This contribution looks back on a period of 35 years of Middle Dutch Studies, through the perspective of the retirement of Frits van Oostrom, who played a central role in the field in the past few... Show moreThis contribution looks back on a period of 35 years of Middle Dutch Studies, through the perspective of the retirement of Frits van Oostrom, who played a central role in the field in the past few decades. Starting from a1989 volume in which Van Oostrom, along with Frank Willaert and several other specialists of Middle Dutch Literature, looked towards the present and future of the field, I aim to gauge whether their expectations havecome true. Supported by the work of fellow scholars who have discussed general developments in the field of Middle Dutch Studies in the past, I aim to draw a balance of the field’s position in terms of international dialogue, digital research methods, methodological innovation and the broader embeddedness in the (diachronic) study of Dutch literature. Show less
Tijdens de Opstand kwamen de rederijkers onder steeds grotere druk te staan van de centrale overheid, vanwege de rol die ze hadden gespeeld in het verspreiden van rebelse ideeën. Tijdens het... Show moreTijdens de Opstand kwamen de rederijkers onder steeds grotere druk te staan van de centrale overheid, vanwege de rol die ze hadden gespeeld in het verspreiden van rebelse ideeën. Tijdens het Twaalfjarig Bestand (1609-1621) kwamen de kamers stilaan weer op gang, met ook opnieuw literaire uitwisseling tussen Noord en Zuid. Dit artikel volgt het spoor van de Mechelse rederijker Willem de Gortter (1585-na 1636), die in het katholieke Zuiden worstelde met zijn lutherse en orangistische overtuiging. Zijn literaire werk biedt een bijzondere inkijk in de manier waarop de rederijkerij zich aanpaste aan de veranderde context. Show less
With the Fall – or reconquista if you will – of Antwerp in 1585, the Revolt in Low Countries entered a period of stalemate that would eventually materialise into the separation of north and south.... Show moreWith the Fall – or reconquista if you will – of Antwerp in 1585, the Revolt in Low Countries entered a period of stalemate that would eventually materialise into the separation of north and south. This article looks at a poetry manuscript by the Mechelen rhetorician Willem de Gortter, an avid sympathiser of the northern cause, who spent his entire life in the Catholic and Spanish south. Through his references to the multiple nationalities involved in a conflict that in essence gripped Europe for the better part of a century, this article aims to position his discourse on the shared past in the division of two separate ‘memory cultures’ that are believed to have developed from the late sixteenth century onwards. It shows that despite his fierce disapproval of the Spanish actions during the Eighty Years War, and despite his agreement with the northern propagandistic discourse on the recent past, he did incorporate some of the less strident views that circulated in the south. Show less
