Lippijn is a

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 ...

''sotternie'' or

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

. It is known from the

Van Hulthem Manuscript The Van Hulthem Manuscript is a masterpiece of medieval Dutch literature, probably compiled in the Duchy of Brabant. It contains over 200 stories from across the Low Countries. The manuscript is named after its last private owner, Charles van Hult ...

, in which it follows the " able play" ''

Esmoreit Esmoreit is a Middle Dutch drama. It is one of the four ''abele spelen'' ("able plays") contained in the Van Hulthem Manuscript and consists of 1,018 lines in rhyme. The other ''abele spelen'' are: '' Gloriant'', ''Lanseloet van Denemerken'' and ' ...

''. It consists of 199 lines in rhyme. The farce describes the older man Lippijn who spots his wife having an adulterous affair. His wife's best lady friend convinces him he must be wrong. His wife hearing about this makes things worse for him by blaming him that he wrongfully accused her. The name Lippijn refers to the old Middle Dutch word for "looking", thereby connecting with the subject of the play.

Roles

* Lippijn * Sijn wijf (his wife) * Haer lief (her lover) * De comere (Trise or Trees) (the wife's friend)

Plot

Lippijn is sent by his wife to get some wood and water while she buys food. He mutters and complains about her wasting time out of the house; she defends herself by pointing out that the butcher's is always crowded after her morning prayer. They both leave the house, but the wife meets with her longing, passionate lover. Lippijn watches them in fury and plans to confront his wife with this when he comes home. On his way there he meets Trise, the long-time lady friend of his wife. He tells her what he has seen. Trise convinces Lippijn that he must be wrong and should not accuse his wife of these things. When Lippijn persists she tells him he must have been possessed by a wood nymph or a

goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...

. Trise tells an unconvinced Lippijn that he should not worry because his wife is at the house. Coming home, Lippijn finds out he's been fooled. His wife hearing about his mistrust blames him for it. She is unforgiving about his so-called mistake and the play ends in a quarrel.

External links

{{Wikisourcelang, nl, Lippijn *
Lippijn
' at the

Digital Library for Dutch Literature The Digital Library for Dutch Literature (Dutch: Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren or DBNL) is a website (showing the abbreviation as dbnl) about Dutch language and Dutch literature. It contains thousands of literary texts, second ...

Comedy plays Dutch plays Middle Dutch literature Plays set in the Middle Ages Plays set in the Netherlands