Emiel Henri van Heurck (10 January 1871 – 30 July 1931) was a Belgian folklorist. He published on religiosity, most notably on pilgrimage and holy cards.

Biography

Van Heurck was born on 10 January 1871, in Antwerp, to a

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the ...

family. His father, Henri van Heurck (1839–1909), was a renowned botanist who wanted his son to follow in his (scientific) footsteps. Emiel, however, was more interested in journalism and writing and particularly in Belgian folklore. He suffered from depression, and never finished his engineering studies, taking a day job in an office where his lack of diploma prevented his advancement. He studied folklore nightly, he said, from 7:30 to 11:30, and he maintained a connection to the Volkskundemuseum in Antwerp. With

Gerrit Jacob Boekenoogen Gerrit is a Dutch male name meaning "''brave with the spear''", the Dutch and Frisian form of Gerard. People with this name include: * Gerrit Achterberg (1905–1962), Dutch poet * Gerrit van Arkel (1858–1918), Dutch architect * Gerrit Baden ...

(1868–1930) he published three volumes on popular imagery, including ''Histoire de l'imagerie populaire Flamande'' (1910). In 1930 they published a companion volume on Dutch imagery, ''Histoire de l'imagerie des Pays-Bas''. Van Heurck also collected such prints and images. Van Heurck was on intimate terms with Belgian writer

Julius Pée The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

(1871–1951) from 1893 to 1896, when the friendship was disturbed for unknown reasons, until an exchange of letters in 1930, not long before Van Heurck's death. Pée was a scholar of the Dutch author

Multatuli Eduard Douwes Dekker (2 March 182019 February 1887), better known by his pen name Multatuli (from Latin ''multa tulī'', "I have suffered much"), was a Dutch writer best known for his satirical novel '' Max Havelaar'' (1860), which denounced the ...

; Van Heurck shared this interest, having translated Multatuli's work into French for ''

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...

'', and the story "La sainte vierge" for '' Le Spectateur catholique''. He was made a knight in the Order of Leopold, and died on 30 July 1931, after a long and painful illness. He is buried at

Schoonselhof cemetery Schoonselhof Cemetery (''Antwerpen Schoonselhof'') is located in Hoboken, Antwerp, a suburb of Antwerp, Belgium. Schoonselhof Cemetery has an islamic and Jewish section. There is also a Commonwealth war graves plot containing the graves of ...

Notable titles

* ''Histoire de l'imagerie populaire'' (Brussels 1910, Paris 1930) * ''Les drapelets de pélérinage'' (Antwerp 1922) * ''Voyage autour de ma bibliothèque'' (1927) * ''Les images de dévotion anversoises du XVle au XIXe siècle'' (1930)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heurck, Emiel Van 1871 births 1931 deaths Belgian folklorists