Over een toiletartikel: Hendrik van Veldekes 'Sente Servaes' en Camille Huysmans

in Spiegel der Letteren (2013), 55(2), 189-200

In 1858 J.H. Bormans published the first edition of Hendrik van Veldeke’s legend of Saint Servatius which had only just come to light. Nearly forty years later, Camille Huysmans supplied additional ... [more ▼]

In 1858 J.H. Bormans published the first edition of Hendrik van Veldeke’s legend of Saint Servatius which had only just come to light. Nearly forty years later, Camille Huysmans supplied additional information about the work’s discovery. In a humorous letter printed in the Limburgsch jaarboek (1895-1896) he revealed how one of his former teachers, during a visit to a friend’s house, had stumbled upon the fifteenth-century manuscript in the toilet, ready to be used as toilet paper. Only recently have scholars begun to cast doubt on Huysmans’s story. A closer look at Huysmans’s student career in Liège and his involvement in the association Onze Taal (Our Language) may shed new light on the origins and veracity of his account. [less ▲]

Batavia as Patria: Literary Representations of Batavia in W.J. Hofdijk’s Work

in Dutch Crossing : a Journal of Low Countries studies (2012), 36(3), 216-227

The depiction of Batavia is examined in W. J. Hofdijk’s long epic poem In ’t harte van Java (In Java’s Heart) published in 1881; a detailed description of the city was incorporated into his narrative ... [more ▼]

The depiction of Batavia is examined in W. J. Hofdijk’s long epic poem In ’t harte van Java (In Java’s Heart) published in 1881; a detailed description of the city was incorporated into his narrative, showing Batavia as seen through Javanese eyes, and thus turning the city into an emblem of the fatherland itself. Founded on the northern coast of Java in 1619, the city of Batavia was admired for its picturesque beauty and its overall European character. The qualities for which it was praised hint at Batavia’s curiously hybrid nature: whilst in many respects it differed dramatically from the Netherlands, it was at the same time portrayed as quintessentially Dutch. It was an exotic, far-away place and yet an integral part of the nation. This dichotomy represented an obvious complication for writers in the Netherlands eager to extol its virtues. [less ▲]

'Een zingen in aanvankelijkheid'. Muziek als inspiratiebron bij Ida Gerhardt

in Spiegel der Letteren (2012), 54(2), 271-273

Syllabus Histoire de la littérature néerlandaise I

Learning material (2011)

Kleine gedichten voor 'kleine discipelen'. Johannes Kinker bemiddelt bij een geschil over kopijrecht (1824)

in Spiegel der Letteren (2010), 52(4), 445-455

A hitherto unknown letter written by Johannes Kinker in 1824 has turned up in the Bibliotheek van het Boekenvak (Library of the Booktrade), University of Amsterdam. The letter is not only of interest from ... [more ▼]

A hitherto unknown letter written by Johannes Kinker in 1824 has turned up in the Bibliotheek van het Boekenvak (Library of the Booktrade), University of Amsterdam. The letter is not only of interest from a biographical point of view but illustrates the confusing state of affairs surrounding copyright law in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. King William I had reserved an important role for Dutch language teaching, Dutch literature and the national book trade in the integration process between the Northern and Southern parts of the realm. However, Kinker’s letter makes plain on a very practical level the deficiencies of the new copyright rules, which the King had signed into law in 1817, and the obstacles that hindered their implementation in the Southern provinces. [less ▲]

André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry's Opera 'Le Jugement de Midas' (1778)

Speech (2010)

Riddles and Counterpoint: Mozart's Pupil Franz Jacob Freystädtler

in Newsletter of the Mozart Society of America (2010), XIV(1), 14-17

Het Nederlandse literatuuronderwijs in de Waalse provincies als prescriptieve Landeskunde (1817-1900)

in Konst, Jan; Hüning, Matthias; Holzhey, Tanja (Eds.) Neerlandistiek in Europa: Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis van de universitaire neerlandistiek buiten Nederland en Vlaanderen (2010)

This article focuses on three nineteenth-century literary histories written for French-speaking students of Dutch. The histories illustrate a concern on the part of the authors (J.F.X. Würth, F.A ... [more ▼]

This article focuses on three nineteenth-century literary histories written for French-speaking students of Dutch. The histories illustrate a concern on the part of the authors (J.F.X. Würth, F.A. Snellaert, and J. Stecher) not only with the teaching of Dutch literature and the development of a solid Dutch literary tradition but also with the presentation of their material in keeping with an underlying ideological framework. In each case their presentation was designed to reinforce a particular view of country and culture and of the respective roles of the Dutch, Flemish and Walloon peoples in the creation of a one-nation state. The differences between them reflect a change in the significance of Dutch literature as a result of political developments, leading in turn to a paradigm shift in the teaching of the subject at university. An analysis of the didactic aims and principles underlying the literary histories written by Würth, Snellaert and Stecher reveals the extent to which political allegiances and nationalist considerations determined their selection criteria and the organisation of their subject matter. Not surprisingly, the contemporary critical response to these study books shows a similar ideological bias. [less ▲]

Rewriting the Nation: Language and Literature in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1814-1830)

Conference (2009, March)

Elusive Poets, Fugitive Texts. The Impact of the London Shelley Society in the Low Countries

in Toremans, Tom; Verschueren, Walter (Eds.) Crossing Cultures. Nineteenth-Century Anglophone Literature in the Low Countries (2009)