Philip van Marnix

Marnix, Philip van (fē'lĭp vän mär'nĭks) , 1540–98, Flemish patriot, lord of Sainte-Aldegonde. He became a Calvinist in his youth and was the chief author of the Compromise of Breda (1566; see Gueux). A leader in the Dutch and Flemish struggle for independence from Spain, he actively supported William the Silent. He wrote (c.1570) the hymn Wilhelmus van Nassauwe, which was used as the rallying song of the insurgents and which remains the national anthem of the Netherlands. In 1572 he represented William at the estates of Holland, held at Dordrecht, and secured the recognition of William as lawful stadholder of Holland. Among his writings are the vehement anti-Catholic pamphlet, De Biënkorf der H. Roomsche Kercke (1569; tr. The Bee Hive of the Romish Church, 1578?) and a versification of the Psalms (1580).