Een noordelijke vroegrenaissance? De allegorische gedichten en de historische artistieke context

A Northern Renaissance? The 'allegorical poems' and the art historical context What are the characteristics by which the sixteen longer poems which together constitute the third part of the Gruuthuse manuscript, the so called 'allegorische gedichten' (allegorical poems), differ from anterior comparable texts in the history of Dutch literature, what, in other words, makes these poems 'new' as to their poetics and how do these new elements relate to the contemporary artistic scenery? These are the questions which are dealt with in his article. In comparison with what chronologically precedes in Middle Dutch literature, the most conspicuous characteristics of the Gruuthuse poems are: a tendency towards formal variation and complexity, to the point of mannerism; a quite considerable degree of intellectualism and 'scientific' learning; a rhetoric of performance and theatricality; autographic elements that often imply some degree of artistic self-awareness; the importance of actual contexts and of worldly reality in general. Virtuosity, intellectualism, realism, individualism and self-awareness also belong to the main characteristics of the other arts (especially music and the visual arts) of the Netherlands and Northern France at that time (about 1400). They are also prominent aspects of the contemporaneous 'Italian' Renaissance. This gives rise to the question whether the Gruuthuse texts could/should not be considered as the literary documentation of an 'early Northern renaissance', a concept which seems to be quite common in anglo-american research literature, but which, due perhaps to the strong opposition by Johan Huizinga, is still rather contentious on the continent. With this (quite plausible) assumption, the Gruuthuse texts would then, it is true, already show the complex relation between secularization and religious interiorization which in such a dramatic way is exemplified by the tormented genius of Hugo Van der Goes

De abele spelen, de 'profane' Miracles de Notre Dame par personnages en de veertiende-eeuwse Franstalige epiek

The Middle Dutch plays Esmoreit, Gloriant and Lanseloet, three of the four abele spelen contained in the Hulthem Manuscript not only belong to the earliest secular theatre literature that has survived from the Middle Ages, they are also the only texts of their time in which a dramatization of chivalric themes and ethics has been preserved. It is true that some of the Miracles de Nostre Dame par personnages, a collection of miracle plays staged by a confraternity of Parisian goldsmiths between 1339 and 1382, also have been inspired by chivalric romances and show a tendency towards secularization, but in essence they remain religious dramas and do not call into question the generic uniqueness of the abele spelen. But, as many scholars have observed, this does not preclude a possible relation, even of 'influence', on the level of the narrative contents, the subject matters or the dramatic structures as such. In this article, I examine the possible affinities between the abele spelen and those of the Miracles which have been deemed to be 'more secular' by literary historians, especially the relation put forward by Jacques Tersteeg between Esmoreit and Du roy Thierry, the 32nd of the Miracles. In contrast to Tersteeg I argue that Du roy Thierry was not the (or a) source of Esmoreit, but that both have been inspired by the epic romance Theseus de Cologne (probably about 1364). As Gloriant on the other hand appears to have drawn a number of its central features from Baudouin de Sebourc, another chivalric romance so to speak contemporaneous of Theseus, it becomes apparent that the abele spelen are first of all related to these two French romances - and perhaps a few others - from the (beginning of the) second half of the fourteenth century. To conclude, I conduct a tentative exploration of what these observations imply on the level of comparative ethics and ideology

Partying and cocooning? no paradox for mayoral recruitment in Belgium

This paper studies the role of partisanship in the road to the Belgian mayoralty. It confirms the expectation that most mayors have quite extensive party records prior to coming to office. Although different degrees of partisanship are thus relative, they tend to sort both internal and external effects. Mayors with a highly partisan background give a more active interpretation of their initial recruitment and get a head start in their political career. They also more frequently come from families that are deeply engaged in politics. In addition, they combine their own partisan experience with additional recruitment apprenticeships. Having held a function in a party and having experienced extensive party support make mayoral orientations more partisan in terms of task importance and exchange of views with party leaders