Cornelius Grapheus


Cornelius Grapheus, Latinized from Cornelis De Schrijver, was a secretary to the city of Antwerp and writer.

Life

Grapheus was born in Aalst, County of Flanders, in 1482. As a young man he travelled in Italy. When Thomas More's Utopia was first printed in 1516, Grapheus provided some liminary verses.
By 1520 he was secretary to the city of Antwerp, writing a Latin panegyric to greet Charles V on his return to that city from Spain. In 1522 he was arrested on accusation of heresy, was taken to Brussels for questioning, and made a full recantation. In 1523 he was set at liberty and returned to Antwerp, where he became a teacher. In 1540 he was reinstated as secretary to the city, and in 1549 he was again involved in the public welcome of a visiting prince, in this case Philip II of Spain. He died in Antwerp on 19 December 1558.

Works