Dutch literature: Encyclopedia II - Dutch literature - Renaissance and the Golden Age 1550–1670

Dutch literature - Renaissance and the Golden Age 1550–1670

Main article: Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature

The first ripples of the Reformation appeared in Dutch literature in a collection of Psalm translations printed at Antwerp in 1540 under the title of Souter-Liedekens ("Psalter Songs"). For the Protestant congregations, Jan Utenhove printed a volume of Psalms in 1566 and made the first attempt at a New Testament translation in Dutch. Very different in tone were the battle songs sung by the Reformers, the Gueux songs. The famous songbook of 1588, Een Geusen Lied Boecxken ("A Gueux Songbook"), was full of heroic sentiment.

Philips van Marnix, lord of Sint-Aldegonde (1538–1598) was one of the leading spirits in the war of Dutch independence and an intimate friend of William I, Prince of Orange. The lyrics to Wilhelmus, the current Dutch national anthem and an apology of the Prince's actions composed around 1568, are ascribed to Marnix. His chief work was 1569's Biëncorf der Heilige Roomsche Kercke, a satire of the Roman Catholic church. Marnix occupied the last years of his life in preparing a Dutch version of the Bible, translated directly from the original; at his death only Genesis was completed. In 1619 the Synod of Dordrecht placed the unfinished work in the hands of four theologians, who completed it. This translation formed the starting point for the Statenvertaling or "States' Translation", a full Bible translation into Dutch ordered by the Synod. In order to be intelleglible to all Dutchmen, the Statenvertaling included elements of all main Dutch dialects and so became the cornerstone of modern standard Dutch.

Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert (1522–1590) was the Low Countries' first truly humanist writer. In 1586 he produced his original masterpiece, the Zedekunst ("Art of Ethics", 1586), a philosophical treatise in prose. Coornhert's humanism unites the Bible, Plutarch and Marcus Aurelius in one grand system of ethics.

By this time, the religious and political upheaval in the Low Countries had resulted in 1581's Declaration of Independence from Spain and the subsequent eighty years' struggle to confirm that declaration. As a result, the southern provinces, some of which had supported the declaration, were separated from the northern provinces as they remained under Spanish rule. Ultimately, this would result in the present-day states of Belgium (south) and The Netherlands (north). After Antwerp fell into Spanish hands in 1585, Amsterdam became the centre of all literary enterprise as all intelligentsia fled towards the north. This meant both a cultural renaissance in the north and a sharp decline in the south at the same time, regarding the level of Dutch literature practised. The north received a cultural and intellectual boost whereas in the south, Dutch was largely replaced by French as the language of culture and administration.

In Amsterdam, a circle of poets and playwrights formed around Maecenas-like figure Roemer Visscher (1547–1620), which would eventually be known as the Muiderkring ("Circle of Muiden") after the residence of its most prominent member, Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, (1581–1647), writer of pastoral and lyric poetry and history. From 1628 to 1642 he wrote his masterpiece, the Nederduytsche Historiën ("History of the Netherlands"). Hooft was a purist in style, modelling himself (in prose) after Tacitus. He is considered one of the greatest historians, not merely of the Low Countries, but of Europe. His influence in standardising the language of his country is considered enormous, as many writers conformed themselves to the stylistic and grammatical model Hooft devised. Other members of his Circle included Visscher's daughter Tesselschade (1594–1649, lyric poetry) and Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero (1585–1618, romantic plays and comedies), whose best-known piece is De Spaansche Brabanber Jerolimo ("Jerolimo, the Spanish Brabanter"), a satire upon the exiles from the south. A versatile poet loosely associated with the Circle of Muiden was the diplomat Constantijn Huygens (1596–1687), perhaps best known for his witty epigrams. Huygens' style was bright and vivacious and he was a consummate artist in metrical form.

The best-known of all Dutch writers is playwright and poet Joost van den Vondel (1587–1679), who mainly wrote historical and biblical tragedies. In 1625 he published what seemed an innocent study from the antique, his tragedy of Palamedes, or Murdered Innocence, but which was a thinly-veiled tribute to Johan van Oldebarnevelt, the Republic's Grand Pensionary, who had been executed in 1618 by order of stadtholder Maurice of Nassau. Vondel became in a week the most famous writer in Holland and for the next twelve years, until the accession of stadtholder Frederick Henry, had to maintain a hand-to-hand combat with the Calvinists of Dordrecht. In 1637 Vondel wrote of his most popular works on the occasion of the opening of a new Amsterdam theatre: Gijsbreght van Aemstel, a play on a local historical figure loosely modeled on material from the Aeneid that is still staged to this day. In 1654 Vondel brought out what most consider the best of all his works, the tragedy of Lucifer, from which it is said Milton drew inspiration. Vondel is considered the typical example of Dutch intelligence and imagination at their highest development.

A similar school to that in Amsterdam arose in Middelburg, the capital of Zeeland, led by Jacob Cats (1577–1660). In Cats the genuine Dutch habit of thought, the utilitarian and didactic spirit reached its zenith of fluency and popularity. During early middle life he produced the most important of his writings, his didactic poems, the Maechdenplicht ("Duty of Maidens") and the Sinne- en Minnebeelden ("Images of Allegory and Love"). In 1624 he moved from Middelburg to Dordrecht, where he soon after published his ethical work called Houwelick ("Marriage"); and this was followed by a entire series of moral pieces. Cats is considered somewhat dull and prosaic by some, yet his popularity with the middle classes in Holland has always been immense.

As with contemporary English literature, the predominant forms of literature produced in this era were poetry and drama, Coornhert (philosophy) and Hooft (history) being the main exceptions. In another prose genre, Johan van Heemskerk (1597–1656) was the leading man of a new vogue blown over from France: the romance. In 1637 he produced his Batavische Arcadia ("Batavian Arcadia"), the first original Dutch romance, in its day extremely popular and widely imitated. Another exponent of this genre was Nikolaes Heinsius the Younger, whose Mirandor (1675) resembles but precedes Lesage's Gil Blas.

The period from 1600 to 1650 was the blossoming time in Dutch literature. During this period the names of greatest genius were first made known to the public and the vigour and grace of literary expression reached their highest development. It happened, however, that three men of particularly commanding talent survived to an extreme old age, and under the shadow of Vondel, Cats and Huygens sprang up a new generation which sustained the great tradition until around 1670, when decline set in sharply.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Renaissance and the Golden Age 1550–1670", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki