowed to return to the Low Countries, which was granted. He left Valladolid on 18 August. On 19 October 1608, three days after his return to Leuven, Delrio breathed his last, the final stop for a person who could apparently not find peace anywhere.
236:
on 17 May 1551, Whit Sunday, to the
Spanish merchant Antonio del RĂo (d. 17 February 1586) and his wife Eleonora LĂłpez de Villanova (d. 21 April 1602). The Del RĂo family were part of a sizeable Spanish community in Antwerp, more than 200 merchants were active in Antwerp in 1540. Young Martin studied
339:
Despite Martin's appointment and rapid promotion (he would be made vice-chancellor of
Brabant in July 1578), these were tragic years for the Delrio family. LuĂs was arrested by the rebels, later released but soon died. Martin's father Antonio evaded capture and died a penniless exile in Lisbon.
440:, who credited Delrio as the "author of his conversion". Although this vastly overstates the Jesuit's actual role, it did lead to their names and reputations coming forever intertwined. Lipsius, one of the leading humanists of his day, had spent thirteen years teaching in Protestant
344:
changed course, embarking on a campaign reconciliation. Little attention was paid to those whose loyalty could be taken for granted. Martin seems to have lost his position as vice-chancellor. Another victim seems to have been the memoirs which Delrio composed in honour of his patron
328:. A cousin, LuĂs del RĂo, was one of the councillors. Martin's father Antonio later became treasurer general of confiscations, in charge of seizing assets. Martin himself would after his return from Spain (sometime in 1576 or early 1577) follow suit. The new governor-general
522:. It quickly became extraordinarily popular. It was still reprinted in Cologne in 1720 and 1755 and in Venice in 1746, long after the printing of rival works had ceased. Historians have traditionally regarded the work as only a receptacle of the ideas of the
386:, while there, is unclear, but the two men were second cousins on their maternal side. It is at this time that Delrio began work on his first publication since his entry in the Society, a substantially revised and expanded version of his edition of
305:. On 7 September 1561, at the age of 10, Martin Delrio made his official entry, swearing an oath in which he promised to protect widows and orphans. The Delrio family also paid host to a number of prominent figures on visits to Antwerp, including
561:
wasâin keeping with Delrio's other publicationsâa work of textual scholarship. It was based on Delrio's knowledge of the classics and familiarity with Church history. Hagiography forms a particular source of inspiration. (Delrio's student
570:, a Catholic encyclopedia of saints lives.) Delrio also drew on histories of other countries and continents, as well as Jesuit reports from the New World. The textual foundation of the work made it difficult to critique and to replace.
455:
likened the individual Jesuit to "a lifeless body". Delrio's time in Leuven, however, was almost as turbulent as his time in
Bordeaux, when he refused to return to the Low Countries. In letters to the Jesuit General in Rome,
296:
Martin Delrio was never destined for one of the religious orders. His family had originally destined him for a political career. His law degree from
Salamanca was part of this requirement. The Spanish crown since the days of
589:
283:
in 1567 and 1568. He also spent some time in Douai where he refused to share a bed with an unnamed famous man (cited by his 1609 Jesuit hagiography as proof of his chastity). In 1572 he matriculated at the
543:" and claimed that "t was the Catholic reconquest which introduced witch-burning into Flanders, and the Jesuit del Rio who would keep it up", holding the Jesuit directly responsible for the burnings.
1144:
The sole known depiction of Martin Delrio is currently in the Louvre. It shows him standing alongside his younger brother and father. He is about fourteen years old at the time. It can be found
394:(finally published in 1593â94) was at once a renunciation of secular (classical) interests and an acknowledgement of the seminal role the classics played in Jesuit education.
336:. Credentials or qualifications were irrelevant; with the exception of one loyalist member who fled to Paris, none of the existing councillors had decided to follow Don John.
413:. At last in 1594 he obtained the position of professor of biblical exegesis at the Jesuit college of Leuven. He would teach (and later publish on) the Old Testament
203:. He was the author of a large number of books, including classical commentaries and works of biblical exegesis. He remains, however, best known for his six-volume
1246:
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This by no means put an end to his itinerant existence. When, in 1584, it was decided that he should return to the Low
Countries for mission work, he stopped in
260:. In middle age their friendship would significantly change the course of both their lives. Delrio's first publication, an edition of the late Roman grammarian
898:(Brussels/Rome, 1998), pp. 344â366; Jan Machielsen, "Friendship and Religion in the Republic of Letters: The Return of Justus Lipsius to Catholicism (1591)",
554:". However, it is now recognized that Delrio's personal experience with witchcraft was really rather limited and that he may never have met an alleged witch.
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had particularly valued such degrees. Equally valued were titles of nobility. A legacy left by Martin's grandfather was used to buy him the title of Lord of
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on 1 December 1572 and graduated two years later. At
Salamanca he would see âthe remnant of an evil gymnasiumâ where Muslims had allegedly taught magic.
444:
and was a bone both
Catholics and Protestants fought over. Delrio, whose orthodoxy was never in doubt, posthumously became Lipsius's guarantor.
325:
264:, was based on a manuscript borrowed from Lipsius and included suggested emendations by his tutor Valerius. Delrio also published an edition of
478:
Delrio had never wanted to leave Spain. When in Leuven he actively lobbied to be returned there, he was sent to Graz instead. In 1604, the
1221:
425:, possibly the most famous exegete of the Counter-Reformation.) During these years he also gave a number of sermons in honour of the
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857:, 60 (1960): 481â99; Jan Machielsen, "Thinking with Montaigne: Evidence, Scepticism and Meaning in Early Modern Demonology",
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in
Austria, close to the frontier with the Ottoman Empire. Here he impressed the ultra-orthodox Archduke Ferdinand (who as
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MĂŠmoires de Martin
Antoine del Rio sur les troubles des Pays-Bas durant lâadministration de Don Juan dâAutriche, 1576â1578
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There he studied under the humanist
Cornelius Valerius and met a number of other young promising scholars, including
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argued that Delrio drew on his experience as a young magistrate, which made him in effect "a colleague of
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first made peace and then broke it. Soon after, on 29 October 1577, Don John appointed Martin to the
272:, published in 1576 but which he (falsely) claimed to have completed before his twentieth birthday.
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1025:"Ethnophilology and Colonial Demonology: Towards a Global History of Early Modern Superstition"
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Martini Antonii Delrii ex Societate Iesu Syntagma tragoediae latinae: in tres partes distinctum
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Ex miscellaneorum scriptoribus digestorum, codicis et institutionum iuris civilis interpretatio
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Ex miscellaneorum scriptoribus digestorum, codicis et institutionum iuris civilis interpretatio
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and stayed there for two years. Whether he met Bordeaux's mayor, the famous essayist
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Martin's career also faltered. After the death of Don John, the new governor-general
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at last provided an excuse for travel to Spain. Delrio spent some time teaching at
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Werner Thomas, "Martin Antonio Delrio and Justus Lipsius", in M. Laureys, ed.,
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Historians have also believed that the work was based on practical experience.
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The World of Justus Lipsius: A Contribution towards His Intellectual Biography
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688:(in Latin). Antuerpiae: ex officina Plantiniana, apud Ioannem Moretum. 1607.
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The introduction to the Martin Delrio biography can be read free of charge
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He studied or taught at Jesuit colleges across Catholic Europe, including
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and soon revealed himself as a childhood prodigy. He matriculated at the
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626:. Antuerpiae: ex officina Christophori Plantini Architypographi Regii.
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Martin Delrio: Demonology and Scholarship in the Counter-Reformation
1162: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
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Vindiciae areopagiticae Martini Del Rio contra Josephum Scaligerum
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His travels after 1586 are relatively unclear. In 1587, he was in
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Hugh Trevor-Roper, 'The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century' (1967)
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In Senecae Tragoedias decem commentarii Martini Ant. Del Rio
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Ad Cl. Claudiani V. C. Opera Martini Antonii Del-Rio Notae
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ex officina Christophori Plantini Architypographi Regii
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had wanted obedience to be the Society's hallmark. Its
832:, trans. Adolphe Delvigne, 3 vols (Brussels, 1869â71).
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Delrio was credited with importing the beliefs of the
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In Leuven he also reunited with his university friend
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would play an important role in the emergence of the
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in 1574. After a period of political service in the
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149:; 17 May 1551 â 19 October 1608) was a Dutch
279:are difficult to follow. He can be placed at the
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268:. He was particularly proud of the edition of
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608:Polyhistor a Martino-Antonio Delrio emendatus
363:On 27 December 1579 Martin Delrio wrote from
678:(in Latin). Vol. 6. Louvain: G. Rivius.
471:would plunge the Holy Roman Empire into the
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855:Revue dâhistoire littĂŠraire de la France
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421:. (His successor in that chair would be
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667:. Antuerpiae: ex Officina Plantiniana.
245:on 1 December 1563, at the age of 12.
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1023:Bartoletti, TomĂĄs (2 January 2022).
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1168:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "
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637:(in Latin). Paris: Michel Sonnius.
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605:(1572). Martin Delrio (ed.).
307:Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
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237:at a Latin school in nearby
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313:, Philip II's fourth wife.
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275:His travels during his
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207:(1599â1600), a work on
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652:, apud Viduam, &
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861:25/4 (2011): 427â52.
650:officina Plantiniana
603:Gaius Julius Solinus
419:Book of Lamentations
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262:Gaius Iulius Solinus
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51:Habsburg Netherlands
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60:
56:
52:
48:
44:
38:
34:
30:
25:Martin Delrio
22:
19:
1184:
1173:
1115:
1097:
1092:
1087:, Chapter 11
1080:
1075:, Chapter 10
1032:
1028:
1018:
1006:
998:
993:
974:, p. 12
967:
955:
950:, p. 73
943:
931:
919:
914:, p. 53
907:
899:
895:
890:
885:, Chapter 12
878:
866:
858:
854:
849:
837:
829:
824:
812:
801:
796:, p. 32
789:
781:
776:
764:
759:, p. 18
752:
747:, p. 30
740:
728:
723:, p. 34
701:
684:
674:
663:
644:
633:
622:
607:
593:
585:Publications
575:Henry Boguet
572:
558:
556:
552:Nicolas Remy
545:
540:
532:
530:
523:
511:
499:
497:
477:
469:Ferdinand II
462:
452:
446:
435:
430:
396:
391:
377:
362:
350:
338:
318:Dutch Revolt
315:
295:
276:
274:
247:
231:
213:superstition
204:
166:
119:
118:
18:
1207:1608 deaths
1202:1551 births
1035:(1): 1â27.
735:, Chapter 5
427:Virgin Mary
39:17 May 1551
1196:Categories
1118:. Oxford:
1107:References
807:(in Dutch)
484:Valladolid
365:Maastricht
303:Aartselaar
228:Early life
217:witchcraft
154:theologian
65:1608-10-20
1057:225532613
1049:2380-1883
488:Salamanca
189:Salamanca
158:Salamanca
417:and the
380:Bordeaux
266:Claudian
169:Bordeaux
106:Ordained
96:Religion
1166::
541:Malleus
533:Malleus
234:Antwerp
135:Spanish
63: (
43:Antwerp
1126:
1055:
1047:
596:, 1580
442:Leiden
403:Leuven
390:. The
256:, and
215:, and
187:, and
185:Leuven
151:Jesuit
143:French
73:Leuven
1053:S2CID
694:Notes
504:Latin
411:Liège
407:Douai
399:Mainz
209:magic
181:Mainz
173:Douai
127:Latin
1152:here
1146:here
1124:ISBN
1045:ISSN
577:and
557:The
494:Work
486:and
465:Graz
405:and
309:and
239:Lier
223:Life
177:Graz
109:1589
58:Died
36:Born
1172:".
1037:doi
510:or
1198::
1122:.
1065:^
1051:.
1043:.
1031:.
1027:.
979:^
713:^
506::
252:,
219:.
211:,
183:,
179:,
175:,
171:,
145::
141:;
137::
133:;
129::
123:SJ
49:,
45:,
29:SJ
1154:.
1132:.
1059:.
1039::
1033:7
656:.
615:.
502:(
125:(
67:)
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