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Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a
Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and art and ...
poet and
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...
. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist
Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , , ; also spelled Huyghens; la, Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists o ...
.


Biography

Constantijn Huygens was born in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, the second son of Christiaan Huygens (senior), secretary of the Council of State, and Susanna Hoefnagel, niece of the
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
painter
Joris Hoefnagel Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542, in Antwerp – 24 July 1601, in Vienna) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant. He is noted for his illustrations of natural history subjects, topographical views, ...
.


Education

Constantijn was a gifted child in his youth. His brother Maurits and he were educated partly by their father and partly by carefully instructed governors. When he was five years old, Constantijn and his brother received their first musical education.


Music education

They started with singing lessons, and they learned their notes using gold-coloured buttons on their jackets. It is striking that Christiaan senior imparted the "modern" system of 7 note names to the boys, instead of the traditional, but much more complicated
hexachord In music, a hexachord (also hexachordon) is a six- note series, as exhibited in a scale ( hexatonic or hexad) or tone row. The term was adopted in this sense during the Middle Ages and adapted in the 20th century in Milton Babbitt's serial ...
system. Two years later the first lessons on the viol started, followed by the lute and the harpsichord. Constantijn showed a particular acumen for the lute. At the age of eleven he was already asked to play for ensembles, and later—during his diplomatic travels—his lute playing was in demand; he was asked to play at the Danish Court and for
James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
, although they were not known for their musical abilities. In later years he also learnt the more modern guitar. In 1647 he published in Paris his ''Pathodia sacra et profana'' with his compositions of
airs de cour The ''air de cour'' was a popular type of secular vocal music in France in the late Renaissance and early Baroque period, from about 1570 until around 1650. From approximately 1610 to 1635, during the reign of Louis XIII, this was the predominant ...
in French,
madrigals A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number ...
in Italian and Psalms in Latin.


Art instruction

They were also schooled in art through their parents' art collection, but also their connection to the magnificent collection of paintings in the Antwerp house of diamond and jewellery dealer, Gaspar Duarte (1584–1653), who was a Portuguese Jewish exile.


Language lessons

Constantijn also had a talent for languages. He learned
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
and Greek, and at a later age Italian,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
. He learned by practice, the modern way of learning techniques. Constantijn received education in maths, law and
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from prem ...
and he learned how to handle a pike and a
musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...
. In 1614 Constantijn wrote his first Dutch poem, inspired by the French poet
Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas (1544, in Monfort – July 1590, in Mauvezin) was a Gascon Huguenot courtier and poet. Trained as a doctor of law, he served in the court of Henri de Navarre for most of his career. Du Bartas was celebrated acro ...
, in which he praises rural life. In his early 20s, he fell in love with Dorothea; however, their relationship did not last and Dorothea met someone else. In 1616, Maurits and Constantijn started studies at
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city o ...
. Studying in Leiden was primarily seen as a way to build a social network. Shortly after, Maurits was called home to assist his father. Constantijn finished his studies in 1617 and returned home. This was followed by six weeks of training with Antonis de Hubert, a lawyer in Zierikzee. De Hubert was committed to the study of language and writing, having held consultations with Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft,
Laurens Reael Laurens Reael (22 October 1583 – 21 October 1637) was an employee of the Dutch East India Company, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1616 to 1619, and an admiral of the Dutch Republican Navy from 1625 to 1627. Early life La ...
and
Joost van den Vondel Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch poet, writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still mos ...
concerning language and orthography in 1623.


Early career

In the Spring of 1618 Constantijn found employment with
Sir Dudley Carleton Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester (10 March 1573 – 15 February 1632) was an English art collector, diplomat and Secretary of State. Early life He was the second son of Anthony Carleton of Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, and of Joy ...
, the English envoy at the Court in The Hague. In the summer, he stayed in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in the house of the Dutch ambassador, Noël de Caron. During his time in London his social circle widened and he also learned to speak English. In 1620, towards the end of the
Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a sovereign ...
, he travelled as a secretary of ambassador François van Aerssen to
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, to gain support against the threat of renewed war. He was the only member of the legation who could speak Italian.


London

In January 1621 he traveled to England as the secretary of six envoys of the United Provinces with the object of persuading James I to support the German Protestant Union. They lodged in Lombard Street and were taken by coach to
Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...
to King James and then to
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
at
St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Alt ...
where they realised they had delivered the letters for the prince to the king, and Huygens made an excuse of the poor light. On Shrove-Tuesday they saw a masque at Whitehall presented by the gentlemen of the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...
. They returned in April of that year, Huygens with the king's gift of a gold chain worth £45. In December 1621 he left with another delegation, this time with the aim of requesting support for the United Provinces, returning after a year and two months in February 1623. There was yet another trip to England in 1624.


Muiderkring

He is often considered a member of what is known as the Muiderkring, a group of leading intellectuals gathered around the poet Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, who met regularly at the castle of
Muiden Muiden () is a city and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It lies at the mouth of the Vecht and is in an area called the Vechtstreek. Since 2016, Muiden has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Mere ...
near
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
. In 1619 Constantijn came into contact with Anna Roemers Visscher and with Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft. Huygens exchanged many poems with Anna. In 1621 a poetic exchange with Hooft also starts. Both would always try to exceed the other. In October of that year Huygens sent
Jacob Cats Jacob Cats (10 November 1577 – 12 September 1660) was a Dutch poet, humorist, jurist and politician. He is most famous for his emblem books. Early years Jacob Cats was born on 10 November 1577 in Brouwershaven as son of Adriaen Cornelis ...
a large poem in Dutch, entitled '' 't Voorhout'', about a woodland near the Hague. In December he started writing '' 't Kostelick Mal'', a satirical treatment of the nonsense of the current vogue. In 1623 Huygens wrote his ''Printen'', a description of several characteristics of people. This satirical, moralising work was one of the most difficult of Huygens' poems. In the same year
Maria Tesselschade Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher, also called Maria Tesselschade Roemersdochter Visscher or Tesselschade (25 March 1594 – 20 June 1649) was a Dutch poet and glass engraver. Life Tesselschade was born in Amsterdam, the youngest of thre ...
and Allard Crombalch were married. For this occasion verses were written by Huygens, Hooft and Vondel. During the festival, Constantijn flirted with Machteld of Camps. As a result of this he wrote the poem ''Vier en Vlam''. In 1625 the work ''Otia'', or ''Ledige Uren'', was published. This work showcased his collected poems.


English knighthood and marriage

In 1622, when Constantijn stayed as a
diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...
for more than one year in England, he was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...
by King James I. This marked the end of Constantijn's formative years, and of his youth. During his time in England, in December 1622, he was robbed of his papers and £200 in gold from his coach as he set out on the way to Newmarket. Huygens was employed as a
secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
to
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...
, who—after the death of Maurits of Orange—was appointed as ''
stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
.'' In 1626 Constantijn fell in love with Suzanna van Baerle after earlier
courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...
by the Huygens family to win her for his brother Maurits had failed. Constantijn wrote several sonnets for her, in which he calls her ''Sterre'' (Star). They wed on 6 April 1627. Huygens describes their marriage in ''Dagh-werck'', a description of one day. He worked on this piece, which contains almost 2000 lines, during the entire time they were married. In one of the preserved manuscripts of this work it appears Suzanna transcribed (or wrote herself) a substantial portion of the work, suggesting a close collaboration between husband and wife. The couple had five children: in 1628 their first son, Constantijn Jr., in 1629 Christiaan, in 1631
Lodewijk Lodewijk () is the Dutch name for Louis. In specific it may refer to: Given name Literature * Lodewijk Hartog van Banda (1916–2006), Dutch comic strip writer * Lodewijk Paul Aalbrecht Boon, (1912-1979) Flemish writer * Lodewijk van Deysse ...
and in 1633 Philips. In 1637 their daughter Suzanna was born; shortly after her birth their mother died.


Education of his sons and the new royal Prince

In 1645, his sons Constantijn Jr. and Christiaan began their studies in Leiden. In these years Prince
Frederick Henry of Orange Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...
, Huygens' confidante and protector, became increasingly ill, and died in 1647. The new
stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
,
William II of Orange William II (27 May 1626 – 6 November 1650) was sovereign Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel and Groningen in the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 14 March 1647 until his death three ...
, greatly appreciated Huygens and gave him the estate of Zeelhem, but he died too in 1650. The emphasis of Huygens' activities moved more and more to his presidency of the Council of the house of Orange, which was in the hands of the young Prince inheritor, a small baby. He traveled frequently during that time, in connection with his work. There were however strong disagreements between the baby's widowed mother in law Amalia van Solms, and her own widowed daughter in law Mary, Princess Royal, (4 November 1631 – 24 December 1660, aged 29) on even the name for christening the Dutch-English Royal newborn. In 1657, his son Philips died after a short sickness during his
Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...
while in
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
. In that same year Huygens became seriously ill, but healed in a miraculous manner. In 1680 Constantijn Jr. moved with his family out of the house of his father. To stop the gossiping which started shortly afterwards, Huygens write the poem ''Cluijs-werck'', in which he shows a glimpse of the latter stages of his life.


Later career and French knighthood

Huygens started a successful career despite his grief over the death of his wife (1638). In 1630 he was appointed to the Council and Exchequer, managing the estate of the Orange family. This job provided him with an income of about 1000 florins a year. In that same year he bought the
heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 180 ...
Zuilichem Zuilichem is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Zaltbommel, and lies about 11 km east of Gorinchem. Zuilichem was a separate municipality until 1955, when it was merged with Brakel. The sevente ...
and became known as Lord of Zuilichem (in Dutch: Heer van Zuilichem). In 1632,
Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...
- the protector of the famous exiled jurist
Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...
- appointed him as Knight of the Order of Saint-Michel. In 1643 Huygens was granted the honor of displaying a golden lily on a blue field in his coat of arms. In 1634 Huygens received from Prince Frederick Henry a piece of property in The Hague on the north side of the
Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; en, Inner Court) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver lake. It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry ...
. The land was near the property of a good friend of Huygens, Count Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen, who built his house, the
Mauritshuis The Mauritshuis (; en, Maurice House) is an art museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 854 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection contains works by Johannes Verme ...
, around the same time and using the same architect, Huygens' friend Jacob van Campen.


Correspondence

Aside from his ''membership'' in the Muiderkring (which was not as formerly supposed, an official club), at the start of the 1630s he was also in touch with
René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Ma ...
,Sanford Budick, “Descartes’s Cogito, Kant’s Sublime, and Rembrandt’s Philosophers: Cultural Transmission as Occasion for Freedom,” from A Journal of Literary History (Washington: Modern Language Quarterly, 1997), 38. with
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally cons ...
, and the painter Jan Lievens. He became friends with
John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's Cathe ...
, and translated his poems into Dutch. He was unable to write poetry for months because of his anguish over his wife's death, but eventually he composed, inspired by
Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...
, the sonnet ''Op de dood van Sterre'' (On the death of Sterre), which was well received. He added the poem to his ''Dagh-werck'', which he left unfinished: the day he has described has not ended yet, but his Sterre is already dead. After sending the unfinished work to different friends for approval, he eventually published it in 1658 as part of his ''Koren-bloemen''. Huygens also corresponded with Margaret Croft and Elizabeth Dudley, Countess of Löwenstein, ladies in waiting to Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, and Mary Woodhouse, a friend made in London in 1622.


Hofwijck

After a couple of years as a widower, Huygens bought a piece of land in
Voorburg Voorburg is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it makes up the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has a population of about 39,000 peopl ...
and commissioned the building of
Hofwijck Hofwijck (; or Vitaulium in Latin) is a mansion built for 17th-century politician Constantijn Huygens. It is located in Voorburg on the Vliet canal from The Hague to Leiden. Formal address of the cultural heritage is 2 Westeinde, Voorburg, the N ...
. Hofwijck was inaugurated in 1642 in the company of friends and relatives. Here Huygens hoped to escape the stress at court in The Hague, forming his own "court", indicated by the name of the house which has a double meaning: Hof (=Court or courtyard) Wijck (=avoid or township). In that same year, his brother Maurits died. Due to his grief Huygens wrote little Dutch poetry, but he continued to write epigrams in Latin. Shortly afterwards, he began writing Dutch pun poems, which are very playful by nature. In 1644 and 1645 Huygens began more serious work. As a new year's present for Leonore Hellemans, he composed the ''Heilige Daghen'', a series of sonnets on the Christian holidays. In 1644, a garlanded portrait of Huygens was painted by
Daniel Seghers Daniël Seghers or Daniel Seghers (3 December 1590 – 2 November 1661) was a Flemish Jesuit brother and Flemish Baroque painter, painter who specialized in flower still lifes. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of ...
and
Jan Cossiers Jan Cossiers (Antwerp, 15 July 1600 – Antwerp, 4 July 1671) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. Cossiers' earliest works were Caravaggesque genre works depicting low life scenes. Later in his career he painted mostly history and religi ...
: it is now in the
Mauritshuis The Mauritshuis (; en, Maurice House) is an art museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 854 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection contains works by Johannes Verme ...
. In 1647 he published another work, in which play and seriousness are united, ''Ooghentroost'', addressed to Lucretia of Trello, who was losing her sight and who was already half-blind. The poem was offered as consolation. From 1650 to 1652 Huygens wrote the poem ''Hofwijck'' in which he described the joys of living outside the city. It is thought that Huygens wrote his poetry as a testament to himself, a ''memento mori'', because Huygens lost so many dear friends and family during this time: Hooft (1647), Barlaeus (1648), Maria Tesschelschade (1649) and Descartes (1650).


Writing

He still tried to find time to publish more of his work. In 1647 a number of Huygens' musical creations, '' Pathodia sacra et profana,'' was published in Paris. It contained some compositions in Latin (Psalms), in French, and Italian amorous worldly texts. The work was dedicated to the pretty niece, Utricia Ogle, of an English diplomat. In 1648 Huygens wrote ''Twee ongepaerde handen'' for a harpsichord. This work was connected with Marietje Casembroot, a twenty-five-year-old harpsichord player, with whom he could share his love for music. In 1657 the collected work of his Dutch poems, the ''Koren-bloemen'' appears. Some of its contents contain: ''Heilighe Daghen'' (1645), ''Ooghen-troost'' (1647), ''Hofwijck'' (1653) and ''Trijntje Cornelis'' (1653). This last work, ''Trijntje Cornelis'', is an explosion of Huygens' creativity. It testifies to the rare language - and expressive capacity - of the author. Considering that the piece was written in a rather short time, it can be considered work of an enormous performance. Since his mother Suzanna was from
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
, he visited there often and ''Trijntje Cornelis'' takes place in Antwerp. In 1660 his daughter Suzanna married her cousin, Philips Doublet, son of Huygens' sister Geertruijd. In 1661, a grandfather by now, Huygens was sent to France by the circle of tutors of William III, to recover possession of the county of Orange. The county was returned to the family of Orange-Nassau in 1665 and Huygens returned to the Netherlands. On his return, Huygens designed the new sand road in The Hague, running through the dunes to
Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is ...
. He had already planned this road in 1653, and wrote about it in his work the ''Zee-straet''. The road was made according to Huygens' design. In 1676 the second edition of the ''Koren-bloemen'' appeared, a collected work containing 27 books. New in this edition were the ''Zee-straet'', the ''Mengelingh'' (a section of serious poems written after 1657) and seven books with ''snel-dichten'' (quick poems). As he was older now, Huygens found refuge in music. He wrote around 769 compositions during his lifetime.


Legacy

Constantijn Huygens died in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
on Good Friday, 28 March 1687 at the age of 90. A week later he was buried in the Grote Kerk in the Hague. His son, the scientist
Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , , ; also spelled Huyghens; la, Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists o ...
was later buried with his father. In 1947 a literary award was created, the
Constantijn Huygens Prize The Constantijn Huygens Prize (Dutch: ''Constantijn Huygens-prijs'') is a Dutch literary award.''The Curious Case of Jan Torrentius'' (Zagava, Düsseldorf, 2017), an expanded edition of his previous collection of novellas, ''The Stream and The Torrent: Jan Torrentius and The Followers of the Rosy Cross: Vol.1'' (Zagava/Les Éditions de L'Oubli, 2014)


See also

*
Hofwijck Hofwijck (; or Vitaulium in Latin) is a mansion built for 17th-century politician Constantijn Huygens. It is located in Voorburg on the Vliet canal from The Hague to Leiden. Formal address of the cultural heritage is 2 Westeinde, Voorburg, the N ...
*
Constantijn Huygens, Jr. Constantijn Huygens Jr., Lord of Zuilichem (10 March 1628 – October 1697), was a Dutch statesman and poet, mostly known for his work on scientific instruments (sometimes together with his younger brother Christiaan Huygens). But, he was also a c ...
*
Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , , ; also spelled Huyghens; la, Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists o ...
*
Sutherland Loan The Orleans Collection was a very important collection of over 500 paintings formed by Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, mostly acquired between about 1700 and his death in 1723. Apart from the great royal-become-national collections of Euro ...


Bibliography

*''Spaense wijsheit'' (without year) *1621 ''Batava Tempe, dat is 't Voor-hout van 's-Gravenhage'' *1623 ''De uytlandighe herder'' *1622 ''Kerkuria mastix, satyra, Dat is, 't costelick mal'' *1624 ''Stede-stemmen en dorpen'' *1624 ''Zedeprinten'' *1625 ''Otiorum libri sex'' *1638 ''Dagh-werck'' *1641 ''Ghebruyck en onghebryck van 't orgel'' *1644 ''Momenta desultoria (republished in 1655)'' *1647 ''Eufrasia, Ooghentroost. Aen Parthenine, bejaerde maecht, over de verduysteringh van haer een ooghe'' *1647 ''Heilighe daghen'' *1647 ''Pathodia sacra et profana'' *1653 ''Trijntje Cornelis'' *1653 ''Vitaulium. Hofwijck, Hofstede vanden Heere van Zuylichem onder Voorburgh'' *1656-1657 ''translated proverbs'' *1658 ''Korenbloemen (republished in 1672)'' *1667 ''Zee-straet'' *1841 ''Cluys-werck'' (published by W. J. A. Jonckbloet)


References


External links


The Constantijn Huygens Web
- collection of poems *
The Correspondence of Constantijn Huygens
i
EMLO
*
HofwijckPortraits of Constantijn HuygensCorrespondence of Constantijn Huygens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huygens, Constantijn 1596 births 1687 deaths 17th-century Dutch poets 17th-century Latin-language writers Dutch Baroque composers Dutch male classical composers Dutch classical composers Dutch Golden Age writers Dutch male poets Dutch lutenists Muiderkring Recipients of Honorary British Knighthoods 17th-century classical composers Writers from The Hague Constantijn 17th-century Dutch musicians Scholars of Dutch art Rembrandt scholars