The song ''Egidius waer bestu bleven'' is an early rondeau from Dutch literature and is a famous

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarch ...

song.

History

The song is written in Gruuthuse-handschrift, which dates from around 1400. It is recorded in handwriting and includes musical notation. It was first published in 1849 by Charles Carton. In 1966 'liederen en gedichten uit het Gruuthuse-handschrift' was published by K. Heeroma, which spread the songtexts to a wider audience. In 2007 the until then privately owned handwritingwas bought by the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (library) in Den Haag. The song was written in the late 14th century by an unknown author (possibly by Jan Moritoen, but not certain). Egidius was probably identified as Gillis Honin in 2007. This man died suddenly on October 8, 1385. According to Professor

Frits van Oostrom Frits van Oostrom (born 15 May 1953 in Utrecht, Netherlands) is University Professor for the Humanities at Utrecht University. In 1999 he was a visiting Professor at Harvard for the Erasmus Chair. From September 2004 to June 2005, he was a fellow ...

, this is the most anthological example of Dutch poems.Ilse DEGRYSE, ''De waanzinnige 14de eeuw. 'De tijd vroeg om experimenten, in: Knack, 27 maart 2013

Content

''Egidius waer bestu bleven'' is an elegy or lamentation. It is about the death of a friend named Egidius. The poet envies Egidius because he has ascended to the heavens whilst the poet is suffering on earth. They ask Egidius to keep a place next to them in heaven. One of the trumps of the elegy is that it doesn't just concern Egidius but that it is dedicated to them. This only makes the poem more involved and emotional.

Music

The exact music underneath the song is still unknown. Not only do we not know which words correspond with which notes, music scientists are also not clear how these notes have to be interpreted (=sung). Nevertheless a lot of interpretations can be found on the web.

Original text of the song and Dutch translation

Publications

* C. CARTON (ed.), ''Oud-Vlaemsche liederen en andere gedichten der XIVe en XVe eeuwen'', Gent, C. Annoot-Braeckman, 1849 * K. HEEROMA, m. m. v. C. W. H. LINDENBURG, ''Liederen en gedichten uit het Gruuthusehandschrift'', Leiden, 1966.

Literature

* Noël GEIRNAERT, ''Op zoek naar Egidius. Het laatmiddeleeuwse Brugge in het Gruuthusehandschrift'', in: Frank WILLAERT (red.), Het Gruuthusehandschrift in woord en klank. Nieuwe inzichten, nieuwe vragen, 2010, Leuven. * Paul CLAES, ''De sleutel'', Nijmegen: Vantilt 2014, 16-20 (nieuwe lezing).

References

External links

Page about the song
on literatuurgeschiedenis.nl
Koninklijke Bibliotheek: het Gruuthuse-handschrift

{{Wikibooks, Gedichten uit de wereldliteratuur/Egidiuslied Middle Dutch literature Dutch poems 14th-century poems