Tanchelijn, or Tanchelm, was a heretic who strongly opposed the Roman Catholic Church in the 12th century. He operated in the Netherlands, Bruges, Leuven and Antwerp, where he ultimately lost his life. Although he has been somewhat forgotten, prominent historians over the centuries have had a lot of fun with this mysterious person. Today the name has a rather romantic connotation with the Middle Ages, but Tanchelijn was, as will become clear, a man of flesh and blood.
Anticlerical climate
To say that Tanchelijn was a voice crying in the wilderness in his time is to do violence to the truth. At the beginning of the twelfth century, Europe was teeming with heretical leaders. This had to do with the reform policy of Pope Gregory VII, who, among other things, introduced celibacy and exposed the shortcomings of the clergy. Vocation lost out to sex, money and power. The lower clergy, however, were stubborn and attracted criticism from indignant preachers who believed that the arbitrariness and abuse of power of the church must indeed be stopped. Gregory VII was expelled from Rome because of his policies by Henry IV, king, later emperor of Germany. His most famous quote: I loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore now I die in exile, speaks volumes.
Charismatic figure
Despite the fact that people know nothing about his birthplace and youth, one has a fairly clear picture of his actions. This is mainly due to the zeal of the canons of the Utrecht chapter, which belonged to the archdiocese of Cologne. These drew up a flaming pamphlet against the misdeeds of Tanchelijn, who at that time was detained because of his actions by the Archbiss Chop of Cologne, Frederick I. The document stated that he despised the church and that he preached that the true church him and his followers. He spoke mainly for women, who in turn poisoned their husbands with his heresy. They listened to him as if he were an envoy of God. The churches were brothels, the sacraments were defiled and the church tithes (church tax) were the devil.
Deception
The people were so captivated by him that they worshiped him as a deity. The water in which he had bathed was circulated among his followers as if it were holy water. He made it all the rage by getting engaged to the Virgin Mary, after which he asked the people for gifts. The ceremony took place in a symbolic manner, in which he took the hand of a statue of Mary and pronounced the formulas of the betrothal. His listeners tripped over their own feet in their haste to please him. He even went so far as to call himself God. He reasoned this as follows: if Christ was God, because He had the Holy Spirit, he, Tanchelm, was also equal to God, after all, he had also received the Holy Spirit!
The history of the victor
It should be kept in mind that the document drawn up by the canons of Utrecht is virtually the only surviving source about Tanchelijn’s actions. Needless to say, there can be little objectivity. After all, history is always written by the victors. However, later research by renowned historians has painted a more nuanced picture of the heretic: he is said to have allowed himself to be duped by Robert II, Count of Flanders. He fought in the Investiture Controversy on the side of Pope Gregory VII.
Investiture battle
The Investiture Controversy, a power struggle between the Roman German Emperor and the Pope during the 11th and 12th centuries, is named after a formality, namely the solemn confirmation of a spiritual office called an investiture. By this time the emperor had acquired a greater say in the appointment of bishops in the Roman Empire. This led to political interference and abuses such as simony (the trading of spiritual goods and offices). Pope Gregory VII wanted to put a stop to these practices and excommunicated the German Emperor Henry IV. Later, the same pope had to flee to Salerno, Italy, at the hands of Henry IV, where he lived in exile until his death. The German emperor appointed an antipope, Clement III.
Political motives?
Tanchelijn was imprisoned in Cologne with two companions, the blacksmith Manasses and the apostate priest Everwacher. The latter was in turn accused by the Utrecht canons of being on his way to Rome together with the heretic to advocate the secession of the diocese of Utrecht. This was due to the fact that this diocese was governed by an imperial bishop, who was appointed by the emperor. The purely heretical character of the figure of Tanchelijn therefore fades into the background and people attribute political motives to him. However, these facts are speculative and must be regarded as an attempt by later biographers to explain Tanchelijn’s motivations.
Forerunner of Protestantism?
His struggle against the pomp and ceremony of the church, simony and other abuses is cited by some Protestant writers as a means of achieving his rehabilitation. They see him as nothing more or less than a precursor of Protestantism in the Netherlands. However, given the information that was subsequently put together with great difficulty, it may be going too far to consider Tanchelijn as a church reformer. At best he can be considered a Gregorian, at worst, indeed, a heretic.
Norbertus and the aftermath
There is uncertainty about Tanchelijn’s death. It is believed that he was killed in Antwerp in 1115 by a priest, possibly an associate. It is a fact that Bishop Norbert, the later Saint Norbert and founder of the Premonstratensian order, came to preach in Antwerp after the death of the heretic to root out the excesses of his doctrine. The saint’s biography shows that the heresy of the rebel was the only reason why Norbert moved to the port city.
Traces in the present time
History has done its best to erase Tanchelijn’s traces. Yet above the entrance gate of Het Steen, the oldest preserved building in Antwerp on the Scheldt, one finds a figure depicted, which is believed to represent Tanchelijn. Furthermore, the Bruges Freemason Lodge bears the name Tanchelijn. In 1960, Tanchelijn, a play by Harry Mulisch, premiered, which was an interpretation of the life of the rebellious preacher rather than a biography.