Divara van Haarlem
Encyclopedia
Divara van Haarlem also spelled Dieuwertje Brouwersdr., (Haarlem
1511 - Münster
7 July 1535) was a Dutch Anabaptist
, married to Jan van Leiden and by him proclaimed Queen
of the Anabaptist regime in Münster
.
Originally from Haarlem, where her father was a brewer, she followed the Anabaptist Jan Matthijsz. van Haarlem to Münster. She was married to Jan Matthijsz, who was murdered outside the gates of Münster in 1534. She next married the prophet Jan van Leiden several months after the death of her first husband.
Jan van Leiden made himself the spiritual and wordly leader of Münster and proclaimed Divara his queen. Jan's other wives included Elisabeth Wandscherer
, who Jan ordered beheaded after she publicly questioned him. Divara was given clothes, a necklace and a crown of gold, her own residence and court and presided over the distribution at the public communion of between 2,000-6,000 people which was held at the town square. Jan van Leiden instituted polygamy and took several more wives besides Divara and Elisabeth. (Most accounts state his total number of wives at 16.) Divara gave birth to a daughter named Averall. After the fall of the town Divara was executed by decapitation along with four other women.
The opera
Divara - Wasser und Blut (Water and Blood) by José Saramago
and Azio Corghi
was based upon her.
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
1511 - Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
7 July 1535) was a Dutch 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....
, married to Jan van Leiden and by him proclaimed Queen
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of the Anabaptist regime in Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
.
Originally from Haarlem, where her father was a brewer, she followed the Anabaptist Jan Matthijsz. van Haarlem to Münster. She was married to Jan Matthijsz, who was murdered outside the gates of Münster in 1534. She next married the prophet Jan van Leiden several months after the death of her first husband.
Jan van Leiden made himself the spiritual and wordly leader of Münster and proclaimed Divara his queen. Jan's other wives included Elisabeth Wandscherer
Elisabeth Wandscherer
Elisabeth Wandscherer was a Dutch Anabaptist.She lived in Münster during the reign of Jan van Leiden and was chosen by him as one of his sixteen spouses in June 1534, when he introduced polygamy for men...
, who Jan ordered beheaded after she publicly questioned him. Divara was given clothes, a necklace and a crown of gold, her own residence and court and presided over the distribution at the public communion of between 2,000-6,000 people which was held at the town square. Jan van Leiden instituted polygamy and took several more wives besides Divara and Elisabeth. (Most accounts state his total number of wives at 16.) Divara gave birth to a daughter named Averall. After the fall of the town Divara was executed by decapitation along with four other women.
The opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Divara - Wasser und Blut (Water and Blood) by José Saramago
José Saramago
José de Sousa Saramago, GColSE was a Nobel-laureate Portuguese novelist, poet, playwright and journalist. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor. Harold Bloom has described Saramago as "a...
and Azio Corghi
Azio Corghi
Azio Corghi is an Italian opera composer, also a teacher and musicologist. He was born at Cirié, in the Province of Turin, studied at the Turin and Milan conservatories and was a pupil of Bruno Bettinelli...
was based upon her.