Letter #1379
Cornelis DE SCHEPPER to Ioannes DANTISCUSBrussels, 1535-12-06
English register:
De Schepper informs Dantiscus that he sent him two letters from Lüneburg [cf. IDL 1356, IDL 1367], entrusting them to Mayor of Lübeck, Nikolaus Brömse.
De Schepper reports on his and Godschalk [Ericksen's] stay in Münster in Westphalia, where they saw the impressive fortifications built by the Anabaptists and one of the cages in which the Anabaptist leaders [Jan Beuckelszoon van Leyden, Bernt Knipperdollinck and Bernhard Krechtinck] are to be put [after their execution]. They also made a futile attempt to convert Knipperdollinck and Krechtinck, visiting them in prison.
Next they went to Antwerp where they reminisced about Dantiscus when speaking with Veyt Herle and other friends of old. They wondered if Dantiscus was still alive. Godschalk stayed in Antwerp, while De Schepper set off for Brugge to deal with personal matters.
De Schepper writes that he will spend the winter at the court [of Queen Mary]. He expects that Godschalk will come there, too. He sends Dantiscus greetings from Dean Mark Laurijn, his own wife [Elisabeth Donche] and his son [Cornelis jr.]. The little boy is plump and looks a lot like Dantiscus.
De Schepper recounts the news: the Duke of Milan [Francesco II Sforza] died on 1 November. Based on his will, his widow received the Marquisate of Vigevano, while the whole Duchy [of Milan] and 1,200,000 ducats went to Emperor Charles. God has also blessed the Emperor with the discovery of a gold mine in America, this news coming from Dantiscus' sponsor Ehinger. The Emperor spent a long time in Sicily where he collected substantial taxes as well as receiving 250,000 ducats as a gift. Next he went via Calabria towards Naples.
Papal Nuncio Pier Paolo Vergerio, who was in the Low Countries recently, announced that the Pope [Paul III] had agreed to hold a council in Mantua. The King of England [Henry VIII], who sentenced the Cardinal of Rochester [John Fisher] and Thomas More to death, has allegedly been excommunicated and his Kingdom interdicted.
Peace reigns in the Low Countries. Meanwhile, the Danes and the inhabitants of Holstein and Lübeck are rebelling; their fear for their own fate is making them reflect on [the candidacy of] Prince Palatine Friedrich [II von Wittelsbach]. Their mission will arrive in the Low Countries soon. The Emperor supports the Prince Palatine as the husband of his niece [Dorothea of Denmark]. Hoping that Dantiscus will mention this to his neighbours [i.e. Duke Albrecht of Prussia], De Schepper informs him of existing peace treaties between the Emperor and Christian [III of Oldenburg], Duke of Holstein, and between Lower Germany and Denmark, underlining that they contain no mention of Christian being entitled to the Kingdom of Denmark.
De Schepper indicates that he knows that Poland provided financial and military support to the Duke of Holstein’s faction. Knowing the peaceable attitude of the king [Sigismund I], he expresses the hope that this support was not directed against the Palatinate [of the Rhine] but was only devised to keep the city of Lübeck in check. Queen Mary offered to act as a mediator in the conflict, but Christian [III of Oldenburg] turned her down. In view of his refusal the Queen will support the Prince Palatine. The Emperor has written from Africa and Sicily, calling for efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
De Schepper thinks that the King of Denmark [Christian II] deserves a lesser punishment than he is suffering; he is also outraged at the shameful treatment of his daughters [Dorothea of Denmark and Christiana of Denmark].
He jokingly complains that the anticipated ban on navigation and trade will deprive him of Gdańsk beer. Regardless of who might win, De Schepper fears the disastrous effects of an armed conflict and therefore fervently supports peaceful resolutions. He draws Dantiscus’ attention to the fact that it is a bishop’s duty to foster peace, and encourages him to persuade his neighbour the Duke [Albrecht I von Hohenzollern-Ansbach] to get involved in the mediation in Denmark. He himself will make a similar effort with Duke Frederick, on condition that someone persuades the other side to pursue peace as well.
The Count of Nassau suffers from gout but will come to the court soon. The King of France [Francis I] is taking no action. In De Schepper’s view, if it were not for his health problems he would have tried to seize the Duchy of Milan after the Sforza family died out. Overwhelmed by their misfortunes, the Swiss are not venturing out of their territory. There are many German foot soldiers in the Münster diocese, waiting for one of the dukes to take them into his pay. The Duke of Guelders [Charles II] has calmed down thanks to the French crowns paid to him.
From letters recently received, De Schepper learned that Erasmus of Rotterdam has published Ecclesiastes and turned down the church offices offered to him by the Pope [Paul III]. De Schepper presumes that Dantiscus already owns Ecclesiastes. He cannot send him the Books of Psalms because he does not have them to hand.
De Schepper is sending this letter through a Pole [Stanisław Cypser] who is just departing. He promises to send a longer one through the Fuggers. He asks Dantiscus for news. He commends himself to his mother, brothers, sisters and relatives. De Schepper’s neighbour [De Baillieul], the mother of Dantiscus’ young servant [Carolus de Tautenberg], commends her son to Dantiscus. De Schepper also encloses a letter to the young man. De Schepper asks to be recommended to Georg Klingenbeck, whom he knows from Spain and Augsburg, if he is still alive.
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Text & apparatus & commentaryPlain textText & commentaryText & apparatus
Reverendissimo in Christo Patri et Domino, domino Ioanni Dantisco episcopo Culmensi, administratori Pomesaniensi etc., domino tamquam patri honorandissimo
Reverendissime in Christo Pater et Domine, domine ex animo honorandissime.
Ex Luneburgo misi binas litteras meas ad te, quibus abunde perscripsi omnia, quae ibi transacta fuere. Sarcinulam autem earum litterarum commisi domino Nicolao Bromse equiti etc. et burgimagistro Lubicensi non adeo dudum restituto in dignitatem, quare non dubito, quin ad te fuerit perlata. Ab eo tempore fuimus Monasterii Westphaliae, ubi conspeximus munitiones ab anababtistis erectas, magno sane ingenio et labore incredibili. Vidimus etiam corbem ferreum, unum ex illis, in quibus inserentur tres factionis illius antesignani ita pensuri ad perpetuam rei memoriam et terrorem facinorosorum. Nobis praeterhaec sermo fuit cum Bernardis Knyperduninck et Kreftingk, quorum alter proconsul, alter parochus fuerat, insigni uterque audacia et deplorato ingenio. Ad hos in vinculis profecti, conati sumus ab haeresi illa revocare, sed frustra cessere omnia, induruerunt, brevi ob id una cum rege in caveis exponendi. Aliud nihil scriptu dignum nobis in reditu accidit.
Cum Andtverpiam venissemus, de te multus sermo fuit apud Veyt Herle et alios, an viveres, propterea quod nullus advenisset, qui certum aliquid nuntiasset, revocavimusque in morem veterem consuetudinem, quae nobis tecum aliquando fuit communis.
Ceterum, cum mihi Brugas esset proficiscendum ob domestica negotia, relictus est ibi dominus Godtscalcus, quem ab eo tempore non vidi, nondum enim venit in aulam, ubi iam ego subsistere hanc hiemem decrevi, et ob id ad te non scribit, reor tamen illum hodie hic futurum. Omnes Deo gratia recte valemus. Marcus Laurinus decanus, uxor et filius egregie corpulentus et tibi perquam similis, hi se tibi ex animo commendant.
Rerum novarum apud nos aliud nihil est. Dux Mediolani mortuus est Kalendis Novembribus. Relicta ipsius, filia Christierni regis, egregie dotata remanet, cui testamento contulit marchionatum Viglevani cum omnibus appendentiis. Est is valoris decem milium ducatorum in singulos annos. Reliquit adhaec idem ille dux duodecies centena milia ducatorum in praesenti pecunia, in quam succedit illi, sicut in totum ducatum, Carolus caesar. Ita illum principem Deus undique beat, ab omni enim parte veniunt illi pecuniae. In Indiis perventum est ad veras fodinas, uti scribit compater tuus Ehinger. Mira de illis feruntur, quae melius ex mercatoribus intelliges.
Idem Carolus caesar diu fuit Panormi in Sicilia, quo in regno, praeter quattuor exactiones ordinarias easque non exiguas, dono sunt illi data ducenta quinquaginta milia ducatorum. Quid Neapolitanum regnum conferet, adhuc in dubio est, nondum enim intelligere potuimus illum appulisse Neapolim, in Calabriam autem ex Messana Siciliae traiecisse certi sumus.
Fuit hic his diebus Petrus Paulus Vergerius, qui nuntium agit pontificium apud Rhomanorum, Hungariae etc. regem, nuntians pontificem maximum consensisse in concilium, quod celebrari debeat Mantuae. Quid exinde secuturum sit, brevi sciemus, hoc est cum caesar Neapolim advenerit. Fertur et rex Angliae, qui supplicium de cardinali Roffensi et Thoma Moro sumpsit, excommunicatus et regnum ipsius subiectum banno. Quid sibi volent hae tragoediae, brevi sciemus.
Hic secura in pace versamur, quantumvis tumultuentur Dani, Holsatae et Lubicenses. Qui sibi metuentes ad illustrissimum ducem Fridericum palatinum respicere incipiunt et ob id brevi sunt oratores suos apud nos habituri, neque enim potest caesarea maiestas illi principi tam bene merito de Rhomano imperio, et cui neptem suam credidit, in suo iure non tueri et adiuvare. Atque ut intelligas, quo in statu res sint, et tuis vicinis habita occasione referre queas, verum est, quod tractatus factus fuit ab annis aliquot inter caesarem et ducem Christiernum Holsatiae de bona pace et amicitia inter ipsos et ditiones Patriarum Inferiorum tantum et ducatuum Slesvici, Holsatiae etc., sed nulla ibi mentio regnorum Daniae neque factus est tractatus inter illum et hunc, ut regem Danorum, sed ut ducem Holsatiae. Inter easdem praeterea Patrias et regnum Daniae tractatus est, sed non cum condicione, quod illi regno praeficeretur Christiernus dux. Haec est summa rerum. Caesari liberum est ex tractatu vel hunc, vel illum pati regem esse, neque enim de rege ulla mentio.
Scio apud vos esse, qui aliter rem depraedicant, neque clam nobis est, quod partes Holsatae vos pecunia, navibus et milite aluistis. Pro quibus rebus non admodum magnas gratias meremini apud palatinos, nisi non malignandi animo, sed Lubicensium ferociam compescendi id effecistis. Id quod ego reor et apud eos, qui rem sciunt, depraedico, nota est enim mihi prudentia incredibilis serenissimi regis Sigismundi scioque illum non nisi invitum ad arma cogi posse neque delectari principum alendis dissidiis, et ob id excusabile est factum vestrum. Ne tamen graviora immineant, viri prudentis est in medio cursu nonnumquam vela contrahere. Serenissima regina Maria obtulit se mediatricem et sequestram ad componenda dissidia partium. Recusavit id Christiernus dux Holsatiae. Caesar ex Aphrica, ex Sicilia scripsit, daremus operam, ut amice componerentur omnia. Cum recusat alter voluntariam oblationem, quid superest, nisi ut alter experiatur, quid aequitate causae, amicis, opibus et favore possit?
Quid enim magis indignum, quam duas regis Danorum filias ita nudas eiectas esse, ipsarum patrimonium detineri, neque velle ad aliqua pacis media intendere? De patre ipsarum nihil dico, nisi, si peccata ipsius meruerunt, ut perpetuo carcere acerbam ducat vitam. Quid ad hoc filiae? Quamquam in obscuro non est, quam turpiter et praeter omne ius gentium cum eo transactum sit, forte haec in caput ipsorum aliquando iusto Dei iudicio incident.
Haec ob id scribo, quod videor cariturus cerevisia vestra Pruthenica clauso mari et interdictis commeatibus, ita enim minantur victores. Quae res peius me habet. Sed extra iocum.
Praesulum omnium muneri convenire nosti pacem ubique, quoad possunt, nisi cum vitiis, procurare. Vicinus es principi potenti et affinitate coniuncto cum illustrissimo Christierno duce Holsatiae, qui se vocat regem Danorum. Quid si illi suadeatur, ut tuta et certa in mediocritate praeferat summis et incertis? An hoc tam esset a praesulis officio alienum aut consilium istud tam esse contemnendum tibi videbitur? Nondum principium est malorum, quae imminent ex hac causa, nisi in tempore occurratur. Qui autem fieri id possit, nisi per viros bonos? Ego facile in me recipio illustrissimum ducem Fridericum ad aequas condiciones pertrahere et a bello etiam avertere, si quis modo sit, qui adversam ipsius partem ad eadem permoveat. Sed victoria, credo, ferox animus speciosa magis quam secura consilia admittit, quare temperantia opus est. Victoriam pauci hactenus aut voluere aut scivere sequi. Facilius ea paratur, quam conservatur, atque ut maxime talis sit, quam tueri possis, nisi tamen aequitatis robore fulciatur, brevi labi solet. Haec tibi et amico privatus ego, neque enim omittere possum, quin de bonis rebus tecum per litteras commenter. Ea via est, per quam nonnulli sibi caesareae maiestatis gratiam et imperii favorem consequi possent, vix umquam alias securitatem sibi aut liberis suis paraturi. Neque vulgo ignoratur, quod grave aes alienum contraxerint bellatores illi et, dum sibi student omnia vindicare, quae certissima habebant, in discrimen pertraxerint. Ab altera autem parte, si ad bellum res pervenerit, omnia adhuc sunt integra et, quod praecipuum est, princeps aetate et rebus gestis, ad haec modestia animi et probitate insignis et tibi, quod infitiari non potes, amicus. Quod autem sint hactenus adversum Lubicenses quaedam gesta, non improbo, tantum finis statuatur cupiditati et, dum nocentes castigare intendis, innocentem iure suo non spolies. Scribe itaque ad me, quid habeas spei de hoc negotio. Ego non omittam pacem suadere, quoad haberi ea honesta poterit. Sed de iis satis.
Illustrissimus marchio de Zenette comes de Nassaw cruciatur podagra et abest ab aula, venturus tamen huc brevi. Rex Galliae nihil, quod scimus, publice molitur. Exspectat eventum rerum omnium. Laboravit etiam adversa valetudine apud Burgundionem, alias iam inhiaret ducatui Mediolanensi exstincta gente Sphortiarum virili ex parte. Helvetii crebris malis domiti se domi continent non facile relicturi nidos. In diocesi Monasteriensi ingens est peditum Germanorum numerus exspectantium principem aliquem, cuius stipendia mereant. Dux Ghelriae vicinus noster quiescit cum coronatis suis Gallicis.
In litteris his diebus nihil novi prodiit, praeter Ecclesiastam Erasmi Roterodami. Huic pontifex obtulit tres episcopatus una cum sacerdotiis omnibus cuiusdam insignis curtisani nostratis defuncti in Urbe, nomine Inghelwynckel, et pileo cardinalitio. Quae omnia idem strenue recusavit. Illum librum, quia non dubito ad vos perlatum esse, non mitto, neque Psalteria etiam mitto, quod nondum sint ad manum.
Plura impraesentiarum scribere me vetat huius latoris, viri Poloni, nunc primum nuntiatus recessus. Per Focharos copiosius scribam. Tu vicissim de rebus communibus subinde nos fac certiores et tuis omnibus, matri dulcissimae, fratribus Bernhardo et Georgio, sororibus et affinibus me ex animo commenda.
Est apud te puer quidam hic natus, cuius mater vicina est mea, mulier proba et honesta. Rogavit, ut illum tibi commendarem. Ad eum mittuntur annexae hae litterae.
Et vale, Domine et Pater ex animo honorande.
Ex Bruxellis, die VI-a Decembris XV-c XXXV.
Eiusdem Reverendissimae Dominationis Vestrae addictissimus inservitor Cornelius Duplicius Scepperus
Postscript:
Si superest magnificus dominus Georgius Clyngebeck, et in Hispaniis, et apud te Augustae notus, illi me commenda.