Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert (1522 – 29 October 1590),[1] also known as Theodore Cornhert,[2] was a Dutch writer, philosopher, translator, politician, theologian, and artist.

Recalled in 1572, he was for a short time secretary of state in the Dutch Republic; his aversion to military violence led him to return to Cleves, where William continued to employ his services and his pen.

[1] Possibly inspired by his time in jail, he wrote a book, Boeventucht, on the causes of crime with ideas for more humane methods of punishment and correction.

He said reformers were sadly wanted, but those who called themselves such were not the kind that the church required; what was needed was apostles directly inspired from heaven.

[1] According to the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD), his pupils were Hendrick Goltzius, Philip Galle, and Cornelis Cort.

[4] In addition to the 1566 manifesto, Coornhert wrote a treatise against the capital punishment of heretics, a pamphlet defending the rebellion of the United Provinces, a preface to the Dutch grammar published by the Society of Rhetoricians of Amsterdam, and several poems, including, according to some, the popular song, Wilhelmus van Nassouwe.

By the time he died in 1590, his Dutch translation of the New Testament (following the Latin version of Erasmus) was left unfinished.