Dutch and Flemish Literature as World Literature

Theo D'haen

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781501340130
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: European Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

The recent return of 'world literature' to the centre of literary studies has entailed an increased attention to non-European literatures, but in turn has also further marginalized Europe's smaller literatures. Dutch and Flemish Literature as World Literature shows how Dutch-language literature, from its very beginnings in the Middle Ages to the present, has not only always taken its cue from the 'major' literary traditions of Europe and beyond, but has also actively contributed to and influenced these traditions. The contributors to this book focus on key works and authors, providing a concise, yet highly readable, history of Dutch-language literature and demonstrating how this literature is anchored in world literature.

1

A King and Two Foxes: Middle Dutch Literature on European Crossroads

Geert H.M. Claassens

Introduction

King Arthur is a constant feature in medieval European literature: for some three-and-a-half centuries the legendary king forms the centre of an ever-expanding world of stories. It all began in the middle of the twelfth century, with a Latin text by Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Historia regum Brittanniae (c. 1135). This is the oldest text to contain a more or less complete description of the life of Arthur as part of a history of the kings of Britain written by Geoffrey for the Anglo-Norman dynasty then ruling the British Isles. The book initiated a literary fashion that left traces in many European languages – in Italy it even led to a medieval Arthur romance in Hebrew.¹ Notwithstanding its popularity with the aristocracy, the world of Arthur at the same time came in for criticism. In the thirteenth century Geoffrey’s work was already branded as untrue and a lie, and the historicity – or what somewhat anachronistically we might label the ‘fictionality’ – of the Arthurian epics remained a bone of contention.

In this contribution two works that may stand as testimony to the Arthurian vogue also in Middle Dutch literature are dealt with in some detail: the Spieghel historiael (A Mirror of History, c. 1283–1288) by the Flemish poet Jacob van Maerlant (see also the contribution on Van Maerlant elsewhere in this volume) and the Flemish Roman van Walewein (Romance of Walewein, c. 1230–1260) by Penninc and Pieter Vostaert. ‘Fictionality’ is an important factor in both texts. As the Roman van Walewein features the talking fox Roges we at the same time bridge the gap to the animal epic and Van den vos Reynaerde (Of Reynaert the Fox, 1230–1260) and its later continuation Reinaerts historie (History of Reynaert, c. 1430–1460). These two texts also stand in a widely disseminated European tradition with Latin roots – the Ecbasis captivi (c. 1100) and the Ysengrimus (1140) – and a rich Old French stem, the Roman de Renart, the oldest branch of which dates from around 1174. The fact that most characters in these epics are animals acutely raises the problem of fictionality: as talking animals do not exist, any story in which they occur is by definition untrue.

A tour of these four texts not only opens a window on fictionality as a highly controversial issue in medieval literature but also proves that medieval Low Countries literature is open to influences from other literatures, assimilates them and adds original works to existing traditions, which then are exported into other literatures.

Medieval literature was decidedly transnational: plots, motifs, themes and characters effortlessly moved from one language area to another, though we also have to note the strong cultural dominance of France.² In the Middle Ages literature does not move across borders via more or less faithful translations but rather via absorption and adaptation or what is commonly referred to as acculturation. In this process the medieval Low Countries played a central role because here language borders did not coincide with political borders. The County of Flanders is Dutch-speaking in principle, but as it is (for the most part) a fief of the French crown, the Flemish high nobility will most probably have used French as its literary and cultural language, different from the rest of the population. The (large) Duchy of Brabant was part of the (German) Holy Roman Empire but also contained a French-speaking southern region, part of the so-called Reichsromania. Until the thirteenth century Brabantine high nobility also used French as their main language of culture, but under the reign of Duke Jan I (r.1267–1294) there was a decided turn toward Middle Dutch. The important thing is that the cultural make-up of the southern part of the then Low Countries – roughly coinciding with the northern part of present-day Belgium and part of the southern regions of the present-day Netherlands – greatly facilitated literary exchange and osmosis.

The true king Arthur (Jacob van Maerlant’s Spieghel historiael)

For Jacob van Maerlant, King Arthur himself was not a ‘historical problem’; so much is clear from his magnum opus, the Spieghel historiael (A Mirror of History). Maerlant started upon this very ambitious chronicle of world history in rhyming couplets around 1283. His main source was the Speculum historiale of the French Dominican Vincent of Beauvais (d.1264). Whenever he thought necessary, however, he added material from other sources.³ Maerlant had planned his chronicle in four parts or partien, subdivided into books and chapters, but was unable to complete his work as such. He did complete the first and third parts and the first three books of the fourth part, bringing the work up to 1113. Why he skipped the second part remains a mystery, but his giving up on the fourth part most probably was due to his advanced age, although here again considerable doubt remains.⁴ What we do know for certain is that Maerlant wrote his chronicle for the high aristocracy of the County of Holland – he dedicated his work to Count Floris V of Holland (d.1296), son and successor to Count Willem II (d.1256). As its title indicates, the chronicle was meant as a mirror, in this case a mirror of history from which a ruler might glean the do’s and don’ts of a good sovereign.

Given all this it is no coincidence that Maerlant devotes a good number of verses to King Arthur: a little over five chapters in book 5 of part 3, altogether 574 lines, and some shorter references to Arthur’s rule in other parts.⁵ He opens the main passage on Arthur as follows: ‘Thus Arthur was lord of the realm and ruled in great honour for more than seventy five years. His equal never appeared in later years nor was found in earlier times amongst the Christian kings.’⁶ Maerlant does not cover all of Arthur’s rule. He concentrates on Arthur’s war with the Romans under the Emperor Lucius, who claims the tribute the Britons are due to Rome since Julius Caesar. Needless to say, the Romans are defeated, but as a man of honour Arthur makes sure that the dead Emperor Lucius receives a fitting burial. Maerlant ends his history of King Arthur upon the following rather surprising note: ‘Of Perchevael, of Galyot, of Egravein and Lanceloet, or of King Ban of Benowijc and Behoerd, as well, and of many other fabricated names I found no mention, however brief, in Latin: therefore it seemed a wasted effort for me to reveal anything about them here, for I hold everything in French to be but fabrications.’⁷

What Maerlant in fact is saying here is that he is quite ready to look upon King Arthur as a true historical figure, but that he considers many of the stories linked to him, and which have the knights here mentioned as protagonists, humbug. Determining is the source: because Maerlant is familiar with many of these stories from French sources only he considers them untrue; if supported by Latin sources he considers them true history. Maerlant here assumes the role of a historian practicing sources criticism, using language as his main criterion: a Latin text he finds more trustworthy than a French one. In fact, his oeuvre contains more passages that lead to the same conclusion.⁸ In this case, however, he is hoist with his own petard: for his history of Arthur Maerlant has traded in his main source, Vincent of Beauvais’s Speculum historiale, for … Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Brittanniae.⁹ What Maerlant failed to consider is that in Latin one may lie as competently as in French or any other vernacular.

Lancelot is not mentioned in Geoffrey’s Historia and consequently does not make it into Maerlant’s history of Arthur. Another knight does, though: Walwanius, whom Maerlant – and this goes for Middle Dutch Arthur epic in general¹⁰ – calls ‘Walewein’. In the wider European tradition Walewein is one of the most important, if not uncontroversial, Knights of the Round Table, although he usually goes by another name: in Old French it is ‘Gauvain’, in Middle English ‘Gawain’ and in German ‘Gawan’. The fact that ‘Walewein’ is the name most commonly used in Middle Dutch may well point to a very early connection between the County of Flanders and Anglo-Norman England. Indeed, the resemblance to Geoffrey’s ‘Walwanius’ is at the least remarkable and Walewein’s presence in Geoffrey’s Historia is sufficient reason for Maerlant to treat him as a historical figure: ‘About Lancelot I cannot write, nor about Perchevael or Eggravein, but the good Walewein I found included in his history [Geoffrey’s Historia].’¹¹

The Roman van Walewein

Walewein features in all Middle Dutch Arthur Romances.¹² Many of these are translations/adaptations of Old French texts, but there are also a number of original Middle Dutch texts, such as the Moriaen, the Roman van den riddere metter mouwen (The Romance of the Knight with the Sleeves) and the Walewein ende Keye (Walewein and Kay). Of these original Middle Dutch Arthurian romances the Roman van Walewein (11,198 lines) is the most important.¹³ From the prologue we know that the romance was begun by the otherwise unknown poet Penninc and the epilogue tells us that it was completed by the further equally unknown Pieter Vostaert – like Penninc originating from Flanders. We do not know why Penninc stopped around line 7,840 and left the remaining 3,300 lines to Vostaert. We also have no definite idea what the intended audience was – most probably though the lower Flemish nobility. Vostaert claims to have completed the romance ‘as best as he could according to the text that he found which Penninc left behind’ (vss. 11,178–11,179), but his narrative style is very different from that of Penninc. Penninc is more interested in the courtly rituals enacted at the courts Walewein visits while Vostaert focuses on Walewein’s martial encounters.

The structure of the romance largely corresponds with that of the fairy tale type Aarne-Thompson number 550, the best-known representative is probably Der goldene Vogel, number 57 in the Grimm corpus. Like the fairy tale, the Roman van Walewein consists of a series of interlocking tasks/quests.

When a richly decorated flying chessboard briefly appears at the court of King Arthur, the latter would like to gain possession of it. In first instance none of the knights is interested, but when Arthur promises his crown to who delivers him the chess board Walewein rises to the challenge. Walewein’s pursuit of the chessboard first takes him to a mountain of light where he is attacked by a dragon that he only defeats by using great effort. Next stop is the court of King Wonder, who is the owner of the chess board and who is willing to grant it to Walewein in exchange for the magical, because invincible, Sword-with-two-Rings, the possession of King Amoraen of Castle Ravensteen. While traveling to Ravensteen Walewein succours a squire who has just been robbed. He even lends him his horse Gringolet. When the same young man, who in the meantime has been knighted by King Arthur, fights the murderer of his brother in front of the castle of King Amadijs, and is beset by an entire army, Walewein again comes to his rescue. Walewein then seeks out Amoraen, who is willing to give up the Sword-with-two-Rings if Walewein will travel to far-away Endi, to secure him the wonderful beauty Ysabele as his bride. Walewein is allowed to take along the magical sword as the latter has chosen Walewein as its ‘ideal host’. The trip to Endi brings many more adventures, but the greatest adventure of all is Endi itself. The city is guarded by a burning river that can only be crossed by a bridge of swords. Finally, it is the speaking fox Roges – in fact an enchanted prince – who leads Walewein to the far side of the river via a tunnel. The castle Endi itself is ringed by twelve walls, each of them manned by eighty knights. Walewein fights his way in, but is finally beaten by King Assentijn, Ysabele’s father. When the princess sets eyes on Walewein she is immediately smitten – the coup de foudre in fact is mutual. She asks her father to be allowed to personally vent her ire on Walewein but this is just a ruse to be alone with him and give in to her burning desire for him. When Assentijn finds out he intends to punish them both. However, the lovers manage to escape and together with Roges they travel to the court of King Amoraen. He turns out to have died in the meantime, which releases Walewein from his obligation to give up his beloved Ysabele for the Sword-with-two-Rings. From Ravensteen they set out for the court of King Wonder. On their way they are beset by an unknown knight, whom Walewein defeats. Eventually he will turn out to be Estor, Lancelot’s brother. They also find the squire to whom Walewein lent his horse Gringolet besieged in his castle. It is only when Walewein once more has intervened decisively on behalf of the squire that he, Ysabele and Roges can continue to King Wonder. There, the gathering of the king, his son Alidrizonder, Ysabele and Walewein breaks the spell that was cast upon Roges, and the fox changes into a prince again. The Sword-with-two-Rings is exchanged for the chessboard, which Walewein can now finally take to Arthur. For the festive finale to the story, King Assentijn appears at the court, as do King Roges of Ysike, the father of Roges and Estor. Whether Walewein will after all marry Ysabele and wear the crown of Arthur is left open.

Obviously, this summary cannot do justice to what is a long and intricate romance, but what should be clear is that the epithet ‘original’ only applies in the sense of this particular text not being a translation or adaptation of any other such Arthurian romance in another language. Several of the motifs used in the Walewein are known from other Arthurian romances, such as the bridge of swords spanning the burning river, which also occurs in the Lancelot of Chrétien de Troye. There are also links to the Lancelot en prose and to Gerbert de Montreuil’s continuation of Chrétien’s Perceval. The fox Roges in his role as animal helpmate to the hero has roots in the fairy tale tradition. Yet, even though the Roman van Walewein is grafted onto Old French Arthuria...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Contents 
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Notes on Contributors
• Introduction
• 1. A King and Two Foxes: Middle Dutch Literature on European Crossroads
• 2. John of Ruusbroec (1293–1381), Celebrated Mystagogical Author of The Spiritual Espousals
• 3. Die Rose by Heinric of Brussels, the Brabantine Version of the Old French Romance of the Rose
• 4. Courtly Literature in the Low Countries and Germany: Jacob van Maerlant and Rudolf von Ems
• 5. The Many Returns of Elckerlijc: Every Man’s Mirror of Salvation
• 6. Joost van den Vondel (Cologne 1587 Amsterdam 1679) as Writer/Translator: Literacy in Transit
• 7. Multatuli – His Work Through the World
• 8. How a Flemish Writer Turned Global: The Nineteenth-century Journey of Hendrik Conscience’s Early Novellas
• 9. Louis Couperus in Translation
• 10. Dutch Literature and the Global System of Indentured Labour, 1900–1940
• 11. Towards a History of Russian Translations of Dutch Literature: Herman Heijermans and His Play The Good Hope in Russia
• 12. Rescuing Something Fine: Huizinga’s Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen (The Waning of the Middle Ages) as World Literature
• 13. ‘Glimpses of a poetic genius’: Paul van Ostaijen (1896–1928) and World Literature
• 14. Dutch Interbellum Poetry and/as World Literature
• 15. Reinventing the Modernist Novel: Louis Paul Boon and Hugo Claus
• 16. Small Amsterdam and the World Beyond: The Case of the Magazine Barbarber
• 17. Post-war Dutch Fiction
• 18. Expansions Without Affect; Identities Without Globality: Global Novels in Dutch from an Agonistic Perspective
• 19. Orpheus in the Trenches: Modes of Translation in Stefan Hertmans’ War and Turpentine
• 20. At the Edge of the World and Other Stories: Dutch-Australian Emigration Literature, c. 1945–1990
• Index
• Imprint