Matthew Slade facts for kids

Matthew Slade (1569–1628) was an English minister who lived in the Netherlands starting around 1600. He was involved in important religious discussions of his time, especially supporting a group called the Contra-Remonstrants.

Early Life and Education

Matthew Slade was born in 1569 in a place called South Perrot in Dorset, England. He was the second son of John Slade, who was a rector (a type of church leader) in South Perrot.

Matthew went to St Alban Hall at Oxford University in 1585. He earned his first degree in 1589. After finishing his studies, he worked as a teacher in Devon, a county in England.

Life in Amsterdam

Around 1597, Matthew Slade moved to Amsterdam, a big city in the Netherlands. There, he worked as a teacher and helped manage books in a library. He became well-known in the city for his smart ideas and for taking part in debates.

Teacher and Scholar in Amsterdam

Matthew Slade met other smart people in Amsterdam who were interested in languages, like Henry Ainsworth and Hugh Broughton. He also worked with a printer named Jan Theunisz.

In 1598, Slade became an assistant teacher at the Latin school in Koestraat. By 1602, he became the head teacher, or rector, of that school. He was also friends with famous scholars like Isaac Casaubon, Gerard Vossius, and Joseph Justus Scaliger.

Religious Beliefs and Church Life

Matthew Slade was an early leader, called an elder, in a church group known as the Brownists in Amsterdam. This group was also known as the Ancient Church.

Later, Slade left the Brownist church. He was even removed from the church because of disagreements, partly about how infant baptism was practiced in the Netherlands. In 1605, he helped start the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam. Even though he helped create it, he didn't become a member himself. He wanted Hugh Broughton to be the minister there, but John Paget took the job instead.

Slade then joined the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1611, he tried to become an elder in the English Reformed Church again, but it didn't work out. In 1618, he made peace with Francis Johnson, another Brownist leader, shortly before Johnson passed away.

Taking Part in Religious Debates

Matthew Slade was very active in a big religious debate called the Arminian controversy. This was a disagreement within the Protestant church about ideas like free will and God's grace.

From 1611 to 1620, he wrote letters to Sibrand Lubbertus, a leader of the Contra-Remonstrants, who were against the Arminian ideas. When a scholar named Conrad Vorstius was chosen to teach at the University of Leiden in 1611, Slade wrote a strong book against him called Cum Conrado Vorstio (1612). Because of this and other actions, Vorstius was forced to leave Leiden in 1612.

Slade also got involved in debates with Hugo Grotius, a famous Dutch scholar who supported the Arminian side. Slade even questioned the reputation of Erasmus, another well-known scholar, linking him to ideas that Slade thought were wrong. Grotius and others strongly disagreed with Slade's views on Erasmus.

Slade also shared information with Sir Dudley Carleton, who was the English ambassador (a country's official representative) in the Netherlands. Slade sent Carleton reports on the religious debates. He also helped Carleton find William Brewster, who later became a famous Pilgrim Father and traveled to America.

Later Life and Passing

Matthew Slade passed away on February 10, 1628. He was buried in the Zuiderkerk church in Amsterdam.

Family Life

Matthew Slade was married four times. His first wife was Alethea Kirford, whom he married in 1593. She passed away in 1608. Later that year, he married Suzanna de Kampenaer, whose stepfather was Petrus Plancius, a famous Dutch astronomer and cartographer. Matthew and Suzanna had four children before she died in 1614.

Matthew's son, Cornelius Slade, was born in Amsterdam in 1599. He became a professor of Hebrew and other languages. In 1628, he became the rector (head) of the academy, possibly taking over from his father.

Cornelius's son, also named Matthew Slade (1628–1689), was born in England. He became a doctor and wrote several medical books.