Familist
Encyclopedia
The Family of Love or Familists (English term) was a mystic religious sect known as the Familia Caritatis (Hus der Lieften; Huis der Liefde; Haus der Liebe; Family of Love), founded by Henry Nicholis
, also known as Niclaes.
The outward trappings of Nicholis's system were Anabaptist
. His followers were said to assert that all things were ruled by nature and not directly by God, of denying the dogma
of the Trinity, and repudiating infant baptism
. They held that no man should be put to death for his opinions, and apparently, like the later Quakers, they objected to the carrying of arms and to anything like an oath; and they were quite impartial in their repudiation of all other churches and sects, including Brownists and Barrowists
.
Nicholis's message is said to have appealed to the well educated and creative elite, artists, musicians and scholars. They felt no need to spread the message and risk heresy; members were usually a part of an otherwise established church, quietly remaining in the background, confident in their elite status as part of the Godhead. As the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
says:
Members of the Familists included cartographer Abraham Ortel (aka Ortelius) and publisher Christopher Plantin. Plantin worked by day as Philip II of Spain
's printer of Catholic documents for the Counter Reformation, and otherwise surreptitiously printed Familist literature. In the 1580s, it was discovered that some of the Yeomen of the Guard
for Elizabeth I were Familists; the Queen did nothing about it, which raised questions about her own beliefs. The keeper of the lions in the Tower of London
for James I
was a Familist. The biggest colony of Familists was in Balsham
. Nicholis's chief apostle in England was Christopher Vitell
.
The society lingered into the early years of the 18th century; the leading idea of its service of love was a reliance on sympathy and tenderness for the moral and spiritual edification of its members. Thus, in an age of strife and polemics, it seemed to afford a refuge for quiet, gentle spirits, and meditative temperaments. The Quakers, Baptists and Unitarians
may have derived some of their ideas from the "Family."
Henry Nicholis
Hendrik Nicholis was a German mystic and founder of the Christian sect "Family of Love" Hendrik Nicholis (or Hendrik Niclaes, Heinrich Niclaes) (c.1501–c.1580) was a German mystic and founder of the Christian sect "Family of Love" Hendrik Nicholis (or Hendrik Niclaes, Heinrich Niclaes)...
, also known as Niclaes.
The outward trappings of Nicholis's system were Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
. His followers were said to assert that all things were ruled by nature and not directly by God, of denying the dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
of the Trinity, and repudiating infant baptism
Infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism or pedobaptism from the Greek pais meaning "child." The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's baptism", or...
. They held that no man should be put to death for his opinions, and apparently, like the later Quakers, they objected to the carrying of arms and to anything like an oath; and they were quite impartial in their repudiation of all other churches and sects, including Brownists and Barrowists
Henry Barrowe
Henry Barrowe was an English Puritan and Separatist, executed for his views.-Life:He was born about 1550, in Norfolk, of a family related by marriage to Nicholas Bacon, and probably to John Aylmer, Bishop of London. He matriculated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, in November 1566, and graduated B.A. in...
.
Nicholis's message is said to have appealed to the well educated and creative elite, artists, musicians and scholars. They felt no need to spread the message and risk heresy; members were usually a part of an otherwise established church, quietly remaining in the background, confident in their elite status as part of the Godhead. As the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time...
says:
Members of the Familists included cartographer Abraham Ortel (aka Ortelius) and publisher Christopher Plantin. Plantin worked by day as Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
's printer of Catholic documents for the Counter Reformation, and otherwise surreptitiously printed Familist literature. In the 1580s, it was discovered that some of the Yeomen of the Guard
Yeomen of the Guard
The Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard are a bodyguard of the British Monarch. The oldest British military corps still in existence, it was created by Henry VII in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth Field. As a token of this venerability, the Yeomen still wear red and gold uniforms of Tudor...
for Elizabeth I were Familists; the Queen did nothing about it, which raised questions about her own beliefs. The keeper of the lions in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
for James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
was a Familist. The biggest colony of Familists was in Balsham
Balsham
Balsham is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom which has much expanded since the 1960s and is now one of several dormitory settlements of Cambridge...
. Nicholis's chief apostle in England was Christopher Vitell
Christopher Vitell
Christopher Vitell , a Dutch carpenter or joiner from Southwark, was the first Familist or Anabaptist preacher in England; though he subsequently recanted his belief when faced with death by burning...
.
The society lingered into the early years of the 18th century; the leading idea of its service of love was a reliance on sympathy and tenderness for the moral and spiritual edification of its members. Thus, in an age of strife and polemics, it seemed to afford a refuge for quiet, gentle spirits, and meditative temperaments. The Quakers, Baptists and Unitarians
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
may have derived some of their ideas from the "Family."
Further reading
- Alastair Hamilton: The Family of Love. Cambridge 1981
- Christopher HillChristopher Hill (historian)John Edward Christopher Hill , usually known simply as Christopher Hill, was an English Marxist historian and author of textbooks....
: Milton and the English Revolution. London: Faber (1977) - W. N. Kerr: Henry Nicholis and the Familists. Edinburgh 1955
- Christopher Marsh: "An Introduction to the Family of Love in England" In: E.S. Leedham-Green: Religious Dissent in East Anglia. Cambridge 1991, S. 29-36 ISBN 0-9513596-1-4
- N. A. Penrhys-Evans: The Family of Love in England, 1550-1650. Canterbury 1971
- M. Konnert, "The Family of Love and the Church of England", Renaiss. Reform. ISSN 0034-429X, 1991, vol. 15, no2, pp. 139–172
- F. Nippold, "H. Niclaes und das Haus der Liebe", in Zeitschrift fr die histor. Theol. (1862)
- A. J. van der Aa, Biog. Woordenboek der Nederlanden (1868), Article "H. Niclaes"
- Article "Familisten", by Loafs, in Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious KnowledgeSchaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious KnowledgeThe Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge is a religious encyclopedia. It is based on an earlier German encyclopedia, the Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche. Like the Realencyklopädie, it focuses on Christianity from a primarily Protestant point of...
(1898) - Charles Wehrenberg, Before New York, Solo Zone, San Francisco 1995/2001, ISBN 1-886163-16-2
External links
- Family of Love, from ExLibris
- Familist, from Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
, on-line edition, free.