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-	{{Template}}'''Medieval Dutch literature''' is the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] [[Dutch literature|literature]] produced in the [[Low Countries]] from the earliest stages of the language up to the [[16th century]]. See [[medieval literature]].	+	#redirect[[Dutch literature]]
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-	In the earliest stages of the Dutch language, a considerable degree of mutual intelligibility with some (what we now call) [[German language|German]] dialects was present, and some fragments and authors are claimed for both realms. Examples include the [[twelfth century|twelfth-century]] [[poet]] [[Henric van Veldeke]], who is claimed by both Dutch and [[German literature]].	+
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-	In the first stages of Dutch literature, poetry was the predominant form of literary expression. In the [[Low Countries]] as in the rest of Europe, [[courtly romance]] and [[courtly love|poetry]] were popular [[genre]]s during the [[Middle Ages]]. One such ''[[Minnesang|Minnesanger]]'' was the aforementioned Van Veldeke. The [[chivalry|chivalric]] [[Epic poetry|epic]] was a popular genre as well, often featuring [[King Arthur]] or [[Charlemagne]] (''Karel'') as [[protagonist]] (with notable example of ''[[Elegast|Karel ende Elegast]]'', Dutch for "Charlemagne and the elf-spirit/elf-guest").	+
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-	The first Dutch language writer known by name is the [[twelfth century|twelfth-century]] [[County of Loon]] poet [[Hendrik van Veldeke|Henric van Veldeke]], an early contemporary of [[Walther von der Vogelweide]]. Van Veldeke wrote courtly love poetry, a [[hagiography]] of [[Saint Servatius]] and an epic retelling of the ''[[Aeneid]]'' in a [[Limburgish]] dialect that straddles the Dutch-German language boundary.	+
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-	A number of the surviving [[Epic poetry|epic]] works, especially the courtly romances, were copies from or expansions of earlier German or [[French language|French]] efforts, but there are examples of truly original works (such as the anonymously written ''[[Elegast|Karel ende Elegast]]'') and original Dutch-language works that were translated into other languages (notable Dutch morality play ''[[Elckerlijc]]'' formed the basis for the English play ''[[Everyman (play)|Everyman]]'').	+
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-	Apart from ancient tales embedded in Dutch [[folk song]]s, virtually no genuine [[Dutch folklore|folk-tales]] of Dutch antiquity have come down to us, and scarcely any echoes of [[Germanic mythology|Germanic myth]]. On the other hand, the [[wikt:saga|saga]]s of Charlemagne and Arthur appear immediately in [[Middle Dutch]] forms. These were evidently introduced by wandering [[minstrel]]s and translated to gratify the curiosity of the noble women. It is rarely that the name of such a translator has reached us. The ''[[Chanson de Roland]]'' was translated somewhere in the [[twelfth century]], and the [[County of Flanders|Flemish]] minstrel [[Diederic van Assenede]] completed his version of ''[[Floris and Blancheflour]]'' as ''Floris ende Blancefloer'' around [[1260]].	+
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-	The [[Arthurian legend]]s appear to have been brought to Flanders by some Flemish colonists in [[Wales]], on their return to their mother country. Around [[1250]] a [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabantine]] minstrel translated the ''[[Prose Lancelot]]'' at the command of his [[Allegiance|liege]], Lodewijk van Velthem. This adaptation, known as the ''Lancelot-Compilatie'', contains many differences from the French original, and includes a number of episodes that were probably originally separate romances. Some of these are themselves translations of French originals, but others, such as the ''[[Morien]]'', seem to be originals. The ''[[Gauvain]]'' was translated by [[Penninc and Vostaert]] as ''Roman van Walewijn'' before [[1260]], while the first wholly original Dutch epic writer, [[Jacob van Maerlant]], occupied himself around 1260 with several romances dealing with [[Merlin (wizard)|Merlin]] and the [[Holy Grail]].	+
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-	The earliest existing fragments of the epic of [[Reynard the Fox]] were written in [[Latin language|Latin]] by Flemish [[priest]]s, and about 1250 the first part of a very important version in Dutch, ''Vanden vos Reynaerde'' ("Of Reynard") was made by [[Willem (playwright)|Willem]]. In his existing work the author follows [[Pierre de Saint-Cloud]], but not slavishly; and he is the first really admirable writer that we meet with in Dutch literature. The second part was added by another poet, Aernout, of whom we know little else either.	+
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-	The first lyrical writer of the Low Countries was [[John I, Duke of Brabant]], who practised the ''minnelied'' with success. In [[1544]] the earliest collection of Dutch folk-songs saw the light, and in this volume one or two romances of the [[14th century]] are preserved, of which "Het Daghet in den Oosten" is the best known. Almost the earliest fragment of Dutch popular poetry, but of later time, is an historical ballad describing the murder of [[Floris V, Count of Holland]] in [[1296]]. A very curious collection of mystical medieval [[hymn]]s by [[Hadewych|Sister Hadewych]], a nun of Brabant, was first printed in [[1875]].	+
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-	Up until now, the [[Middle Dutch language]] output mainly serviced the aristocratic and monastic orders, recording the traditions of chivalry and of religion, but scarcely addressed the bulk of the population. With the close of the [[13th century]] a change came over the face of Dutch literature. The Dutch towns began to prosper and to assert their [[commerce|commercial]] supremacy over the [[North Sea]]. Under such mild rulers as [[William II, Count of Holland|William II]] and Floris V, [[Dordrecht]], [[Amsterdam]] and other cities won privileges amounting almost to political independence, and with this liberty there arose a new sort of literary expression.	+
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-	[[Image:VanMaerlant.jpg|thumb|right|Jacob van Maerlant.]]The founder and creator of this original Dutch literature was [[Jacob van Maerlant]]. His ''Der Naturen Bloeme'' ("The Flower of Nature"), written about [[1263]], takes an important place in early Dutch literature. It is a collection of [[morality|moral]] and [[satire|satirical]] addresses to all classes of society. With his ''Rijmbijbel'' ("Verse Bible") he foreshadowed the courage and free-thought of the [[Reformation]]. It was not until [[1284]] that he began his [[masterpiece]], ''De Spieghel Historiael'' ("The Mirror of History") at the command of Count Floris V.	+
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-	In the northern provinces, an equally great talent was exhibited by [[Melis Stoke]], a monk of [[Egmond]], who wrote the history of the state of [[County of Holland|Holland]] to the year [[1305]]; his work, the ''Rijmkroniek'' ("Verse Chronicle"), was printed in [[1591]] and for its exactitude and minute detail it has proved of inestimable service to later historians.	+
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-	With the middle of the [[14th century]] the [[chivalry|chivalric]] spirit came once more into fashion. A certain revival of the forms of [[feudal]] life made its appearance under [[William III, Count of Holland|William III]] and his successors. Knightly romances came once more into vogue, but the newborn [[didactic poetry]] contended vigorously against the supremacy of what was lyrical and epical.	+
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-	From the very first the literary spirit in the Low Countries began to assert itself in a homely and utilitarian spirit. Thoroughly aristocratic in feeling was [[Hem van Aken]], a [[priest]] of [[Leuven|Louvain]], who lived about [[1255]]–[[1330]], and who combined to a very curious extent the romantic and didactic elements prevailing at the time. As early as [[1280]] he had completed his translation of the ''[[Roman de la Rose]]'', which he must have commenced in the lifetime of its author [[Jean de Meung]].	+
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-	During the [[Count of Holland|Bavarian period]] ([[1349]]–[[1433]]), very little original writing of much value was produced in Holland. Towards the end of the 14th century, an [[erotic]] poet of considerable power arose in the person of the [[lord]] of [[Waddinxveen]], [[Dirc Potter|Dirc Potter van der Loo]] (c. [[1365]]–[[1428]]), who was secretary at the court of the counts of Holland. During an [[diplomatic mission|embassy]] in [[Rome]], this eminent [[diplomat]] made himself acquainted with the writings of [[Giovanni Boccaccio]] and commenced a vast poem, ''Der Minnen Loep'' ("The Course of Love"), a mixture of [[classical antiquity|classical]] and [[Biblical]] instances of amorous adventures set in a framework of [[didactic philosophy]]. In Potter, the last traces of the chivalric element died out of Dutch literature, and poetry was left entirely in the hands of the school of Maerlant.	+
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-	As in most European nations, the [[religion|religious]] drama takes a prominent place in a survey of [[medieval literature]] in the Low Countries. The earliest existing fragment is part of a [[Maastricht]] [[Passover]] Play of about [[1360]]. There is also a Holy Sacrament, composed by a certain Smeken at [[Breda]] and performed in [[1500]]. In addition to these purely theological dramas there were acted mundane plays and farces, performed outside the churches by semi-religious companies; these curious moralities were known as ''[[abele spelen|Abele Spelen]]'' ("Worthy Plays") and ''Sotternien'' ("Silly Plays"). In these pieces we discover the first traces of that genius for low [[comedy]] which was afterwards to take perfect form in the dramas of [[Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero|Bredero]] and the [[painting]]s of [[David Teniers the Younger|Teniers]].	+
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-	[[Image:Ruusbroec.png|thumb|left|Jan van Ruusbroec.]]As for [[prose]], the oldest pieces of Dutch prose now in existence are [[town charter|charters]] of towns in Flanders and [[Zeeland]], dated [[1249]], [[1251]] and [[1254]]. A prose [[translation]] of the [[Old Testament]] was made about [[1300]], and there exists a ''Life of Jesus'' of around the same date. Of the [[mysticism|mystical preachers]] whose religious writings have reached us, the Brussels [[friar]] Jan van Ruusbroec (better known in English as the [[beatification|Blessed]] [[John of Ruysbroeck]], [[1293]]/[[1294|4]]–[[1381]]), the father of Dutch prose, is the most important. But the most interesting relics of medieval Dutch prose, as far as the formation of the language is concerned, are the popular romances in which the romantic stories of the minstrels were translated for the benefit of the [[literacy|unlettered]] public into simple language.	+
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-	The poets of the Low Countries had already discovered in late medieval times the value of [[guild]]s in promoting the [[arts]] and industrial [[handicraft]]s. The term "Collèges de Rhétorique" ("[[Chamber of rhetoric|Chambers of Rhetoric]]") is supposed to have been introduced around [[1440]] to the [[courtier]]s of the [[Burgundy|Burgundian]] dynasty, but the institutions themselves existed long before. These literary guilds, whose members called themselves "Rederijkers" or "Rhetoricians", lasted until the end of the [[16th century]] and during the greater part of that time preserved a completely medieval character, even when the influences of the [[Renaissance]] and the Reformation obliged them to modify in some degree their outward forms. They were in almost all cases absolutely [[middle class]] in tone, and opposed to [[aristocracy|aristocratic]] ideas and tendencies in thought.	+
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-	Of these chambers, the earliest were almost entirely engaged in preparing [[mystery play|mysteries]] and [[miracle play]]s for the people. The most celebrated of all the chambers, that of the Eglantine at [[Amsterdam]], with its [[motto]] "In Liefde Bloeyende" ("Blossoming in Love"), was not instituted until [[1496]]. And not in the Low Countries' important places only, but in almost every little town, the rhetoricians exerted their influence, mainly in what we may call a social direction. Their wealth was in most cases considerable, and it very soon became evident that no [[festival]] or [[procession]] could take place in a town unless the Chamber [[patron]]ized it.	+
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-	Towards the end of the [[15th century]], the [[Ghent]] chamber began to exercise a sovereign power over the other [[Flanders (county)|Flemish]] chambers, which was emulated later on in [[Count of Holland|Holland]] by the Eglantine at Amsterdam. But this official recognition proved of no consequence in [[literature]] and it was not in Ghent but in [[Antwerp]] that intellectual life first began to stir. In Holland the [[burgher]]s only formed the chambers, while in Flanders the representatives of the [[nobility|noble]] families were honorary members, and assisted with their money at the arrangement of [[ecclesiastical]] or [[politics|political]] [[pageant]]s. Their Landjuwelen, or Tournaments of Rhetoric, at which rich prizes were awarded, were the occasions upon which the members of the chambers distinguished themselves.	+
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-	Between [[1426]] and [[1620]], at least 66 of these festivals were held. The grandest of all was the festival celebrated at Antwerp on [[August 3]], [[1561]]. The [[Brussels]] chamber sent 340 members, all on horseback and clad in [[crimson]] mantles. The town of Antwerp gave a ton of gold to be given in prizes, which were shared among 1,893 rhetoricians. This was the zenith of the splendour of the chambers, and after this time they soon fell into disfavour.	+
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-	Their [[drama|dramatic pieces]] produced by the chambers were of a didactic cast, with a strong farcical flavour, and continued the tradition of Maerlant and his school. They very rarely dealt with [[history|historical]] or even Biblical personages, but entirely with allegorical and moral abstractions. The most notable examples of Rederijker theatre include ''Mariken van Nieumeghen'' ("Mary of [[Nijmegen]]") and ''[[Elckerlijc]]'' (which was translated into [[English language|English]] as ''Everyman'').	+
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-	Of the pure [[farce]]s of the rhetorical chambers we can speak with still more confidence, for some of them have come down to us, and among the authors famed for their skill in this sort of writing are named [[Cornelis Everaert]] of [[Bruges]] and [[Laurens Janssen]] of [[Haarlem]]. The material of these farces is extremely raw, consisting of rough [[jest]]s at the expense of [[priest]]s and foolish husbands, silly old men and their light wives.	+
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-	The chambers also encouraged the composition of songs, but with very little success; they produced no [[lyric poem|lyrical]] genius more considerable than [[Matthijs de Casteleyn]] ([[1488]]–[[1550]]) of [[Oudenaarde]], author of ''De Conste van Rhetorijcken'' ("The Art of Rhetoric").	+
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-	The first writer who used the Dutch tongue with grace and precision of style was a woman and a professed opponent of [[Lutheranism]] and [[Reformation|reformed thought]]. Modern Dutch literature practically begins with [[Anna Bijns]] (c. [[1494]]–[[1575]]). Bijns, who is believed to have been born at Antwerp in 1494, was a [[schoolmaster|schoolmistress]] at that city in her [[middle age|middle life]], and in [[old age]] she still instructed youth in the [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic religion]]. She died on [[April 10]], [[1575]]. From her work we know that she was a [[layperson|lay]] nun, that and she occupied a position of honour and influence at Antwerp. Bijns' main target were the [[faith]] and character of [[Martin Luther|Luther]]. In her first volume of poetry ([[1528]]) the Lutherans are scarcely mentioned and focus lies on her personal experience of faith, but in that of [[1538]] every page is occupied with [[invective]]s against them. All the poems of Anna Bijns still extant are of the form called ''refereinen'' (refrains). Her mastery over verse form is considered remarkable. With the writings of Anna Bijns, the period of Middle Dutch closes and the [[Dutch language|modern Dutch]] begins.	+
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-	==See also==	+
-	* [[Dutch folklore]]	+
-	*[[Van Hulthem (manuscript)]]	+
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-	{{GFDL}}	+

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Current revision

1. redirectDutch literature