Hamsted, Adrian, founder of the sect of Adrianists; b. at Dordrecht, 1524; d. at Bruges, 1581. We know nothing of his personal history, and very little concerning the short-lived sect to which he gave his name. The Adrianists, who were mostly women, professed in general the doctrines of the Anabaptists; but what their specific beliefs were cannot be ascertained. Charges of immorality have been made against them, but have never been proved.
Baupritvarr in Vacant, Dict. de théol. cath., s. v. Adrianistes; Vouuet in La Grande Encyclopédie, s. v. Adrianistes.
Leo A. Kelly.