Hendrik Niclaes

…of Dutch origin, followers of Hendrik Niclaes, a 16th-century Dutch merchant. Niclaes’ main activity was in Emden, East Friesland (1540–60). In his Evangelium regni, issued in England as A Joyfyl Message of the Kingdom, he invited all “lovers of truth, of what nation and religion soever they be, Christian, Jews,…

…Love, founded in Holland by Hendrik Niclaes in about 1540. He later made two trips to England, where his group had its largest following and survived into the 17th century. The religion of the Ranters and other radical Puritans in 17th-century England also had mystical aspects.