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Historical Changes in Dutch Literature
The Netherlands began to have written at the end of the 12th century, and the language that formed Dutch—Dutch was a fusion of Frankish, Frisian, and some Saxon dialects.
The 13th century produced Dutch folk literature. At that time, in the south centered on Flanders, due to the influence of French culture and the awakening of the burghers, literary works such as legends of knights, animal stories such as “Lena Fox” and religious poems appeared one after another.
Overview
In the Middle Ages, Dutch literature was part of a wide-ranging tradition of literature in Western Europe, including epic stories of chivalry, such as Floris ende Blancefloer and Karel ende Elegast, and fables, such as Van den Vos Reynaerde (The Story) and Elckerlyk (Ordinary People). Humanist literature appeared in the 16th century. The main representative of the Netherlands was Erasmus. His work “Ode to Fools” satirized the church and society, and was later translated into many languages.
Spinoza’s philosophical story is one of the quintessence of seventeenth-century literature. Dutch literature flourished during this period, producing great writers like Vondel, Hooft, Huygens, and Bredero. The Bible was also translated into Dutch at the time. The publication of Statenbijbel in 1637 (published under license) is regarded as a milestone in the evolution of the Dutch language.
Multatuli was an influential 19th-century writer whose novel Max Havelaar was an indictment of Dutch rule in the East Indies (today’s Indonesia).
Origin
In the 16th century, under the influence of the European Renaissance, Erasmus (1466-1536), a famous humanist in Rotterdam, wrote a long satirical work “Ode to Fools” (1509) in Latin, which was a reaction to the feudal system at that time. The fortress and spiritual pillar of the Catholic Church was exposed and ridiculed. He also translated the Greek “New Testament” into Latin (1516), thus gaining a wide reputation. Curren Huert (1522-1590) also wrote the humanistic masterpiece “The Way of Living in the World” in 1586, and the author is called “the founder of modern Dutch prose”.
In addition, Marnix (1538-1598) also wrote “The Hive of the Holy Catholic Church”, which satirizes Catholicism. In the second half of the 16th century, due to the Reformation and the Anti-Spanish War of Independence, many writers and scholars in the South moved to take refuge in cities such as Amsterdam in the Dutch province, so at the end of the 16th century, the Dutch province became the center of literary activity.
Golden age
In the 17th century, the Netherlands, as the first powerful country in Europe, ushered in the so-called “Golden Century”. During this period, literature, art, science, shipping, and trade flourished at the same time. In literature, Katz (1577-1660), Hooft (1581-1647), Bredro (1585-1618), Vondel (1587-1679) and Huihens (1596-1687) appeared successively Famous poets and writers.
At the same time, a number of famous novels emerged, such as Vondel’s two poetic tragedies “Adam in Exile” (1664) and “Lucifer” (1654); Hooft’s idyllic drama “Granida” (1605). And records of the War of Independence “Dutch History” (1628 ~ 1647), Bledero’s comedy “Cow” (1612) and “Spain Brabant” (1617) and so on. In 1637, the state approved the translation of the Bible, which promoted the standardization of the Dutch language and had an impact on literary creation.
From the second half of the 17th century, there was some stagnation in literature, mainly because most of the Dutch writers in the 18th century imitated and followed the works of Vondel and other predecessors, especially French classicism. For example, Lanhendike’s (1683-1756) comedy “The Mutual Deception” (1714) was written under the influence of Molière. During this period, the lyric poem “Prayer” (1796) and the poetic tragedy “Floris V” (1808) by the famous poet Beard Dick (1756-1831) marked the mainstream of Dutch literature from classicism to romance. doctrine.
