Wars of Religion (French) See RELIGION, (FRENCH)
WARS OF
Wassenhove, Joos van See JUSTUS OF GHENT
watches The first watches appeared shortly before 1500,
supposedly the invention of Peter Henlein (c. 1479–
1542), a Nuremberg locksmith. More plausibly, they
emerged in several centers as a natural development from
small table CLOCKS. These, in turn, were made possible by
the invention in the late 15th century of the spring-driven
escapement. Thereafter no further fundamental advance
in watch design and accuracy took place before the inven-
tion of the balance spring in 1675. Before this, without
minute or second hands, the Renaissance watch was val-
ued more as an item of jewelry or a toy than as an instru-
ment for measuring time. Watches were accordingly
expensive, highly decorated luxuries produced mainly to
satisfy the whims of the wealthy. Typical of such pieces
are, for example, the two very expensive watches bought
by Francis I in 1518 to fit into the hilt of his dagger or the
miniature timepiece Elizabeth I had made to fit into her
ring.
See also: HOROLOGY
Wechel family A dynasty of printers based from the
1520s in Paris and from 1572 in Frankfurt and other
German towns. The first in the family was Christian
(fl. 1520–54), who worked in Paris, where he established
the firm’s special line in medical books and parallel Greek
and Latin texts of the classics. He also produced Cornelius
AGRIPPA’s De occulta philosophia (1531), several editions of
the Latin, French, and German texts of Andrea Alciati’s
EMBLEMbook, the earliest in 1534, and the third book of
Rabelais’s Pantagruel (1546). Wechel’s son Andreas (died
1581) took over in 1554 and moved for religious reasons
to Frankfurt in 1572, where he produced a number of
historical and geographical works, both classical and
modern. Other members of the family continued printing
at Frankfurt, and also at Hanau and Basle, until the
outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War effectively strangled
humanistic publishing enterprise. The international and
eclectic scope of the Wechel presses after 1572 is indicated
by the variety of their modern authors: SADOLETO,
BUCHANAN, DU PLESSIS-MORNAY, FALLOPPIO, FERNEL, Gia-
como ZABARELLA, SERLIO, PARACELSUSand his disciples
Thomas Moffett and Gerard Dorn, BRUNO, Giambattista
DELLA PORTA, DEE, and RAMUSand authors on both sides of
the RAMIST CONTROVERSY.
Weelkes, Thomas (c. 1576–1623) English composer
Nothing is known of Weelkes’s early life. In 1598 he was
appointed organist at Winchester College, where he prob-
ably remained until at least 1601, when he became organ-
ist and choirmaster at Chichester cathedral. In 1602 he
was awarded the Oxford BMus. degree. Weelkes’s employ-
ment at Chichester was tempestuous: he was periodically
reproved for unruliness, drunkenness, and neglect of duty,
and in 1617 he was even dismissed from the post, though
he later resumed it. He died in London. Weelkes is impor-
tant as a composer of both church music and madrigals.
He wrote 10 Anglican services and around 40 anthems, of
which When David heard is perhaps one of the finest. The
madrigals are in a less restrained style, often for four, five,
and six voices. In his four published collections, Weelkes
demonstrated to great effect his intricate style, using fine
counterpoint and brilliant imagery. A contemporary of
Thomas MORLEY, he contributed to Morley’s collection The
Triumphs of Oriana (1601).Weerbeke, Gaspar van (c. 1445–post-1517) Franco-
Flemish composer
By 1472 Weerbeke was in the employ of the SFORZA FAM-
ILYin Milan, and around 1481 he joined the papal choir in
Rome. He returned to the Sforza court in 1489. From 1495
he was associated with Philip the Handsome, archduke of
Austria and duke of Burgundy. He probably returned to
Milan in 1498 and then to Rome in 1500, where he again
sang in the papal choir. He is last documented as a canon
at St. Maria ad Gradus in Mainz. Weerbeke worked with
Josquin DES PRÉSat the Sforza court. Some eight Masses,
28 motets, and several other liturgical works survive, in-
cluding substitution Masses. Five of his Masses were pub-
lished by Ottaviano PETRUCCI.Weiditz, Hans (I) (Hans Wydyz) (active 1497–1510)
German sculptor
Weiditz was a wood carver working in a sculptural, three-
dimensional style. He settled in Fribourg im Breisgau, and
his altarpieces include the Schnewlin altar for a choir
chapel in the minster there (c. 1512–14), depicting the
Rest on the Flight into Egypt (after an etching by DÜRER).
He also produced small-scale figures and groups, such as
his Adam and Eve (c. 1510).Weiditz, Hans (II) (pre-1500–1536) German illustrator
Presumed to be the son of Hans (I) Weiditz, he was prob-
ably born in Fribourg and worked in Augsburg and later
Strasbourg. He is known as the gifted illustrator of nu-
merous humanist, classical, sacred, and scientific books,
for which he designed woodcuts. These included Cicero’s
De officiis (1531), which was extremely popular at the
time, and Otto BRUNFELS’s Herbarum vivae eicones
(1530–36). His illustrations often satirize particular sec-
tions of society, such as the clergy and nobility.Weigel, Valentin (1533–1588) German mystic
He was a Lutheran pastor near Chemnitz in the latter part
of his life, but his writings show him to have held highly
unorthodox ideas on the nature of the universe, some of55000 0 WWaarrss ooff RReelliiggiioonn