Literature of Flanders orFlemish literature isliterature fromFlanders, historically a region comprising parts of present-dayBelgium,France and theNetherlands. Until the early 19th century, this literature was regarded as an integral part of "Dutch" (Nederlandse) literature. After Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830, the terms Flemish literature and literature of Flanders acquired a narrower meaning, and refer to the Dutch-language literature produced in Belgium. Most of the literature created in Flanders remains part ofDutch-language literature.
The oldest literary works from the region now known as Flanders (until 1795 roughly comprising theCounty of Flanders, the heart of theDuchy of Brabant, and theCounty of Loon) were not written in theMiddle Dutch language, but inLatin. Apart from such devotional literature such ashagiography, various local and regionalchronicles began to emerge as early forms ofhistoriography. The earliest textual tradition in theCounty of Flanders was the so-calledFlandria Generosa, which started as a very simple and basic genealogy of thecounts of Flanders in the late 10th century. In the next stages, called theGenealogia comitum Flandrensium, the texts were updated until the year 1168.
As these initial texts were copied and expanded further by scribes, more narrative elements were added about other groups of people, society as a whole, the landscape and environment, and lots of events and developments in the wider region were included. By 1200, the first translations ofFlandria generosa from Latin intoOld French started to appear. By the mid-14th century, during the transition from Old toMiddle French, theChronique de Flandre [nl] was written, which in turn served as the basis for the Middle DutchRhymed Chronicle of Flanders. However, the main branch of theFlandria generosa tradition was theContinuatio Claromariscensis, which by the early 15th century brought forth a family of prose chronicles in Middle Dutch, known as theExcellent Chronicle of Flanders (Excellente Cronike van Vlaenderen).
Chronicle writing in Brabant [nl] began much later, in the 13th century, also initially in Latin. One of the first in Middle Dutch was theRhyming Chronicle of Worringen, a dramatic account of theBattle of Worringen (1288) in praise of the victorJohn I, Duke of Brabant. The most famous Middle Dutch example is theBrabantsche Yeesten, another rhymed chronicle, until 1351 written byJan van Boendale.
In the earliest stages of the Dutch language, a considerable degree of mutual intelligibility with some (what we now call)German dialects was present, and some fragments and authors are claimed for both realms. Examples include the 12th-centurypoetHendrik van Veldeke, who is claimed by both Dutch andGerman literature.
In the first stages of Flemish literature, poetry was the predominant form of literary expression. In theLow Countries as in the rest of Europe,courtly romance andpoetry were populargenres during theMiddle Ages. One suchMinnesanger was the aforementioned Van Veldeke. Thechivalricepic was a popular genre as well, often featuringKing Arthur orCharlemagne (Karel) asprotagonist (with notable example ofKarel ende Elegast, Dutch for "Charlemagne and the elf-spirit/elf-guest").
The first Dutch language writer known by name is the 12th-centuryCounty of Loon poetHendrik van Veldeke, an early contemporary ofWalther von der Vogelweide. Van Veldeke wrote courtly love poetry, ahagiography ofSaint Servatius and an epic retelling of theAeneid in aLimburgish dialect that straddles the Dutch-German language boundary.
A number of the survivingepic works, especially the courtly romances, were copies from or expansions of earlier German orFrench efforts, but there are examples of truly original works (such as the anonymously writtenKarel ende Elegast) and original Dutch-language works that were translated into other languages (notable Dutch morality playElckerlijc formed the basis for the English playEveryman).
Apart from ancient tales embedded in Dutchfolk songs, virtually no genuinefolk-tales of Dutch antiquity have come down to us, and scarcely any echoes ofGermanic myth. On the other hand, thesagas of Charlemagne and Arthur appear immediately inMiddle Dutch forms. These were evidently introduced by wanderingminstrels and translated to gratify the curiosity of the noble women. It is rarely that the name of such a translator has reached us. TheChanson de Roland was translated somewhere in the twelfth century, and theFlemish minstrelDiederic van Assenede completed his version ofFloris and Blancheflour asFloris ende Blancefloer around 1260.
TheArthurian legends appear to have been brought to Flanders by some Flemish colonists inWales, on their return to their mother country. Around 1250 aBrabantine minstrel translated theProse Lancelot at the command of hisliege, Lodewijk van Velthem. This adaptation, known as theLancelot Compilation, 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 theMoriaen, seem to be originals. TheGauvain was translated byPenninc [nl] andPieter Vostaert [nl] asRoman van Walewein [nl] before 1260, while the first wholly original Dutch epic writer,Jacob van Maerlant, occupied himself around 1260 with several romances dealing withMerlin and theHoly Grail.
The earliest existing fragments of the epic ofReynard the Fox were written inLatin by Flemishpriests, and about 1250 the first part of a very important version in Dutch,Van den vos Reynaerde ("Of Reynard") was made byWillem. In his existing work the author followsPierre 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.
The first lyrical writer of the Low Countries wasJohn I, Duke of Brabant, who practised theminnelied with success. In 1544 the earliest collection of Dutch folk-songs saw the light, and in this volume one or two romances of the fourteenth century are preserved, of which "Het Daghet in den Oosten" is the best known.
Up until now, theMiddle 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 thirteenth century a change came over the face of Dutch literature.
The founder and creator of this original Dutch literature wasJacob van Maerlant. HisDer Naturen Bloeme ("The Flower of Nature"), written about 1263, takes an important place in early Dutch literature. It is a collection ofmoral andsatirical addresses to all classes of society. With hisRijmbijbel ("Verse Bible") he foreshadowed the courage and free-thought of theReformation. It was not until 1284 that he began hismasterpiece,De Spieghel Historiael ("The Mirror of History") at the command of Count Floris V.
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 wasHem van Aken, apriest ofLouvain, 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 theRoman de la Rose, which he must have commenced in the lifetime of its authorJean de Meung.
As forprose, the oldest pieces of Dutch prose now in existence arecharters of towns in Flanders andZeeland, dated 1249, 1251 and 1254.Beatrice of Nazareth (1200–1268) was the first known prose writer in the Dutch language, the author of the notable dissertation known as theSeven Ways of Holy Love. From the other Dutchmystics whose writings have reached us, the Brusselsfriar Jan van Ruusbroec (better known in English as theBlessedJohn of Ruysbroeck, 1293/4–1381), the "father of Dutch prose" stands out. A prosetranslation of theOld Testament was made about 1300, and there exists aLife of Jesus of around the same date.
The poets of the Low Countries had already discovered in late medieval times the value ofguilds in promoting thearts and industrialhandicrafts. The term "Collèges de Rhétorique" ("Chambers of Rhetoric") is supposed to have been introduced around 1440 to thecourtiers of theBurgundian dynasty, but the institutions themselves existed long before. These literary guilds, whose members called themselves "Rederijkers" or "Rhetoricians", lasted until the end of the sixteenth century and during the greater part of that time preserved a completely medieval character, even when the influences of theRenaissance and the Reformation obliged them to modify in some degree their outward forms. They were in almost all cases absolutelymiddle class in tone, and opposed toaristocratic ideas and tendencies in thought.
Of these chambers, the earliest were almost entirely engaged in preparingmysteries andmiracle plays for the people. Towards the end of the fifteenth century, theGhent chamber began to exercise a sovereign power over the otherFlemish chambers, which was emulated later on inHolland by the Eglantine at Amsterdam. But this official recognition proved of no consequence inliterature and it was not in Ghent but inAntwerp that intellectual life first began to stir. In Holland theburghers only formed the chambers, while in Flanders the representatives of thenoble families were honorary members, and assisted with their money at the arrangement ofecclesiastical orpoliticalpageants. Their Landjuwelen, or Tournaments of Rhetoric, at which rich prizes were awarded, were the occasions upon which the members of the chambers distinguished themselves.
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. TheBrussels chamber sent 340 members, all on horseback and clad incrimson 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.
Theirdramatic pieces produced by the chambers were of a didactic cast, with a strong farcical flavour, and continued the tradition of Jacob van Maerlant and his school. They very rarely dealt withhistorical or even Biblical personages, but entirely with allegorical and moral abstractions. The most notable examples of Rederijker theatre includeMariken van Nieumeghen ("Mary ofNijmegen") andElckerlijc (which was translated intoEnglish asEveryman).
Of the purefarces 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 namedCornelis Everaert ofBruges andLaurens Janssen ofHaarlem. The material of these farces is extremely raw, consisting of roughjests at the expense ofpriests and foolish husbands, silly old men and their light wives.
The chambers also encouraged the composition of songs, but with very little success; they produced nolyrical genius more considerable thanMatthijs de Casteleyn (1488–1550) ofOudenaarde, author ofDe Conste van Rhetorijcken ("The Art of Rhetoric").
The first writer who used the Dutch tongue with grace and precision of style was a woman and a professed opponent ofLutheranism andreformed thought. Modern Dutch literature practically begins withAnna Bijns (c. 1494–1575). Bijns, who is believed to have been born at Antwerp in 1494, was aschoolmistress at that city in hermiddle life, and inold age she still instructed youth in theCatholic religion. She died on April 10, 1575. From her work we know that she was alay nun and that she occupied a position of honour and influence in Antwerp. Bijns' main subjects werefaith and the character ofLuther. In her first volume of poetry (1528) the Lutherans are scarcely mentioned and the focus is on her personal experience of faith. In the volume of poetry of 1538 every page is occupied withinvective against the Lutherans. All the poems of Anna Bijns still extant are of the form calledrefereinen (refrains). Her mastery over verse form is considered to be remarkable. With the writings of Anna Bijns, the period of Middle Dutch closes andmodern Dutch begins.
Flanders formed a political and cultural whole with the Netherlands until 1579, when as a result of theReformation theProtestant northern provinces (part of today'sNetherlands) split off from theRoman-Catholic south which remained under Spanish rule.
While theRepublic of the Seven United Netherlands witnessed itsGolden Age, theSouthern Netherlands suffered war and misery underSpanish occupation. As theProtestants fled from theCatholicSouthern Netherlands, the once prospering port town ofAntwerp started to decline as a metropolis and this to the benefit of towns and cities in the Netherlands, likeAmsterdam,The Hague,Rotterdam andUtrecht. As a result of these political developments, the literature in the South, Flanders andBrabant changed its character. The flowering of medieval literature came to an abrupt end while in the 17th century the North knew a 'Golden Age' in the arts including literature. With the mass exodus of Flemish intellectuals to the Dutch Republic, literary activity in Flanders virtually came to a halt. In the French occupied part of Flanders a few major figures were active includingDominic De Jonghe (1654–1717) who translated Le Cid byPierre Corneille into Dutch, the poetMichiel de Swaen (1654–1707) who wrote the epicHet Leven en Dood van Jezus Christus (The Life and Death of Jesus Christ) (1694) and the comedyThe gecroonde leerse (The Crowned Boot) andWillem Ogier who is known for the comedyDroncken Heyn (Drunk Heyn) (1639) and a drama series entitledDe seven hooft-sonden (The Seven Capital Sins) (1682).
During the 18th century, Flemish literary production was at a low tide. In 1761Jan Des Roches who was born inThe Hague published theNieuwe Nederduytsche spraek-konst, a Dutch grammar that attempted to challenge the use of Latin as a culture language and French as the language of prestige by elaborating a standardized southern Dutch (Flemish) language. The Brussels lawyerJan-Baptist Verlooy (1746–1797) wrote theVerhandeling op d'onacht der moederlyke tael in de Nederlanden (Treatise on the negligence of the mother tongue in the Netherlands) (1788), a report on the status of the Dutch language and the contempt with which it was treated in the past.
Other important authors includeWillem Verhoeven (1738–1809),Charles Broeckaert (1767–1826) (author of the Flemish popular novelJelle en Mietje), andJan-Baptist Hofman (1758–1835), author of middle class tragedies.
After the conclusion of theNapoleonic Wars, Belgium and the Netherlands were reunited in 1815 under Dutch rule as theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands. The reunification lead to a wider recognition of the Dutch language in Belgium. Resentment of Dutch rule by the French-speaking elites and the Catholic Church created a climate in which the Belgians revolted against Dutch rule in 1830, an event which is known as theBelgian Revolution.
The immediate result of the Belgian Revolution was a reaction against everything associated with the Dutch, and a disposition to regard the French language as the speech of liberty and independence. The provisional government of 1830 suppressed the official use of theDutch language, which was relegated to the rank of apatois.[1]
For some years before 1830Jan Frans Willems (1793–1846) had been advocating the use of the Dutch language. He had done his best to allay the frictions between theNetherlands and Belgium and to prevent a separation. As archivist ofAntwerp he had access to direct sources that allowed him to write a history of Flemish literature. After the revolution his Dutch sympathies made it necessary for him to keep a low profile for a while, but in 1835 he settled inGhent, and devoted himself to the cultivation of the Dutch language. He edited old Flemish classics, such asReinaert de Vos (1836), the rhymingChronicles ofJan van Heelu andJean Leclerc, etc. He gathered around him a group of people such as the chevalierPhilip Blommaert (1809–1871),Karel Lodewijk Ledeganck (1805–1847),Frans Rens (1805–1874),Ferdinand Augustijn Snellaert (1809–1872),Prudens van Duyse (1804–1859), and others who wanted to support the use of the Dutch language.[1]
Philipp Blommaert, who was born in Ghent on 27 August 1809, founded in 1834 in his native town theNederduitsche letteroefeningen, a review for new writers. This magazine was speedily followed by other Flemish organs, and by literary societies for the promotion of Dutch in Flanders. In 1851 a central organization for the Flemish propaganda was provided by a society, named after the father of the movement, theWillemsfonds. TheRoman Catholic Flemings founded in 1874 a rivalDavidsfonds, called after the energeticJean-Baptist David (1801–1866), professor at theUniversite Catholique de Louvain (Leuven), and the author of a Dutch history book on Belgium (Vaderlandsche historie, Louvain, 1842–1866). As a result of this propaganda the Dutch language was placed on an equality with French in law, and in administration, in 1873 and 1878, and in the schools in 1883. Finally in 1886 a Flemish Academy was established by royal authority at Ghent, where a course in Flemish literature had been established as early as 1854.[1]
The claims put forward by the Flemish school were justified by the appearance (1837) ofIn 't Wonderjaer 1566 (In the Wonderful year) ofHendrik Conscience, who roused national enthusiasm by describing the heroic struggles of the Flemings against the Spaniards. Conscience was eventually to make his greatest successes in the description of contemporary Flemish life, but his historical romances and his popular history of Flanders helped to give a popular basis to a movement which had been started by professors and scholars.[1]
The first poet of the new school wasKarel Lodewijk Ledeganck, the best known of whose poems are those on the three sister cities ofBruges, Ghent andAntwerp (De drie zustersteden, vaderlandsche trilogie, Ghent, 1846), in which he makes an impassioned protest against the adoption of French ideas, manners and language, and the neglect of Flemish tradition. The book speedily took its place as a Flemish classic. Ledeganck, who was a magistrate, also translated the French code into Dutch.Jan Theodoor van Rijswijck (1811–1849), after serving as a volunteer in the campaign of 1830, settled down as a clerk in Antwerp, and became one of the hottest champions of the Flemish movement. He wrote a series of political and satirical songs, admirably suited to his public. The romantic and sentimental poet,Jan van Beers, was typically Flemish in his sincere and moral outlook on life.Prudens van Duyse, whose most ambitious work was the epicArtevelde (1859), is perhaps best remembered by a collection (1844) of poems for children.Peter Frans Van Kerckhoven (1818–1857), a native of Antwerp, wrote novels, poems, dramas, and a work on the Flemish revival (De Vlaemsche Beweging, 1847).[1]
Antwerp produced a realistic novelist inJan Lambrecht Domien Sleeckx (1818–1901). An inspector of schools by profession, he was an indefatigable journalist and literary critic. He was one of the founders in 1844 of theVlaemsch Belgie, the first daily paper in the Flemish interest. His works include a long list of plays, among themJan Steen (1852), a comedy;Gretry, which gained a national prize in 1861;Vissers van Blankenberge (1863); and the patriotic drama ofZannekin (1865). His talent as a novelist was diametrically opposed to the idealism of Conscience. He was precise, sober and concrete in his methods, relying for his effect on the accumulation of carefully observed detail. He was particularly successful in describing the life of the shipping quarter of his native town. Among his novels are:In't Schipperskwartier (1856),Dirk Meyer (1860),Tybaerts en Cie (1867),Kunst en Liefde (Art and Love, 1870), andVesalius in Spanje (1895). His complete works were collected in 17 volumes (1877–1884).[1]
Jan Renier Snieders (1812–1888) wrote novels dealing with North Brabant; his brother,August Snieders (1825–1904), began by writing historical novels in the manner of Conscience, but his later novels are satires of contemporary society. A more original talent was displayed byAnton Bergmann (1835–1874), who, under the pseudonym of Tony, wroteErnest Staas, Advocaat, which gained the quennial prize of literature in 1874. In the same year appeared theNovellen of the sistersRosalie (1834–1875) andVirginie Loveling (1836–1923). These simple and touching stories were followed by a second collection in 1876. The sisters had published a volume of poems in 1870. Virginie Lovelings gifts of fine and exact observation soon placed her in the front rank of Flemish novelists. Her political sketches,In onze Vlaamsche gewesten (1877), were published under the name of W. G. E. Walter.Sophie (1885),Een dure Eed (1892), andHet Land der Verbeelding (1896) are among the more famous of her later works.Reimond Stijns (1850–1905) andIsidoor Teirlinck (1851–1934) produced in collaboration one very popular novel,Arm Vlaanderen (1884), and some others, and have since written separately.Cyriel Buysse, a nephew of Virginie Loveling, is a disciple ofÉmile Zola.Het Recht van den Sterkste (The Right of the Strongest, 1893) is a picture of vagabond life in Flanders;Schoppenboer (The Knave of Spades, 1898) deals with brutalized peasant life; andSursum corda (1895) describes the narrowness and religiosity of village life.[1]
In poetry,Julius de Geyter (1830–1905), author of a rhymed translation of Reinaert (1874), an epic poem on Charles V (1888), etc. produced a social epic in three parts,Drie menschen van in de wieg tot in het graf (Three Men from the Cradle to the Grave, 1861), in which he propounded radical and humanitarian views. The songs ofJulius Vuylsteke (1836–1903) are full of liberal and patriotic ardour; but his later life was devoted to politics rather than literature. He had been the leading spirit of a students association at Ghent for the propagation of Flemish views, and the Willemsfonds owed much of its success to his energetic co-operation. HisUit het studentenleven appeared in 1868, and his poems were collected in 1881. The poems of Mme van Ackere (1803–1884), néeMaria Doolaeghe, were modelled on Dutch originals.Joanna Courtmans (1811–1890), née Berchmans, owed her fame rather to her tales than her poems; she was above all a moralist and her fifty tales are sermons on economy and the practical virtues. Other poets wereEmmanuel Hiel, author of comedies, opera libretti and some admirable songs; the abbotGuido Gezelle, who wrote religious and patriotic poems in the dialect of West Flanders;Lodewijk de Koninck (1838–1924), who attempted a great epic subject inMenschdom Verlost (1872);Johan Michiel Dautzenberg (1808–1869) fromHeerlen, author of a volume of charmingVolksliederen. The best of Dautzenberg's work is contained in the posthumous volume of 1869, published by his son-in-law,Frans de Cort (1834–1878), who was himself a songwriter, and translated songs fromRobert Burns, fromJacques Jasmin and from German. TheMakamen en Ghazelen (1866), adapted fromRückert's version of Hariri, and other volumes byJan Ferguut (J. A. van Droogenbroeck, 1835–1902) show a growing preoccupation with form, and with the work ofGentil Theodoor Antheunis (1840–1907), they prepare the way for the ingenious and careful workmanship of the younger school of poets, of whomCharles Polydore de Mont was the leader. He was born at Wambeke in Brabant in 1857, and became professor in the academy of the fine arts at Antwerp. He introduced something of the ideas and methods of contemporary French writers into Flemish verse; and explained his theories in 1898 in an Inleiding tot de Poezie. AmongPol de Mont's numerous volumes of verse dating from 1877 onwards areClaribella (1893), andIris (1894), which contains amongst other things a curiousUit de Legende van Jeschoea-ben-Josief, a version of the gospel story from a Jewish peasant.[2]
Mention should also be made of the history of Ghent (Gent van den vroegsten Tijd tot heden, 1882-1889) byFrans de Potter (1834–1904), and of the art criticisms ofMax Rooses (1839–1914), curator of thePlantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, and ofJulius Sabbe (1846–1910).[3]
In the twentieth Century Flemish literature evolved further and was influenced by the international literary evolution.Cyriel Buysse andStijn Streuvels were influenced by thenaturalist literary fashion, whileFelix Timmermans was aneo-romanticist.
AfterWorld War I the poetPaul van Ostaijen was an important representative ofexpressionism in his poems. In betweenWorld War I andWorld War II,Gerard Walschap,Willem Elsschot andMarnix Gijsen were prominent Flemish writers. After World War II the firstavant-garde magazineTijd en Mens (E: Time and People) was published from 1949 up to 1955. In 1955 it was succeeded byGard Sivik (E: Civil Guard) (up to 1964), withHugues C. Pernath andPaul Snoek. The most prominent FlemishVijftiger (E: Generation fifties) wasHugo Claus, who plays an important role in Flemish literature since then. Other postwar poets wereAnton van Wilderode andChristine D'Haen. Some of the writers who made their debut after 1960 areEddy Van Vliet,Herman de Coninck,Roland Jooris, Patrick Conrad andLuuk Gruwez.
The renewal of the Flemish prose immediately after World War II was the work of Hugo Claus andLouis Paul Boon.Johan Daisne andHubert Lampo introducedmagic realism in Flemish literature.Ivo Michiels andPaul De Wispelaere represented thenew novel. In the eightiesWalter van den Broeck andMonika van Paemel continued to write in the style of Louis Paul Boon.
Other contemporary authors areWard Ruyslinck andJef Geeraerts, Patrick Conrad,Kristien Hemmerechts,Eric de Kuyper,Stefan Hertmans,Pol Hoste,Paul Claes,Jan Lauwereyns,Anne Provoost andJos Vandeloo. In the nineties theGeneration X, withHerman Brusselmans andTom Lanoye made their debut on the Flemish literary scene.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Gosse, Edmund William (1911). "Flemish Literature". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 495–496. This article in turn cites: