Lodewijk Heyligen

Lodewijk Heyligen (also known as Ludovicus Sanctus de Beeringhen, Lodewijk Heiligen, Ludovicus Sanctus, Heyliger of Beeringhen, Ludwig van Kempen and Louis van Campen) (1304, Beringen, Belgium - 1361, Avignon) was a Flemish Benedictine monk and music theorist who served as the master of music of cardinal Giovanni Colonna in Avignon, where he became one of the closest friends of the Italian poet Petrarch. His Latin name Ludovicus Sanctus (sometimes rendered as Santus) means Louis the Saint and is a literal translation of the Flemish name Lodewijk Heyligen.

Very little is known about the early life of Lodewijk Heyligen. It is believed he was born in Beringen. Beringen was located in the archdeaconry of Campine (in Flemish: Aartsdiakonaat Kempenland) which in turn was part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. This is at the origin of Lodewijk's alternative names of Ludwig van Kempen and Louis van Campen. After studies at the Latin College in Beringen, he studied music at the abbey school of St. Laurent in Liège. After taking holy orders he traveled to the papal court in Avignon where he became linked to Cardinal Giovanni Colonna. He first became a cantor and later secretary to Colonna and was also the master of music at the Chapel of Colonna. He was further appointed cantor of the St. Donatian's Cathedral in Bruges in 1342.

In a letter to the chapter of the St. Donatian's Cathedral dated 27 April 1348 the content of which has been partially preserved, Lodewijk Heyligen describes the horrors of the plague that was then raging in Europe. He ascribes the origin of the plague to calamitous events in India and the arrival in Genoa and later Marseille of merchant ships coming from the Orient. The letter recounts that half of the population of Avignon had died of the disease and that 11,000 of them had been buried in a new cemetery.

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