Chambers of rhetoric ( nl, rederijkerskamers) were dramatic societies in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. Their members were called Rederijkers (singular Rederijker), from the
French word 'rhétoricien', and during the 15th and 16th centuries were mainly interested in dramas and
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...
. These societies were closely connected with local civic leaders and their public plays were a form of early
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
for the city.
[Reformers on stage: popular drama and religious propaganda in the low countries]
by Gary Waite on Google books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
History
The first chambers of rhetoric were founded in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
around the 15th century; they later flowered in
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
, where they were an important part of the literary scene in the
Dutch Golden Age and experimented with poetic form and structure. Most Dutch cities sponsored a chamber of rhetoric, and many cities had more than one, which competed with each other during prize contests. The building that currently houses the
Frans Hals Museum
The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands.
The museum was established in 1862. In 1950, the museum was split in two locations when the collection of modern art was moved to the '' Museum De Hallen'' (since 2018 called ...
was built with the proceeds of a lottery in which chambers of rhetoric participated from all over the country. The Haarlem society
Trou moet Blycken
Trou Moet Blycken is a historical chamber of rhetoric over 500 years old and currently a gentlemen's club located in the middle of a busy shopping area on the Grote Houtstraat in Haarlem, Netherlands.
History
Though the society probably goes ba ...
still has many of the blazons that it kept as host of that lottery.
At the start of the 16th century, Antwerp had three rederijker societies, the "
Violieren
The Violieren (wallflower or gillyflower) was a chamber of rhetoric that dates back to the 15th century in Antwerp, when it was a social drama society with close links to the Guild of Saint Luke.A. A. Keersmaekers, ''Geschiedenis van de Antwerpse R ...
", the "
Olijftak", and the "
Goudbloem
The Goudbloem (marigold) was a chamber of rhetoric, a society to promote poetry and drama, that dated back to the 15th century in Antwerp.A. A. Keersmaekers, ''Geschiedenis van de Antwerpse Rederijkerskamers in de jaren 1585–1635'' (Aalst, 1952) ...
", while Brussels and Ghent each had four rederijker societies.
[
An important chamber of rhetoric in the Netherlands was "De ]Egelantier
De Eglantier (Sweet Briar or Eglantine Rose) (spelling variations: ''Egelantier'' and ''Eglentier'') was a chamber of rhetoric in Amsterdam that arose in 1517 or 1518, possibly as a continuation of older chambers of rhetoric. It is one of the mos ...
" in Amsterdam: Coster, Bredero, Hooft and Roemer Visscher
Roemer Pieterszoon Visscher (1547 – 19 February 1620) was a successful Dutch merchant, the first Dutch underwriter and writer of the Dutch Golden Age.
Life
Visscher was born in and lived in Amsterdam and was an important and central figure of t ...
were all members of this society. During the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
the society sided with the reformers against the city government and enjoyed its most blooming period despite receiving very little funding from official sources.[
Because many of the ''rederijkers'' were by definition amateurs, the literary quality of their work was often rather low, and in the 18th century, some chambers of rhetoric were spoken of with contempt. One work of literary historical importance that came from the Rederijkers is the play '' Elckerlijc'' (Everyman).
By the 17th century many chambers enjoyed the services of semi-professional actors, ''personagiën'', who did not pay membership fees and worked in exchange for free food and drink (provided after rehearsals and performances) and for exemption from other civic obligations.
]
Social functions
Apart from providing entertainment (recitations, plays, performances) during civic festivities, and maintaining literary contacts between cities, chambers of rhetoric had many of the typical social functions of a guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
or confraternity
A confraternity ( es, cofradía; pt, confraria) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most c ...
, such as attending members' funerals, holding collections for sick or impoverished members, and providing wedding presents for members getting married.[A. A. Keersmaekers, ''Geschiedenis van de Antwerpse Rederijkerskamers in de jaren 1585–1635'' (Aalst, 1952), pp. 9–15.]
See also
* List of chambers of rhetoric
A chamber of rhetoric was a civic society for the promotion of poetry, drama and eloquence. They also maintained literary contact between different towns, partly through competitions in which chambers from other places were invited to compete, pr ...
* Medieval Dutch literature
* Flemish literature Flemish literature is literature from Flanders, historically a region comprising parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Until the early 19th century, this literature was regarded as an integral part of Dutch literature. After Bel ...
References
{{reflist
Conformisten en rebellen: Rederijkerscultuur in de Nederlanden (1400-1650), 2003
(Dutch)
* Meijer, Reinder. ''Literature of the Low Countries: A Short History of Dutch Literature in the Netherlands and Belgium.'' New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1971, pp. 55–57, 62.
* Van Bruaene, A.L., Repertorium van de Rederijkerskamers in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden (Dutch
Overview of the Chambers of Rhetoric in the Southern Netherlands
European literature
Dutch literature
Literary societies
Arts in the Netherlands