Oorlog, opbouw en ophef. Philippus Nisius en De Wapenen des Geestelijcken Leeken ofte Boeren Crijchs (1609)

In 1609, Philippus Nisius, minister of the Dutch village of Klaaswaal, published the pamphlet De Wapenen des Geestelijcken Leeken ofte Boeren Crijchs. Like many other pamphlets in this period, its tone was fiercely anti-Catholic. Embedded within the contents of this booklet, however, is also a broader theological discussion of the doctrine of Christ’s Descent into Hell, which led to controversy in the Dordrecht classis, coinciding with the then prolific disputes of the Twelve Years’ Truce. A closer analysis of this pamphlet and its contexts provides valuable insight into the genesis of the Reformed Church in the Dutch Republic, as well as drawing attention to the religious plurality during the early Seventeenth Century.