Albrecht Rodenbach
Encyclopedia
Albrecht Rodenbach (ˈɑlbrɛçt ˈroˑdəmbɑx; 27 October 1856 - 23 June 1880) was a Flemish
poet, and a leader in the revival of Flemish literature
that occurred in the late 19th Century. He is more noteworthy as a symbol of the Flemish movement
, than for his actual activities, since he died at the age of 23. Hugo Verriest called Rodenbach the poet, the soul, the heart, the mind, the word of Reborn Flanders!.
into a bourgeois family, the eldest of 10 children and cousin to the novelist Georges Rodenbach
. Albrecht Rodenbach’s father was Julius Rodenbach (1824–1915) from the Rhineland, brother to Felix Rodenbach, the Flemish political propagandist. Albrecht Rodenbach's mother was Silvia de la Houttre (1834–1899). Although his mother was a Walloon
from Doornik
, she had adopted the Dutch spoken in Roeselare. From an early age, Rodenbach was exposed to Flemish nationalistic feeling by his father and his uncle.
Rodenbach attended the Catholic minor seminary
in Roeselare
where he was exposed to the ideas of the Flemish literature movement
by Hugo Verriest and others. Rodenbach was also influenced at this time by Guido Gezelle
. In the 1874-1875 school year, this led to a conflict between the Flemish students and the school’s francophile director. At the annual songfest the students traditionally sang French songs, Rodenbach led the protest and the predominantly Dutch speaking students sang a protest song in Dutch. This protest led to similar protests all over Belgium. Despite this and other activist activities, Rodenbach graduated with a first in rhetoric in 1876.
he met the poet Pol De Mont who was a year older. Together they sought to promote a Flemish artistic revival and equal rights for Flemish students as a student movement, creating the “Algemene Vlaamse Studentenbond” (All Flemish Student Association) in 1876. Among their objectives were to have classes in Dutch and to have classes include Flemish culture. The association’s illustrated magazine Het Pennoen (The Pennant) published Rodenbach’s essays anonymously. Rodenbach maintained his contacts in Roeselare through a committee of correspondence. Their ideology was a mixture of the philosophy Guido Gezelle
, with the romantic nationalism
of Hendrik Conscience
, and the righteousness of true belief. Robenbach and de Mont called their student movement Blauwvoeterie after the blauwvoet (Blue-footed Booby
) whose flight announces the coming storm. The rallying cry of the Blauwvoeterie was Vliegt de blauvoet, storm op zee! (When the bluefoot flies, there is a storm at sea!) Rodenbach compared it to the German Burschenschaft
en movement.
Additionally, Rodenbach made contacts with the Flemish liberals, such as poet Jan van Beers
and author Max Rooses
, which served to publicize the movement and to expose its members to more political aims.
Rodenbach died in Roeselare
of tuberculosis before his 24th birthday, and almost immediately became the pre-eminent symbol of the Flemish student movement. On Rodenbach’s death, Pol de Mont took over the leadership of the “Algemene Vlaamse Studentenbond”.
Rodenbach was known at the time of his death for his songs, poems and tonal works which have remained inspiring symbols for the Flemish movement
. He was the inspiration for Hendrik Conscience
’s novel Kerels van Vlaanderen. Flandria Film made a film about him in 1930 entitled Albrecht Rodenbach and directed by Clemens De Landtsheer. The cultural organization Rodenbachfonds
was named after him.
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
poet, and a leader in the revival of Flemish literature
Flemish movement
The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....
that occurred in the late 19th Century. He is more noteworthy as a symbol of the Flemish movement
Flemish movement
The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....
, than for his actual activities, since he died at the age of 23. Hugo Verriest called Rodenbach the poet, the soul, the heart, the mind, the word of Reborn Flanders!.
Early life
Rodenbach was born in RoeselareRoeselare
Roeselare is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke....
into a bourgeois family, the eldest of 10 children and cousin to the novelist Georges Rodenbach
Georges Rodenbach
Georges Raymond Constantin Rodenbach was a Belgian Symbolist poet and novelist.- Biography :Georges Rodenbach was born in Tournai to a French mother and a German father from the Rhineland . He went to school in Ghent at the prestigious Sint-Barbaracollege, where he became friends with the poet...
. Albrecht Rodenbach’s father was Julius Rodenbach (1824–1915) from the Rhineland, brother to Felix Rodenbach, the Flemish political propagandist. Albrecht Rodenbach's mother was Silvia de la Houttre (1834–1899). Although his mother was a Walloon
Walloons
Walloons are a French-speaking people who live in Belgium, principally in Wallonia. Walloons are a distinctive community within Belgium, important historical and anthropological criteria bind Walloons to the French people. More generally, the term also refers to the inhabitants of the Walloon...
from Doornik
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
, she had adopted the Dutch spoken in Roeselare. From an early age, Rodenbach was exposed to Flemish nationalistic feeling by his father and his uncle.
Rodenbach attended the Catholic minor seminary
Minor seminary
A minor seminary is a secondary boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming priests. They are generally Roman Catholic institutions, and designed to prepare boys both academically and spiritually for vocations to the priesthood...
in Roeselare
Roeselare
Roeselare is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke....
where he was exposed to the ideas of the Flemish literature movement
Flemish movement
The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....
by Hugo Verriest and others. Rodenbach was also influenced at this time by Guido Gezelle
Guido Gezelle
Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle was an influential Flemish language writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium.- Life :...
. In the 1874-1875 school year, this led to a conflict between the Flemish students and the school’s francophile director. At the annual songfest the students traditionally sang French songs, Rodenbach led the protest and the predominantly Dutch speaking students sang a protest song in Dutch. This protest led to similar protests all over Belgium. Despite this and other activist activities, Rodenbach graduated with a first in rhetoric in 1876.
Flemish movement
At the University of LeuvenCatholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
he met the poet Pol De Mont who was a year older. Together they sought to promote a Flemish artistic revival and equal rights for Flemish students as a student movement, creating the “Algemene Vlaamse Studentenbond” (All Flemish Student Association) in 1876. Among their objectives were to have classes in Dutch and to have classes include Flemish culture. The association’s illustrated magazine Het Pennoen (The Pennant) published Rodenbach’s essays anonymously. Rodenbach maintained his contacts in Roeselare through a committee of correspondence. Their ideology was a mixture of the philosophy Guido Gezelle
Guido Gezelle
Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle was an influential Flemish language writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium.- Life :...
, with the romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
of Hendrik Conscience
Hendrik Conscience
Henri "Hendrik" Conscience was a Belgian writer. He was a pioneer in writing in Dutch after the secession from the Netherlands in 1830 left Belgium a mostly French speaking country....
, and the righteousness of true belief. Robenbach and de Mont called their student movement Blauwvoeterie after the blauwvoet (Blue-footed Booby
Blue-footed Booby
The Blue-footed Booby is a bird in the Sulidae family which comprises ten species of long-winged seabirds. The natural breeding habitat of the Blue-footed Booby is tropical and subtropical islands off the Pacific Ocean, most famously, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.- Etymology :The name booby...
) whose flight announces the coming storm. The rallying cry of the Blauwvoeterie was Vliegt de blauvoet, storm op zee! (When the bluefoot flies, there is a storm at sea!) Rodenbach compared it to the German Burschenschaft
Burschenschaft
German Burschenschaften are a special type of Studentenverbindungen . Burschenschaften were founded in the 19th century as associations of university students inspired by liberal and nationalistic ideas.-History:-Beginnings 1815–c...
en movement.
Jan van Beers
Jan van Beers was Flemish poet born in Antwerp. He is usually referred to as "van Beers the elder" to distinguish him from his son, Jan van Beers, the painter....
and author Max Rooses
Max Rooses
Max Rooses was a Belgian writer, literature critic, and curator of the Plantin-Moretus Museum at Antwerp.Rooses was born in Antwerp, and went to school there up to 1858, after which he attended the University of Liège to study philosophy and literature...
, which served to publicize the movement and to expose its members to more political aims.
Rodenbach died in Roeselare
Roeselare
Roeselare is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke....
of tuberculosis before his 24th birthday, and almost immediately became the pre-eminent symbol of the Flemish student movement. On Rodenbach’s death, Pol de Mont took over the leadership of the “Algemene Vlaamse Studentenbond”.
Literature
In 1876 Rodenbach published some essays under the pseudonym “Harold”. His book Eerste Gedichten (First Poems) was published in 1878. The rest of his work, including his verse play Gudrun, a dramatized epic of the Vikings, was not published until after his death.Rodenbach was known at the time of his death for his songs, poems and tonal works which have remained inspiring symbols for the Flemish movement
Flemish movement
The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....
. He was the inspiration for Hendrik Conscience
Hendrik Conscience
Henri "Hendrik" Conscience was a Belgian writer. He was a pioneer in writing in Dutch after the secession from the Netherlands in 1830 left Belgium a mostly French speaking country....
’s novel Kerels van Vlaanderen. Flandria Film made a film about him in 1930 entitled Albrecht Rodenbach and directed by Clemens De Landtsheer. The cultural organization Rodenbachfonds
Rodenbachfonds
The Rodenbachfonds, named after Albrecht Rodenbach, is a Flemish non-profit cultural organization, for the promotion and support of the Dutch language in Flanders . It is one of a family of five cultural organizations in Flanders, such as the Davidsfonds, Vermeylenfonds, Willemsfonds, and...
was named after him.
External links
- Albrecht Rodenbach brief biography in DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
; - Albrecht Rodenbach brief biography in DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
;