Justus Hiddes Halbertsma, West Frisian form: Joast Hiddes Halbertsma, pron. o.ǝst ˈhɪdəs ˈhɔlbǝtsma(the r is silent);

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

form: Joost Hiddes Halbertsma, pron. oːst ˈhɪdəs ˈhalbǝrtsma(23 October 1789 in

Grou Grou ( nl, Grouw) is a town in the province Friesland of the Netherlands and had around 5655 citizens in January 2017. Since 2014 Grou is part of the municipality of Leeuwarden. The town is located on the lake and the . Heineken operated a distr ...

– 27 February 1869 in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

),Breuker 1993, p. 588.Breuker 2016, p. 1126.Rademaker-Helfferich. was a Frisian writer, poet, minister,

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. Today, he is primarily known for the

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and

short story collection A short story collection is a book of short stories and/or novellas by a single author. A short story collection is distinguished from an anthology of fiction, which would contain work by several authors (e.g., ''Les Soirées de Médan''). The s ...

''De Lapekoer fan Gabe Skroar'', which he wrote with his brother Eeltsje, publishing the first edition in 1822.Breuker 1993, p. 594.Dykstra and Oldenhof, p. 37. Afterwards, this work was continually expanded, and also came to include contributions by a third brother, Tsjalling, until all the Halbertsma Brothers'

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

and poetry was posthumously collected in 1871 to become the famous work ''

Rimen en Teltsjes ' ('Rhymes and Tales', ) is the national book of West Frisian language, Western Frisian literature, written by the three Brothers Halbertsma. It is an extensive collection of short stories and poems, the first of which was published in 1822 under ...

''.Breuker 1993, pp. 603–606. Although the

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

value of this collection was later disputed by some

critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

,Breuker 1993, pp. 594–596. it is undeniable that ''Rimen en Teltsjes'' played a role of crucial importance in the development of a new literary tradition after Western Frisian had been used almost exclusively as a

spoken language A spoken language is a language produced by articulate sounds or (depending on one's definition) manual gestures, as opposed to a written language. An oral language or vocal language is a language produced with the vocal tract in contrast with a si ...

for three centuries.Jensma, p. 197.

Life

Youth and background

Justus Hiddes Halbertsma was born on 23 October 1789 in the village of

, in the central part of the Dutch province of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

,Dykstra and Oldenhof, p. 38. in the house of his parents on Kowemerk ("Cow Market") street.Wiersma, p. 7. He was the eldest son of the baker and small-time

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

Breuker 1993, p. 587.Oppewal and Boorsma, p. 16. Hidde Joasts Halbertsma (1756–1809)Terpstra, p. 317. and his wife Ruerdtsje (or Riurtk) Tsjallings Binnerts (1767–1809). He had three younger brothers: Tsjalling (1792–1852),Terpstra, p. 316. Binnert (1795–1847), and Eeltsje (1797–1858). Two children who were born later died in early childhood, the little boy in 1803, and the little girl in 1805. The four brothers were very close, possibly as a consequence of the fact that both their parents died at a relatively young age in 1809, when Justus was just twenty years of age and the others were even younger. Justus, Tsjalling and Eeltsje, who, as authors, became known as the

Brothers Halbertsma The Brothers Halbertsma were three brothers born in the Frisian village of Grou towards the end of the 18th century, who played a role of crucial importance for the development of a written literature in the Western Frisian language.Breuker, ...

later in life,Hemminga, p. 56. were much like their father, while Binnert more resembled their mother. Ruerdtsje Binnerts was a scion of a prominent family in Grou. Her people were

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

, and although her husband had been raised a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, he converted after marrying her. From Justus' letters Ruerdtsje emerges as a smart businesswoman, a loving mother, and a deeply religious person.Wiersma, p. 8. About Hidde Halbertsma, the father, much less is known. It is thought that he might have been a

mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

before his marriage. He is described as a gentle soul, who was, however, apt to take offence, and could be quite sharp-tongued in such cases. In 1784, he published a long

Dutch-language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. ''Afrikaans'' ...

poem under the title ''Schrikkelijke IJsgang en Overstroominge in Gelderland'' ("Terrible Ice-drift and Flooding in

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

"). From this intriguing work it is clear that his sons' literary talents were a family trait. In 1858, Justus Halbertsma explained the difference between his parents' families when he wrote: "One cannot deny the Halbertsmas a greater skillfulness, speed of thought, a greater adroitness, quickness, and talent than the family of Ruerdtsje Tsjallings; but wat help was that to them against the poverty which overcame most of them, while Ruerdtsje Tsjallings' family for the most part maintain prosperity to this day as part of the dignified middle class?" Against the superior power of those who calmly and calculatedly grew rich, he wrote somewhere else, the Halbertsmas could only "avenge themselves through satire."

Education, clerical career, and family

Halbertsma's mother Ruerdtsje was the main force behind the thorough education her sons received. Justus she sent to the French school in the provincial capital of

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

for a year, and after that, she enrolled him in the

Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...

in Leeuwarden from 1801 to 1806. At the advice of his mother and the Mennonite minister Jan Brouwer, from Leeuwarden, Justus Halbertsma chose a

clerical Clerical may refer to: * Pertaining to the clergy * Pertaining to a clerical worker * Clerical script, a style of Chinese calligraphy * Clerical People's Party See also * Cleric (disambiguation) Cleric is a member of the clergy. Cleric may a ...

career, for which he studied theology at the Mennonite Seminary in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

from 1807 to 1813.Wiersma, p. 9. In that period he also immersed himself in the study of the

North Germanic languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...

. In 1814, Halbertsma became minister in

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on thr ...

, where he remained until 1821. Afterwards, he served the Mennonite congregation in the city of

, in the province of

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

, from 1822 to his retirement in 1856. Portret van Joost Hiddes Halbertsma

Halbertsma married Johanna Iskjen Hoekema (1794–1847), a Mennonite minister's daughter from

Workum Workum () is a city located in the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân in Friesland, Netherlands. It received city rights in 1399 and is one of the eleven cities of Friesland. It had a population of 4,435 in January 2017. on 10 May 1816. Through his wife Halbertsma attained possession of the

farmstead A homestead is an isolated dwelling, especially a farmhouse, and adjacent outbuildings, typically on a large agricultural holding such as a ranch or station. In North America the word "homestead" historically referred to land claimed by a settle ...

Westerein, near Workum, where he and his family often spent a couple of weeks in summer. Apart from those holidays, he lived out his entire life in Deventer. Halbertsma and his wife had five sons from a good marriage, which was however not without its share of problems. Of these sons Petrus, Hidde, and Tsjalling studied

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

or medicine, while Watse en Binnert became

s. As a father, Halbertsma experienced a large amount of grief, as his son Petrus died in 1851 in a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

, while Binnert passed away in 1861, and Hidde took his own life in 1865.

As a literary figure

Halbertsma had been greatly influenced in his student years by his acquaintance with the well-to-do and influential Amsterdam merchant Jeronimo de Vries, who championed a national art, inspired by the

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 Dutch art, ...

. These ideas flew in the face of more modern notions advocated by writers such as Hiëronymus van Alphen and Johannes Klinker. For Halbertsma, who was first and foremost a Frisian, and only secondly a Dutchman, this meant an orientation towards national Frisian ideals, from which emanated two goals he set himself in life.Breuker 1993, p. 589. Firstly, he wanted to preserve the Western Frisian language by using it for writing again after it had been used almost exclusively as a

for three centuries.Boelens et al., p. 116.Wiersma, p. 11. From that it followed that he had to get the Frisians to read in their own language (otherwise, writing it would not be of much use), and that he should record the Frisian

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...

in a

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...

, which would be the first dictionary ever of the Frisian language. And secondly, Halbertsma wanted to put renowned Frisian people from the past in the spotlight, to serve as an example for his contemporaries. To attain his first goal, Halbertsma had to use his writings to penetrate the daily life of the Frisian people. This he achieved by authoring

folk literature Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used vary ...

with his brother Eeltsje. The state and social status of the Western Frisian language at that time becomes clear if one observes the fact that Halbertsma and his brothers, though they laboured tirelessly for the use of Frisian as a written language for poetry and

, lapsed into Dutch for their correspondence with each other, and apparently did not feel that was in any way strange. As Halbertsma remained the editor of Eeltsje's work for his entire life, their poetry and

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

were strongly connected and published together from the very beginning. For that reason the linguist Foeke Buitenrust Hettema would describe Halbertsma later as the '

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...

' of his brothers Eeltsje and Tsjalling. In 1822, their early works were collected under the title ''De Lapekoer fan Gabe Skroar'' ("Gabe Tailor's Rag Basket"; original, archaic

spelling Spelling is a set of conventions that regulate the way of using graphemes (writing system) to represent a language in its written form. In other words, spelling is the rendering of speech sound (phoneme) into writing (grapheme). Spelling is one ...

: ''De Lape Koer fen Gabe Skroor''), a booklet consisting of 36 pages, and including six poems and one short story. This publication was attributed to the fictional 'Gabe Skroar', a lame farmer's son who became a tailor and a writer, but died young.Breuker 1993, p. 597.Twerda, p. 297. This character was in all probability a creation of Eeltsje's. Hiding behind such a fictional author was fairly normal at that time. The first edition of ''De Lapekoer fan Gabe Skroar'', published in 1822, consisted of 200 copies only.Terpstra, p. 313. Those were not sold, however, but at the expense of Halbertsma presented to acquaintances of his all over Friesland.Twerda, p. 298. In that way he awoke among his public a desire for more reading-matter of this nature. These stories and poems were in fact something entirely different from what the readers were used to, not only as to what language they were witten in, but also and especially concerning their informal style. The copies of the booklet often were shared around through entire networks of family and friends, and not seldom the stories and poems were transcribed by hand before the booklet was given back or passed on. A second, expanded edition of ''De Lapekoer fan Gabe Skroar'', consisting of 237 pages, was published in 1829, followed by a third, further expanded edition in 1834, running to almost 500 pages of a larger size. After that, additions were published separately in 1836 (''De Noarger Rún oan Gabe Skroar''), 1840 (''Twigen út in Alde Stamme''), 1854 (''Leed en Wille en de Flotgerzen''), and 1858 (''De Jonkerboer'' and ''Teltsjes fan de Wize Mannen fan Esonstêd''). By the end of his life, Halbertsma assisted in the editing of a portion of ''

'' (''Rhymes and Tales''), the comprehensive publication in which all the Halbertsma Brothers' literary works were collected. He even wrote some new pieces for it, such as the short story ''It Grouwe Pak'' ("The Thick Suit").Breuker 2016, p. 1127. As a writer, Halbertsma strongly sensed what the public needed, but at the same time he was a somewhat distant and cerebral author, which tended to have an averse effect on his poetry, especially compared to the poems of his brother Eeltsje, who was a much more emotional writer. Nevertheless, at least some of Halbertsma's poems, for instance ''Sibbel fan De Ryp'' ("Sibbel from De Ryp") and ''Nacht'' ("Night") have made a lasting impression. That said, Halbertsma's short stories were much more acute thanks to his limber use of language, his lively style of writing, and the fact that he refused to mince his words, leading to a rough, scoffing, and sometimes darkly grim atmosphere. His subject-matter Halbertsma collected from various sources, including German and French

oral literature Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used vary ...

, which he matchlessly revised and placed in Friesland. He was a non-conformist, whose sharp judgments of the works of others made him far from universally loved. Before everything else, Halbertsma as a writer was an essayist and a

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-1960 ...

, who liked to include

topical A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...

political and social questions in his literary works. From the

anecdote An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Occasionally humorous ...

s of people who knew or met him, he emerges as a sharp-witted and extremely diligent man of capacious erudition who was a droll story-teller. Joost Hiddes Halbertsma

''It Boalserter Nut'' ("The

Utility" – the name of a gentlemen's club), which was published in ''De Lapekoer'', was Halbertsma's first short story of a more extended length. As is often the case with Halbertsma's stories, it consists of a frame-story in which several other more or less stand-alone components are absorbed, such as the essay ''It Jild'' ("The Money").Dykstra and Oldenhof, p. 40. ''Miswier'' ("Continuously Bad Weather") and ''De Twadde Jûn'' ("The Second Evening") are also extensive frame-stories, and ''De Skearwinkel fan Joutebaas'' ("Boss Joute's Barbershop") is a

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...

, which includes the intriguing and completely stand-alone story ''Heksershol'' ("Hole of Witchcraft" – an old nickname for the village of

Molkwerum Molkwerum ( fry, Molkwar) is a village in Súdwest-Fryslân municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 390 in January 2017. Molkwerum used to be called Friese Doolhof (Frisian Maze), because it is buil ...

). The only time Halbertsma wrote a literary work entirely without the participation of Eeltsje, was in 1837, when he published ''Oan Eölus'' ("To

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...

"),Breuker 1993, s. 591. a story inspired by a great storm in 1830, in which a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

has blown thoughts and motifs together like whirling leaves. ''Oan Eölus'' could perhaps be seen as a clue that Halbertsma harboured greater literary aspirations than would fit in the ''De Lapekoer fan Gabe Skroar''.

As a man of science

And yet, for all that, Halbertsma's literary works did not take centerstage in his life: that place was reserved for his scientific non-fiction books.Breuker 1993, p. 590. More than fifty years he laboured to complete his dictionary of Western Frisian titled ''Lexicon Frisicum'', for which he chose

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...

as the descriptive language, but it remained unfinished. He organised it along the lines of the German dictionary by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

, but became enmeshed in the addition of insertions and in reworkings, and in writing long

semantic Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comput ...

etymologies Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...

, a part of the work for which he especially had a predilection. In the end, he never got past the letter F, and the dictionary remained a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

, which was published in its unfinished form after Halbertsma's death, in 1872. In the 20th century, the material Halbertsma gathered for his ''Lexicon Frisicum'' was used by de Frisian Academy to develop several Western Frisian dictionaries, notably the 25 part ''Wurdboek fan de Fryske Taal'' ("Dictionary of the Western Frisian Language"; published 1984–2011). Furthermore, Halbertsma was the driving force behind the commemoration of the life of the famous 17th century Frisian poet

Gysbert Japiks Gysbert Japiks or Japicx or Japix (1603–1666) was a West Frisian writer, poet, schoolmaster, and cantor. Life Japiks was born in Bolsward, Friesland, as Gysbert Japiks Holckema or Holkema. Japiks used his patronym and not his surname in his ...

in 1823, which is seen by some as the starting point of the Frisian Movement. Afterwards he published an extensive literary history work under the title ''Hulde aan Gysbert Japiks'' ("Hail to Gysbert Japiks") in two parts in 1824 and 1827. In 1829 Halbertsma wrote ''Het Geslacht der Van Harens'' ("The Lineage of the Van Harens"), in which he primarily described the lives and literary works of the brothers and 18th century Dutch-language writers from Friesland Onno Zwier van Haren and Willem van Haren, whose work he admired greatly. Halbertsma was also the author of an 1836 biography of the Frisian poet Jan Cornelis Pieters Salverda (1783–1836), which almost has a naturalistic feel to it. In 1843 he published a historical work about the

, called ''De Doopsgezinden en Hunne Herkomst'' ("The Mennonites and Their Origins"), and in 1851 he followed this up with ''Aanteekeningen op het Vierde Deel van den Spiegel Historiael van Jacob van Maerlant'' ("Notes on Part Four of the

Spiegel Historiael ''Geschiedenis Magazine'' is a Dutch popular historical magazine. It was first published as ''Spiegel Historiael'' in 1966 and appears under its current name since 2006, as a consequence of a modernization effort. History and profile ''Geschiede ...

Jacob van Maerlant Jacob van Maerlant (c. 1230–40 – c. 1288–1300) was a Flemish poet of the 13th century and one of the most important Middle Dutch authors during the Middle Ages. Biography Jacob van Maerlant was born near Bruges. He becam ...

). Furthermore, in 1858, at the request of Prince

Louis Lucien Bonaparte Louis Lucien Bonaparte (4 January 1813 – 3 November 1891) was a French philologist. The third son of Napoleon's second surviving brother, Lucien Bonaparte, he spent much of his life outside France for political reasons. After a brief politica ...

, whom he had met in London, Halbertsma published ''It Ewangeelje fen Matthewes'', which was the first Frisian translation of the

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...

(or of any

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

for that matter). This translation evoked a great deal of criticism from Halbertsma's contemporaries, who thought it was much too realistic; today, it still has an almost modern feel to it, showing that Halbertsma was far ahead of his time. Halbertsma had a reputation of being an erudite man, which he won at a young age. He was especially known as a scholar of the

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, Engli ...

, and to the present day he is widely acknowledged to have been a larger-than-life figure in the field of

. Shortly after returning to Friesland from his study in

, friends from his student years who by then were occupying important posts within the civil service, introduced him to the social circles around the Frisian-minded provincial governor jonker Idsert Aebinga van Humalda. Later in life Halbertsma was acquainted with prominent Dutch literary figures, such as

Willem Bilderdijk Willem Bilderdijk () (7 September 1756 – 18 December 1831) was a Dutch poet, historian, lawyer, and linguist. Life Willem Bilderdijk was born on 7 September 1756 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic.Joris van Eijnatten,Bilderdijk, W., ''Bio- en ...

, and what's more, he maintained a lively correspondence with European greats, like the Danish linguist

Rasmus Rask Rasmus Kristian Rask (; born Rasmus Christian Nielsen Rasch; 22 November 1787 – 14 November 1832) was a Danish linguist and philologist. He wrote several grammars and worked on comparative phonology and morphology. Rask traveled extensively to ...

, the English poet

Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...

, and the German linguist and fairytale-collector

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of th ...

. Moreover, he was invited to join learned historical and linguistic societies in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Berlin,

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

en Halle-Wittenberg. Hence Halbertsma expected to be appointed professor of Dutch language and literature, and several times such an appointment seemed almost within his grasp, but each time it slipped away. His sharp pen probably played a role in this, but there were other reasons, too. In 1830, he lost out from the surplus of applicants washing over the Netherlands from the universities of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, which at that time had just seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and after 1840 a different type of scientist was called for, with a more specialised knowledge than Halbertsma commanded. That in 1837 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature by the

University of Leiden 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 of Le ...

, was scant consolation to him. In part because of these disappointments, Halbertsma balanced on the edge of a burn-out for a long time, and especially in 1839, when he was passed over yet again, he went through a deep crisis. It was only in the 1860s, when he was in his seventies, that he seems to have achieved a state of mental composure. In part because of his linguistic erudition, Halbertsma has been named as the author of the infamous ''

Oera Linda Book The Oera Linda Book is a manuscript written in a form of Old Frisian, purporting to cover historical, mythological, and religious themes of remote antiquity, from 2194 BCE to 803 CE. Among academics in Germanic philology, the document is conside ...

'', a falsified work which emerged in 1867 and was written in imitated

Old Frisian Old Frisian was a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries along the North Sea coast, roughly between the mouths of the Rhine and Weser rivers. The Frisian settlers on the coast of South Jutland (today's Northern Friesl ...

. It pretended to be an early history of Friesland and the

Frisian people The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, E ...

, and for a while it was considered authentic, until it was exposed as a

hoax A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...

. However, it is considered much more likely that the true author of the ''Oera Linda Book'' was the librarian Eelco Verwijs, who lead the Provincial Library of Friesland and who had befriended Halbertsma,Breuker 1993, s. 589.Breuker 2016, s. 1957. or possibly the writer

François Haverschmidt François Haverschmidt may refer to: * Piet Paaltjens François Haverschmidt. François Haverschmidt, also written as HaverSchmidt (14 February 1835 in Leeuwarden – 19 January 1894 in Schiedam), was a Dutch minister and writer, who wrote pros ...

or the ship carpenter and self-taught freethinker Cornelis over de Linden. If Verwijs was the culprit, it is not thought to be impossible that Halbertsma tacitly or even openly provided him with advice. Justus Hiddes Halbertsma buste in Deventer -01

Justus Hiddes Halbertsma buste in Deventer -01

Death

After his retirement, on 26 October 1856, which Halbertsma applied for himself because his heart was not in his duties as a minister anymore, he withdrew into his upstairs apartment, where from that point on he became increasingly more lonely as his family members and friends died away, although his foreign contacts through correspondence remained intact. Justus Hiddes Halbertsma died in Deventer on 27 February 1869, when he was 79 years of age. By that time he had been a

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

for 22 years. He was survived by his sons Watse and Tsjalling. In 1947, the Dr. Joast Halbertsma Award, the highest provincial

decoration Decoration may refer to: * Decorative arts * A house painter and decorator's craft * An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc. * An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing Other ...

in the field of historical (and later more general scientific) research concerning the province of

was named in his honour.

Legacy

After the death of all three

, their short fiction and poetry was gathered under the supervision of librarian and archivist Gerben Colmjon and bookseller and historian Wopke Eekhoff.Wiersma, p. 5. In 1871, it was published by the firm of J. de Lange in Deventer, under the title of ''

'' ("Rhymes and Tales"). This work is now thought of as the national book of Western Frisian literature, and although the

value of this collection was later disputed by some

, it is undeniable that ''Rimen en Teltsjes'' and its predecessor ''De Lapekoer fan Gabe Skroar'' played a role of crucial importance in the development of a new literary tradition after Frisian had been used almost exclusively as a spoken language for three centuries. Justus Hiddes Halbertsma's influence on subsequent Western Frisian literature was enormous and of incalculable value. In 1949, author and literary critic Anne Wadman wrote that the Halbertsmas gave "the Western Frisian people a literary monument, in which it saw its own life as a nation ..reflected." As of today ''Rimen en Teltsjes'' still occupies the first slot in the ranking of Western Frisian literary classics. On his travels to England,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and Ireland, in 1852 and 1853, Halbertsma was impressed by the number of museums and

cabinets A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

there were. This provided him with the idea to transfer his own collection of antiquities (originating for a major part in

Hindeloopen Hindeloopen (; fry, Hylpen; Hindeloopen Frisian: ''Hielpen'' ) is an old city on the North of the Netherlands on the IJsselmeer. It lies within the municipality of Súdwest Fryslân. It is famous because of the Hindeloopen art and hindeloopen ...

, while the remainder came mostly from excavations of Frisian ''

terp A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides an ...

s'') to the Province of Friesland. In 1853, the Cabinet of Antiquities of Friesland was formed out of his collection, which in 1881 became the Frisian Museum.Schroor, p. 873. Halbertsma also gave to the Province of Friesland, in part when he was still alive, his extensive library of scientific books, which was added to the Provincial Library of Friesland, en is to this day available for scientific research purposes at

Tresoar Tresoar (West Frisian for "treasure") is the short name for the ''Frysk Histoarysk en Letterkundich Sintrum'' ("Frisian History and Literature Center") in Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Stadsfries dialects, Town Frisian ...

. A large collection of

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

written by and to Halbertsma, including hundreds to his brothers Eeltsje en Tsjalling, long remained in the custody of the Halbertsma family, until they were given, in the course of the 20th century, on permanent loan to the Frisian Literary Museum and Documention Centre (FLMD), which became part of Tresoar in 2002.

Bibliography

Literary works

(for the most part in Western Frisian) * 1822 – ''De Lapekoer fan Gabe Skroar'' ("Gabe Tailor's Rag Basket"; collection of poetry and short stories, with

Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma ( Frisian form: Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma, pron. �eːlʧǝ ˈhɪdəs ˈhɔlbǝtsma(the r is silent); Dutch form: Eeltje Hiddes Halbertsma, pron. �eːlcǝ ˈhɪdəs ˈhalbǝrtsma (Grou, 8 October 1797 – there, 22 March ...

) * 1829 – ''De Lapekoer fan Gabe Skroar'' (collection of poetry and short stories, with Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma; expanded version) * 1830 – ''In Nij Liet op Grouster Merke'' ("New Song about the Fair in Grou"; poem) * 1831 – ''In Skotsk Miel'' ("A Scottish Meal"; short story) * 1834 – ''Foeke Sjoerds'' (short story about the historical 18th century Frisian writer Foeke Sjoerds) * 1834 – ''Grêfskrift fan in Wynsûper op Him Selme'' ("Epitaph of a Wine-guzzler for Himself"; poem) * 1834 – ''De Lapekoer fan Gabe Skroar'' (collection of poetry and short stories, with Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma; further expanded version) * 1834 – ''Sûn Ferstân'' ("Sane of Mind"; short story) * 1835 – ''De Skearwinkel fan Joutebaas'' ("Boss Joute's Barbershop"; frame-story with several poems and short stories, with Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma en Tsjalling Hiddes Halbertsma) * 1836 – ''De Noarger Rún oan Gabe Skroar'' ("The Gelding from Norg to Gabe Tailor"; short story with a poem by Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma, including commentary by Justus Hiddes Halbertsma) * 1836 – ''De Treemter fan it Sint-Anthonygasthûs'' ("The Conversation Room of St. Anthony's Hospital"; short story by Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma, including commentary by Justus Hiddes Halbertsma) * 1837 – ''Oan Eölus'' ("To Aeolus"; short story) * 1837 – ''Eölus, Grewa fan Stoarm en Onwaar'' ("Aeolus, Lord of Storm and Thunder"; collection of poetry and short stories, with Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma) * 1840 – ''Twigen út in Alde Stamme'' ("Twigs from an Old Trunk"; collection of poetry and short stories, with Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma) * 1841 – ''Oan Petrus, Doe't er Doktor Waard'' ("To Petrus, When He Took His Doctor's Degree"; poems by Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma and Ferdinand Hanthal, with commentary by Justus Hiddes Halbertsma) * 1854 – ''Leed en Wille en de Flotgerzen'' ("Grief and Pleasure and Down Upon the Lee Shore"; collection of poetry and short stories, with Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma) * 1871 – ''It Grouwe Pak'' ("The Thick Suit"; short story) * 1871 – ''

'' ("Rhymes and Tales"; collection of poetry and short stories, with Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma en Tsjalling Hiddes Halbertsma) * 18?? – ''De Geboarteleppel'' ("The Birth Spoon"; short story) * 18?? – ''De Fûgel fan Bearn-poep'' ("German Bearn's Bird"; short story) * 18?? – ''De Bear op Reis'' ("The Bear on a Journey"; short story)

Scientific works

(for the most part in

) * 1824 – ''Hulde aan Gysbert Japiks'' ("Hail to Gysbert Japiks"; part 1; about life and works of the 17th century Frisian poet

) * 1827 – ''Hulde aan Gysbert Japiks'' (part 2) * 1829 – ''Het Geslacht der Van Harens'' ("The Lineage of the Van Harens"; primarily about the life and works of the 18th century Frisian (Dutch-language) poets and writers Onno Zwier van Haren and Willem van Haren) * 1834 – ''Friesche Spelling en Proeve van Vergelijking tusschen de Boven Ontworpene Spelling en Die van Gysbert Japicx'' ("Frisian Spelling and Comparison of the Newly Developed Spelling and That of Gysbert Japicx"; about the

of the Western Frisian language) * 1836 – ''Friesic: Ancient and Modern Friesic Compared with Anglo-Sacon'' * 1836 – ''Jan Cornelis Pieters Salverda'' (biography of the 18th century Friesian poet Jan Cornelis Pieters Salverda) * 1836 – ''De Toenemende Wansmaak van de Nederlanders voor het Toneel'' ("The Increasingly Bad Taste of the Dutch in Their Theatre"; about the quality of Dutch theatre drama) * 1840 – ''Letterkundige Naoogst'' ("Literary After-Harvest"; part 1) * 1843 – ''Het Buddhisme en Zijn Stichter'' ("Buddhism and Its Founder"; about

buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

) * 1843 – ''De Doopsgezinden en Hunne Herkomst'' ("The Mennonites and Their Origins"; about the

mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

) * 1845 – ''Letterkundige Naoogst'' (part 2) * 1846 – ''De Tongvallen in Nederland'' ("Dialects in the Netherlands"; about

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

s spoken in the Netherlands) * 1851 – ''Aanteekeningen op het Vierde Deel van den Spiegel Historiael van Jacob van Maerlant'' ("Notes on the Part Four of the Spiegel Historiael by Jacob van Maerlant"; about the ''

'', by

) * 1858 – ''It Ewangeelje fen Matthewes'' ("The Gospel of Matthew"; translation of the

to Western Frisian) * 1861 – ''Levensberigten der in Dit Jaar Afgestorvene Medeleden: Bericht wegens Rinse Posthumus, in Leven Kerkleeraar bij de Hervormde Gemeenten van Waaxens en Brantgum in Friesland'' ("Biographical Notices of the Members Who Died This Year: Notice for Rinse Posthumus, in Life Minister of the Reformed Congregations of Waaxens and

Brantgum Brantgum is a village in Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 236 in January 2017. Before 2019, the village was part of the Dongeradeel municipality. History The village was first mentio ...

in Friesland", in: ''Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde'', "Yearbook of the Dutch Literary Society"; obituary of the poet Rinse Posthumus) * 1869 – ''Biografie van Deventer'' ("Biography of Deventer"; sarcastic description of the city of

and its inhabitants) * 1872 – ''Lexicon Frisicum'' (unfinished dictionary of the Western Frisian language) * 1969 – ''Kent Gij Halbertsma van Deventer? In Tal Net Utjowne Hânskriften'' ("Knowest Thou Halbertsma from Deventer? A Number of Unpublished Manuscripts"; collection of unpublished works)

References

Sources

* , ''Twataligens: Ynlieding yn Underskate Aspekten fan de Twataligens'', Leeuwarden (Afûk), 1981, . * , ''Oer Skriuwers, Boek en Utjeften'', in: , ''Rimen en Teltsjes'', Drachten (A.J. Osinga Utjouwerij), 1993, , pp. 587–613. * , ''Halbertsma, Justus (Joost Hiddes)'', in: , ''Nieuwe Encyclopedie van Fryslân'', Gorredijk/Leeuwarden (Utjouwerij Bornmeer/Tresoar), 2016, , pp. 1126–1127. * , ''Lyts Hânboek fan de Fryske Literatuer'', Leeuwarden (Afûk), 1997, . * , ''Rimen en Teltsjes'', Bolsward/Leeuwarden (A.J. Osinga Utjouwerij/R. van der Velde), 1958, no ISBN. * , ''Rimen en Teltsjes'', Drachten (A.J. Osinga Utjouwerij), 1993, . * , ''Fryslân: Fêstens en Feroaring'', in: , ''De Fryslannen'', Leeuwarden (Frisian Council/Afûk), 2008, . * , ''Cultuur in Friesland en Friese Cultuur, 1795–1917'', in: , ''Geschiedenis van Friesland 1750–1995'', Amsterdam/Leeuwarden (Uitgeverij Boom/Fryske Akademy), 1998, , pp. 172–212. * , ''Spiegel van de Friese Poëzie: Van de Zeventiende Eeuw tot Heden'', Amsterdam (J.M. Meulenhoff B.V.), 1994, .
, ''Joost Hiddes Halbertsma (1789–1869)'', in: ''Overijselse Biografieën''.
* , ''Nieuwe Encyclopedie van Fryslân'', Gorredijk/Leeuwarden (Utjouwerij Bornmeer/Tresoar), 2016, . * , ''Tweeduizend Jaar Geschiedenis van Friesland'', Leeuwarden (Uitgeverij M.Th. van Seyen), no year, no ISBN. * , ''Fan Fryslâns Forline'', Bolsward (A.J. Osinga N.V.), 1968, no ISBN. * , ''Frieslands Dichters'', Leiden (L. Stafleu), 1949, no ISBN. * , ''Foarwurd'' and ''De Bruorren Halbertsma'', in: , ''Rimen en Teltsjes'', Bolsward (A.J. Osinga N.V.), 1958, pp. 5–14.