Cesar Calandrini 1595-1665

Cesar CALANDRINI 1595-1665

Biographical Note

Born at Stade, Germany, son of Giovanni Calandrini, a merchant banker who left his native Italy as a Calvinist and moved around Europe thereafter. He settled in London during the early 17th century. Cesar was educated at the University of Leiden and elsewhere in Europe before becoming a minister at the French Church in London in 1618, and shortly afterwards at the Italian Reformed Church there. He graduated BD from Exeter College, Oxford in 1620 and became rector of Stapleford Abbots, Essex. He was in contact with many leading European Calvinists, and his network in England included many leading puritan theologians of the time; he supported the work of James Ussher during the 1620s. In 1639 he became pastor of the Dutch Church in London.

Books

In his will, Calandrini left to his son Lewis 'my library, my biggest picture, the best table and three cabinets, all in my study'. The extent of his library is not known, but a number of his books will be found today in Dr Williams's Library, where they were acquired around the time of the Library's formation in 1716.

Characteristic Markings

Calandrini typically inscribed his books in the top right-hand corner of the title-page (usually C. Calandrini, sometimes Cesare, sometimes Ces Calandrini or even Calandrin.

Sources

• Will of Cesar Calandrini, Dr Williams's Library MS 38.59.
• Grell, Ole Peter. "Calandrini, Cesar (1595–1665), Reformed minister." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Grell, Ole Peter, Brethren in Christ A Calvinist Network in Reformation Europe, Cambridge, 2011.