VONDEL, JOOST VAN DEN. - Dutch national poet
Born in Cologne to Flemish parents on 17 November 1587, died in Amsterdam on 5 February 1679.
A prolific playwright (26 tragedies), a robust lyricist, he excelled in all literary genres, though the erotic genre was absent. His prose is also fine (introductions to his plays, a version of the *Aeneid*). Having converted to Catholicism at the age of 52, he placed his art at the service of the Church, singing its dogmas and glories. A humanist by virtue of his vast erudition, he is in the wake of the Renaissance in the form of his poetic works.
After his conversion, poetry and faith went hand in hand in him; yet this did not prevent him from taking an interest, as before, in historical events and the affairs of life. His adherence to Catholicism could in no way benefit him in an era when Catholics were despised, barely tolerated in the country, confused with the Spaniards and thus treated as enemies of the fatherland. V. had to face calumnies and slander; never tiring in the struggle, he remained ever ready to sing the mysteries and splendours of his new faith and celebrated Hugo Grotius, Urban VIII, Mary Stuart, Christina of Sweden. He regarded art not as a game or pastime, but as a sublime vocation: to be a poet. His love for Rome
did not in the least diminish his admiration for national heroes. V. truly represents the public conscience of the Netherlands in the 17th century. Tyranny in all its forms (of Protestant pastors) he found odious; peace and freedom made him eloquent. The plays *Joseph in Dothan* (1640), *Peter and Paul* (1641), *Lucifer* (1654) and *Adam in Exile* (1664) are masterpieces still performed today. The poetic language is harmonious and rich in brilliant imagery. Yet what has won V. the esteem of posterity is his manly vigour, the probity and integrity of his character.
The end of his life was not happy. Owing to the debts of his only son, the poet, after his wife’s death, found himself reduced to poverty. He found solace in his daughter, who had also converted. In 1657, already in his seventies, V. was taken on as a modest clerk at the Mount of Piety; eleven years later the city, in recognition of his services to the nation, granted him a pension. This sad period was, however, not the least fruitful: V. sought spiritual relief in translating the Psalms. He was buried in the Nieuwe Kerk, in the centre of Amsterdam. In the park that bears his name a monument was erected to him, and the *Vondel Museum* serves as a centre for the study of his works. Every year at the national theatre of the capital the play *Gisbrecht van Aemstel* (1637) is performed, which celebrates the city to which the poet had given his heart.