Barbara Ogier (baptized 17 February 1648 – 18 March 1720) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

playwright of

De Olijftak De Olijftak (The Olive Branch), or in full (Confraternity of the Holy Spirit called the Olive Branch) was a chamber of rhetoric that dates back to the early 16th century in Antwerp, when it was a social drama society drawing its membership primari ...

, a

chamber of rhetoric Chambers of rhetoric ( nl, rederijkerskamers) were dramatic societies in the Low Countries. Their members were called Rederijkers (singular Rederijker), from the French word 'rhétoricien', and during the 15th and 16th centuries were mainly inte ...

in Antwerp. Her motto was "Deugd voeght yder" (Virtue is in order).

Life

Barbara Ogier was the daughter of Maria Schoenmaeckers and

Willem Ogier Willem (or Guilliam) Ogier (1618–1689) was a Flemish schoolmaster, playwright and comedian. Life Guilliam Ogier was born in Antwerp in 1618 but brought up in Amsterdam. He returned to Antwerp after his father's death.G. Stuiveling"Ogier, Guilli ...

. Her father was a playwright and, from 1660, also the ''factor'' (principal author) of the De Olijftak (the Olive Branch) chamber of rhetoric. On 10 December 1680 she married the sculptor Willem Kerricx, who became ''prince'' of the Olijftak in 1692. Their son Willem Ignatius was born on 22 April 1682. He became a sculptor, painter and architect. He also wrote plays, as had his mother and grandfather, and in 1700 became ''factor'' of the ''Olijftak''. Ogier's ''Dood van Achilles'' (The Death of Achilles, 1680) was played before a farce by her father, played on the same day. In the introduction to this play Ogier stresses that women have their own view of history, even on a matter like the

siege of Troy In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

. In this case that was reasonable because the motive of the Trojan War was the abduction of a woman,

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

. The play was dedicated to Isabelle de Condé, wife of an Antwerp lawyer. De Olijftak recognized Ogier's talent, and she was able to represent the chamber during the competition in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

in 1700. She also represented De Olijftak on the occasion of great festivities such as the visit to Antwerp in 1693 of the new governor general of the Spanish Netherlands, Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria. On this occasion, she wrote in two days a short play in which allegorical and mythological characters praise the elector and also describe the sad economic state of Antwerp after the closure of the mouth of the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

. The 360 lines of verse feature the allegorical figures of the Virgin of Antwerp, Apollo, Painting accompanied by three students and Sculpture with two students. The decor for the play was made by the painter Godefridus Maes, while the play was published by Godgaf Verhulst, illustrated with an engraving by Gaspar Bouttats.

Work

General

Since they had less access to public life than men it was harder for women to print their works. Some opportunities were almost entirely reserved for men, such as chambers of rhetoric, societies that women could not join. Barbara Ogier was an exception in many respects, since most of the female writers in the southern Netherlands were nuns or

beguines The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take forma ...

who led a religious life in a convent or in a women's community. However, the three tragedies she wrote were never printed, and were only partly transmitted. The poems we know by her are from anthologies of the De Olijftak chamber.

Reception

Among those who held Barbara Ogier in high esteem during her life was Joseph Lamorlet, her colleague in the chamber of rhetoric, who in his ''Ontwaekte Poesie'' through the voice of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

called her Sappho, writing verse with no equal. In 1724, in his ''Parnas, of de zang-godinnen van een schilder'', Willem van Swaanenburg published a funeral poem in memory of Barbara Ogier. According to

Jan Frans Willems Jan Frans Willems (11 March 1793 – 24 June 1846) was a Flemish writer and ''father'' of the Flemish movement. Willems was born in the Belgian city of Boechout, while that was under French occupation. He started his career in the office of a not ...

, the quality of her poetry was equal and perhaps superior to that of her father, Willem. She herself apologized for the flaws of her style in the following verses: :::::::

List of works

Notes

Sources

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