Wilhelmus window - geograph.org.uk - 844050.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Wilhelmus van Nassouwe", usually known just as "Wilhelmus" ( nl, Het Wilhelmus, italic=no; ; English translation: "The William"), is the national anthem of both the Netherlands and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It dates back to at least 1572, making it the oldest national anthem in use today, provided that the latter is defined as consisting of both a melody and lyrics. Although "Wilhelmus" was not recognized as the official national anthem until 1932, it has always been popular with parts of the Dutch population and resurfaced on several occasions in the course of Dutch history before gaining its present status. It was also the anthem of the
Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...
from 1954 to 1964. "Wilhelmus" originated in the
Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...
, the nation's struggle to achieve independence from the Spanish Empire. It tells of the Father of the Nation William of Orange who was stadholder in the Netherlands under the
King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
. In the first person, as if quoting himself, William speaks to the Dutch about both the revolt and his own, personal struggle: to be faithful to the king, without being unfaithful to his conscience: to serve God and the Dutch. In the lyrics William compares himself with the biblical David who serves under the tyrannic king Saul. As the merciful David defeats the unjust Saul and is rewarded by God with the
kingdom of Israel The Kingdom of Israel may refer to any of the historical kingdoms of ancient Israel, including: Fully independent (c. 564 years) * Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy) (1047–931 BCE), the legendary kingdom established by the Israelites and uniti ...
, so too William hopes to be rewarded with a kingdom. Both "Wilhelmus" and the Dutch Revolt should be seen in the light of the 16th century Reformation in Europe and the resulting persecution of
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
by the Spanish Inquisition in the Low Countries. Militant music proved very useful not only in lampooning Roman clerks and repressive monarchs but also in generating class-transcending social cohesion. In successfully combining a psalmic character with political relevancy, "Wilhelmus" stands as the pre-eminent example of the genre.


Inception


Origins of melody

The melody of "Wilhelmus" was borrowed from a well-known Roman Catholic French song titled "Autre chanson de la ville de Chartres assiégée par le prince de Condé", or in short: "Chartres". This song ridiculed the failed Siege of Chartres in 1568 by the Huguenot (Protestant) Prince de Condé during the French Wars of Religion. However, the triumphant contents of "Wilhelmus" differ greatly from the content of the original song, making it subversive at several levels. Thus, the Dutch Protestants had taken over an anti-Protestant song, and adapted it into propaganda for their own agenda. In that way, "Wilhelmus" was typical for its time: it was common practice in the 16th century for warring groups to steal each other's songs in order to rewrite them. Even though the melody stems from 1568, the first known written down version of it comes from 1574; at the time the anthem was sung at a much quicker pace. Dutch composer
Adriaen Valerius Adrianus (Adriaen) Valerius, also known as Adriaen Valerius, (c. 1575 – 1625) was a Dutch poet and composer, known mostly for his poems dealing with peasant and burgher life and those dealing with the Dutch War of Independence, assembled i ...
recorded the current melody of "Wilhelmus" in his ''Nederlantsche Gedenck-clanck'' in 1626, slowing down the melody's pace, probably to allow it to be sung in churches.


Origins of lyrics

The origins of the lyrics are uncertain. "Wilhelmus" was first written some time between the start of the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
in April 1568 and the capture of Brielle on 1 April 1572. Soon after the anthem was finished it was said that either
Philips of Marnix Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
, a writer, statesman and former mayor of
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
, or Dirck Coornhert, a politician and theologian, wrote the lyrics. However, this is disputed as neither Marnix nor Coornhert ever mentioned that they had written the lyrics, even though the song was immensely popular in their time. "Wilhelmus" also has some odd
rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
s in it. In some cases the vowels of certain words were altered to allow them to rhyme with other words. Some see this as evidence that neither Marnix or Coornhert wrote the anthem, as they were both experienced poets when "Wilhelmus" was written, and it is said they would not have taken these small liberties. Hence some believe that the lyrics of the Dutch national anthem were the creation of someone who just wrote one poem for the occasion and then disappeared from history. A French translation of "Wilhelmus" appeared around 1582. Recent stylometric research has mentioned
Pieter Datheen Pieter Datheen, Latin Petrus Dathenus, English, Peter Datheen, (Cassel, Nord, c.1531 - Elbing, 17 March 1588) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian, the 16th century reformer of The Netherlands, who accomplished many things for the advancement the Ref ...
as a possible author of the text of the Dutch national anthem. Dutch and Flemish researchers ( Meertens Institute, Utrecht University and University of Antwerp) discovered by chance a striking number of similarities between his style and the style of the national anthem.


Structure and interpretation

The complete text comprises fifteen
stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...
s. The anthem is an
acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...
: the first letters of the fifteen stanzas formed the name "Willem van Nassov" (''Nassov'' was a contemporary orthographic variant of ''Nassau''). In the current Dutch spelling the first words of the 12th and 13th stanzas begin with Z instead of S. Like many of the songs of the period, it has a complex structure, composed around a thematic chiasmus: the text is symmetrical, in that verses one and 15 resemble one another in meaning, as do verses two and 14, three and 13, etc., until they converge in the 8th verse, the heart of the song: "Oh David, thou soughtest shelter from King Saul's tyranny. Even so I fled this welter", where the comparison is made not only between the biblical David and William of Orange as a merciful and just leader of the
Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...
, but also between the tyrant King Saul and the Spanish crown, and between the promised land of Israel granted by God to David, and a kingdom granted by God to William. In the first person, as if quoting himself, William speaks about how his disagreement with his king troubles him; he tries to be faithful to his king, but he is above all faithful to his conscience: to serve God and the Dutch people. Therefore, the last two lines of the first stanza indicate that the leader of the Dutch civil war against the Spanish Empire, of which they were part, had no specific quarrel with king
Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
, but rather with his emissaries in the Low Countries, such as Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba. This may have been because at the time (late 16th century) it was uncommon to doubt publicly the
divine right of kings In European Christianity, the divine right of kings, divine right, or God's mandation is a political and religious doctrine of political legitimacy of a monarchy. It stems from a specific metaphysical framework in which a monarch is, before b ...
, who were accountable to God alone. In 1581 the Netherlands nevertheless rejected the legitimacy of the king of Spain's rule over it in the Act of Abjuration. "Duytschen" (in English generally translated as "Dutch", "native" or ''Germanic'') in the first stanza is a reference to William's roots; its modern Dutch equivalent, "Duits", exclusively means "German", and it may refer to William's ancestral house (
Nassau, Germany Nassau ( , also , , ) is a town located in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies in the valley of the river Lahn between the towns of Bad Ems and Limburg an der Lahn. Nassau was the seat of the former Verbandsgemeinde Nassau, and ...
) or to the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, including the Netherlands. But most probably it is simply a reference to the broader meaning of the word, which points out William as a "
native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...
" of the fatherland, as opposed to the king of Spain, who seldom or never visited the Netherlands. The prince thus states that his roots are Germanic rather than Romance – in spite of his being Prince of Orange as well.


Performance


History

Though only proclaimed the national anthem in 1932, the "Wilhelmus" already had a centuries-old history. It had been sung on many official occasions and at many important events since the outbreak of the
Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...
in 1568, such as the siege of Haarlem in 1573 and the ceremonial entry of the Prince of Orange into Brussels on 18 September 1578. It has been claimed that during the gruesome torture of Balthasar Gérard (the assassin of William of Orange) in 1584, the song was sung by the guards who sought to overpower Gérard's screams when boiling pigs' fat was poured over him. Gérard allegedly responded "Sing! Dutch sinners! Sing! But know that soon I shall be sung of!". Another legend claims that following the
Navigation Act 1651 The Navigation Acts, or more broadly the Acts of Trade and Navigation, were a long series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce between other countries and with its own colonies. The ...
(an ordinance by Oliver Cromwell requiring all foreign fleets in the North Sea or the
Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
to dip their flag in salute) the "Wilhelmus" was sung (or rather, shouted) by the sailors on the Dutch flagship '' Brederode'' in response to the first warning shot fired by an English fleet under Robert Blake, when their captain Maarten Tromp refused to lower his flag. At the end of the song, which coincided with the third and last English warning shot, Tromp fired a full broadside, thereby beginning the
Battle of Goodwin Sands Battle of the Goodwin Sands may refer to: * Battle of the Narrow Seas The Battle of the Narrow Seas, also known as the Battle of the Goodwin Sands or Battle of the Dover Straits was a naval engagement that took place on 3–4 October 1602 duri ...
and the First Anglo-Dutch War. During 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, ...
, it was conceived essentially as the anthem of the
House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...
and its
supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. H ...
– which meant, in the politics of the time, the anthem of a specific political faction which was involved in a prolonged struggle with opposing factions (which sometimes became violent, verging on civil war). Therefore, the fortunes of the song paralleled those of the Orangist faction. Trumpets played the "Wilhelmus" when Prince Maurits visited
Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
, and again when he was received in state in Amsterdam in May 1618. When William V arrived in
Schoonhoven Schoonhoven () is a city and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Since 2015 it has been a part of the municipality of Krimpenerwaard, before it had been an independent municipality. The former municipa ...
in 1787, after the authority of the stadholders had been restored, the church bells are said to have played the "Wilhelmus" continuously. After the
Batavian Revolution The Batavian Revolution ( nl, De Bataafse Revolutie) was a time of political, social and cultural turmoil at the end of the 18th century that marked the end of the Dutch Republic and saw the proclamation of the Batavian Republic. The period of ...
, inspired by the French Revolution, it had come to be called the "Princes' March" as it was banned during the rule of the Patriots, who did not support the
House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...
. However, at the foundation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1813, the "Wilhelmus" had fallen out of favour. Having become monarchs with a claim to represent the entire nation and stand above factions, the House of Orange decided to break with the song which served them as heads of a faction, and the "Wilhelmus" was replaced by
Hendrik Tollens Henricus Franciscus Caroluszoon (Hendrik) Tollens (24 September 1780 – 21 October 1856) was a Dutch poet best known for ''Wien Neêrlands Bloed ''Wien Neêrlands bloed'' (''Those in whom Dutch blood'') was the national anthem of the Netherlan ...
' song '' Wien Neêrlands bloed door d'aderen vloeit'', which was the official Dutch anthem from 1815 until 1932. However, the "Wilhelmus" remained popular and lost its identification as a factional song, and on 10 May 1932, it was decreed that on all official occasions requiring the performance of the national anthem, the "Wilhelmus" was to be played – thereby replacing Tollens' song. Wilhelmus had a Malay translation of which was sung back when Indonesia was under Dutch colonial rule. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, the Nazi ''Reichskommissar'', banned all the emblems of the Dutch royal family, including the "Wilhelmus". It was then taken up by all factions of the Dutch resistance, even those socialists who had previously taken an anti-monarchist stance. The pro-German
Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands ( nl, Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland, ; NSB) was a Dutch fascist and later Nazi political party that called itself a " movement". As a parliamentary party participating in leg ...
(NSB), who had sung the "Wilhelmus" at their meetings before the occupation, replaced it with ''Alle Man van Neerlands Stam'' ("All Men of Dutch Origin"). The anthem was drawn to the attention of the English-speaking world by the 1942 British war film, '' One of Our Aircraft Is Missing''. The film concerns a Royal Air Force bomber crew who are shot down over the occupied Netherlands and are helped to escape by the local inhabitants. The melody is heard during the film as part of the campaign of passive resistance by the population, and it finishes with the
coat of arms of the Netherlands The coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was originally adopted in 1815 and later modified in 1907. The arms are a composite of the arms of the former Dutch Republic and the arms of the House of Nassau, it features a checkered shield wit ...
on screen while the "Wilhelmus" is played.


Current

The "Wilhelmus" is to be played only once at a ceremony or other event and, if possible, it is to be the last piece of music to be played when receiving a foreign head of state or emissary. During international sport events, such as the World Cup, UEFA European Football Championship, the Olympic Games and the
Dutch Grand Prix The Dutch Grand Prix ( nl, Grote Prijs van Nederland) is a Formula One motor racing event held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 to 1985 and from 2021 onwards. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, ...
, the "Wilhelmus" is also played. In nearly every case the 1st and 6th stanzas (or repeating the last lines), or the 1st stanza alone, are sung/played rather than the entire song, which would result in about 15 minutes of music. The "Wilhelmus" is also widely used in
Flemish nationalist The Flemish Movement ( nl, Vlaamse Beweging) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promo ...
gatherings as a symbol of cultural unity with the Netherlands. Yearly rallies like the "
IJzerbedevaart The Yser Pilgrimage ( nl, IJzerbedevaart) is an annual gathering at the Yser Tower (''IJzertoren'') in Diksmuide, West Flanders in Belgium. This pilgrimage remembers the Flemish soldiers who died while serving in the Belgian Army during the Fi ...
" and the "Vlaams Nationaal Zangfeest" close with singing the 6th stanza, after which the Flemish national anthem "
De Vlaamse Leeuw "" (; The Flemish Lion) is the official anthem of Flanders, a region and community in Belgium. Composition The words of this anthem were written in July 1847 by Hippoliet Van Peene (1811–1864) who was clearly inspired by the song ''Sie s ...
" is sung.


Variations

An important set of variations on the melody of "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe" is that by the blind
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
-player
Jacob van Eyck Jacob van Eyck ( , ; 26 March 1657) was a Dutch nobleman and blind musician. He was one of the best-known musicians of the Dutch Golden Age, working as a carillon player and technician, an organist, a recorder virtuoso, and a composer. He was ...
in his mid-17th century collection of variations ''Der Fluyten Lust-hof''. The 10-year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed in
1766 Events January–March * January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism. * January 14 – Chr ...
, while visiting Holland, a set of 7 variations for keyboard in D major on the song, now listed as K. 25.
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
wrote his "Variationen über 'Wilhelm von Oraniên'" for military band in 1892. The manuscript which, it seems, was mislaid, is in the Koninklijke Collecties in the Hague. There is a recording available on YouTube by the Band of the Netherlands Royal Marines. The
royal anthem The anthem for a person, office or rank is music played on formal or ceremonial occasions in the presence of the person, office-holder, or rank-holder, especially by a military band. The head of state in many countries is honored with a prescribe ...
of Luxembourg (called "
De Wilhelmus "" (; Luxembourgish for "The Wilhelmus") is the grand ducal anthem of Luxembourg. Lyrics for it were written in 1919 by Luxembourgish writer Nik Welter, although they are not often used in official performances. The anthem is performed whenever ...
") is a variation on the ''Wilhelmus''. The melody was first used in Luxembourg (at the time in personal union with the
Kingdom of the United Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...
) on the occasion of the visit of the Dutch King and Grand Duke of Luxembourg William III in 1883. Later, the anthem was played for Grand Duke Adolph of Luxembourg along with the national anthem. The melody is very similar, but not identical to that of the "Wilhelmus". It is in official use since 1919. The song " Wenn alle untreu werden" (German: "If everyone becomes unfaithful") better known as "Das Treuelied", which was written by the poet Max von Schenkendorf (1783–1817) used exactly the same melody as the "Wilhelmus". After the First World War this became extremely popular among German nationalist groups. It became one of the most popular songs of the SS, together with the
Horst Wessel song The "" ("Horst Wessel Song"; ), also known by its opening words "" ("Raise the Flag", ), was the anthem of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 1930 to 1945. From 1933 to 1945, the Nazis made it the co-national anthem of Germany, along with the first sta ...
. The melody is also used in the Swedish folksong "" ("Alas, Gothic kingdom"), written down in 1626. The song deals with the liberation struggle of Sweden under Gustav Vasa in the 16th century.


Lyrics

The "Wilhelmus" was first printed in a , literally " Beggars' songbook" in 1581. It used the following text as an introduction to the "Wilhelmus": : Original Dutch (1568)
Acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...
Contemporary Dutch Official translation"Wilhelmus" music, lyrics and customs
Royal House of the Netherlands
William of Nassau, scion Of a Dutch and ancient line, I dedicate undying Faith to this land of mine. A prince I am, undaunted, Of Orange, ever free, To the king of Spain I've granted A lifelong loyalty. I've ever tried to live in The fear of God's command And therefore I've been driven, From people, home, and land, But God, I trust, will rate me His willing instrument And one day reinstate me Into my government. Let no despair betray you, My subjects true and good. The Lord will surely stay you Though now you are pursued. He who would live devoutly Must pray God day and night To throw His power about me As champion of your right. Life and my all for others I sacrificed, for you! And my illustrious brothers Proved their devotion too. Count Adolf, more's the pity, Fell in the Frisian fray, And in the eternal city Awaits the judgement day. I, nobly born, descended From an imperial stock. An empire's prince, defended (Braving the battle's shock Heroically and fearless As pious Christian ought) With my life's blood the peerless Gospel of God our Lord. A shield and my reliance, O God, Thou ever wert. I'll trust unto Thy guidance. O leave me not ungirt. That I may stay a pious Servant of Thine for aye And drive the plagues that try us And tyranny away. My God, I pray thee, save me From all who do pursue And threaten to enslave me, Thy trusted servant true. O Father, do not sanction Their wicked, foul design, Don't let them wash their hands in This guiltless blood of mine. O David, thou soughtest shelter From King Saul's tyranny. Even so I fled this welter And many a lord with me. But God the Lord did save me From exile and its hell And, in His mercy, gave him A realm in Israel. Fear not 't will rain sans ceasing The clouds are bound to part. I bide that sight so pleasing Unto my princely heart, Which is that I with honor Encounter death in war, And meet in heaven my Donor, His faithful warrior. Nothing so moves my pity As seeing through these lands, Field, village, town and city Pillaged by roving hands. O that the Spaniards rape thee, My Netherlands so sweet, The thought of that does grip me Causing my heart to bleed. A stride on steed of mettle I've waited with my host The tyrant's call to battle, Who durst not do his boast. For, near Maastricht ensconced, He feared the force I wield. My horsemen saw one bounce it Bravely across the field. Surely, if God had willed it, When that fierce tempest blew, My power would have stilled it, Or turned its blast from you But He who dwells in heaven, Whence all our blessings flow, For which aye praise be given, Did not desire it so. Steadfast my heart remaineth In my adversity My princely courage straineth All nerves to live and be. I've prayed the Lord my Master With fervid heart and tense To save me from disaster And prove my innocence. Alas! my flock. To sever Is hard on us. Farewell. Your Shepherd wakes, wherever Dispersed you may dwell, Pray God that He may ease you. His Gospel be your cure. Walk in the steps of Jesu This life will not endure. Unto the Lord His power I do confession make That ne'er at any hour Ill of the King I spake. But unto God, the greatest Of Majesties I owe Obedience first and latest, For Justice wills it so.   WILLIAM OF NASSAU IPA transcription of the first and sixth stanzas


Notes


References


External links

*
Sheet music of "Wilhelmus"


vocal version of the first and sixth verse at the Himnuszok website
A song for Prince William
authentic version on youtube
Strauss: "Variationen über 'Wilhelm von Oraniên'"
for military band {{Authority control National anthems Eighty Years' War (1566–1609) Dutch anthems Cultural depictions of William the Silent Songs about politicians Songs about military officers National anthem compositions in A major National anthem compositions in G major Royal anthems