Hendrik Conscience

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Hendrik Conscience
Hendrik Conscience around 1870. The picture by Hendrik De Pondt is in the Groeningeabdij Museum in Kortrijk
Hendrik Conscience

Hendrik Conscience (born December 3, 1812 in Antwerp , † September 10, 1883 in Elsene near Brussels ) was a Flemish narrator and co-founder of Flemish literature .

life and work

childhood

Conscience was baptized Henri, but always wrote to himself Hendrik. His father, the Frenchman Pierre Conscience from Besançon , was a shipping officer in Napoleon's 1st Navy. In 1811 he was appointed sub-harbor master of Antwerp, which was then part of France. Hendrik's mother, Cornelia Balieu, was Flemin. After the French withdrew in 1815, Pierre stayed in town and slaughtered broken ships.

Hendrik grew up in the ship's supply store De Groene Hoek , where old stored books aroused his interest in literature. After the death of his mother in 1820, the father married the much younger widow Anna Catherina Bogaerts in 1826, whom Hendrik Conscience often describes in his books. He sold the shop and moved with the family to a small farm with a garden in the Kempen . While he was buying up ships in distant port cities, his sons Hendrik and his brother were alone with their stepmother for weeks or months.

Influence of the revolution and Antwerp bohemian

Hendrik acquired knowledge of botany, medicine, the natural sciences and the Dutch language on an autodidactic basis . By the age of 17 he had already taught himself so much - especially English - that he could take it to Antwerp and finance a course of study as a teacher in prestigious educational establishments.

In 1830, when the revolution broke out, the young man was persuaded to join the new Belgian army, initially for two and then for five years. He served in barracks in Venlo and Dendermonde until he retired as a sergeant in 1836 .

However, since he did not receive a pension after his release, he returned to his father's house without employment. Hendrik had come into contact with Flemings from all walks of life through the army. Since he had also been in regular correspondence with the Rederijkers in Antwerp, he soon made the decision to devote himself to the Flemish movement and to write in the Dutch language, which the bourgeoisie despised. A passage from Guicciardini inspired him to write down a series of scenes from the Dutch struggle for freedom, which appeared in Ghent in 1566 in 1837 under the title In 't wonderjaer and made Conscience known overnight. His father viewed this with so much displeasure that he put his son out the door.

Hendrik set off for Antwerp with two francs and a bundle of clothes. His old school friend Jan Alfried de Laet took him in and introduced him to the Antwerp core of the Flemish movement. Influential personalities of the local bohemians soon became interested in the talented but still unsuccessful man. His friend Gustave Wappers , painter at the royal court, introduced him to the king, who, after meeting Conscience, expressed the wish that Wonderjaer should be made available in the libraries of all Belgian schools.

The Lion of Flanders

In the same year, 1837, under the aegis of Leopold I , Conscience published his second work, Phantasy , a hodgepodge of poetry and prose, the moderate success of which, however, bitterly disappointed. A modest job as a translator in the provincial archives, mediated by Wappers, freed him from the worst financial pressure, and so he was able to achieve what was probably his greatest success in 1838 with the historical novel De leeuw van Vlaenderen .

The novel describes the fight of the Flemings against French oppression, which culminated in the so-called Battle of the Golden Spurs . The Flemish Count Gwijde von Dampierre wants to submit to the French King in the hope of being able to free his imprisoned daughter. Queen Joan of Navarre, however, has the count, his sons and his followers captured. The people and nobility of Flanders then united in hatred of the French. The main characters are the opposing characters Jan Breydel, the leader of the butcher's guild, and Pieter Deconinck, the chief master of the weavers, as a representative of the people, as well as Count Robert III. of Béthune , the "Lion of Flanders", as the main figure of the nobility. Although or precisely because the novel makes history a little more beautiful and appropriate, it not only gave Flemish culture, but also Flemish identity, an unprecedented boost.

Criticism of the novel, however, gave Conscience's ambitions a setback. Because of his emphatically Flemish stance, he had to vacate his place in the archive. His books have received high praise, but have not yet sold well enough to make a living. So he even had to work as a gardener for about 13 months until in 1841 Wappers, who had risen to head of the Academy of Fine Arts, succeeded in appointing Conscience to the academy's secretary. Both of them held their positions until 1854.

Success and recognition

Finally, Conscience's work began to generate a positive response. Hoe men schilder wordt (1843), Wat eene moeder lyden kann (1843), Siska van Roosemael (1844), Lambrecht Hensmans (1847), Jacob van Artevelde (1849) and De loteling (1850) made it increasingly popular. At a Flemish congress in Ghent in 1841, Conscience's works were described as the seed from which a national literary harvest could most likely be expected. The patriots therefore supported its dissemination and praised every new work from Conscience's pen as an honor for Belgium. In 1845 Conscience was made Knight of the Leopold Order. It had increasingly stolen the reputation of the ordinary in Dutch-language literature and triggered a real boom.

In the same year Conscience wrote his Geschiedenis van België as a commissioned work , which he dedicated to the king. He was now at the zenith of his genius, which of course some people envied him so violently that he withdrew to the Kempen, exhausted and discouraged. There he went back to the descriptions of Flemish life. Blinde Roza (1850), Rikke-tikke-tak (1851), De arme edelman (1851) and De gierigaerd (1853), which were written during this period, are among the most important of his novels. They directly influenced newer fiction, and Conscience found numerous imitators.

In 1851 the first translations of his stories appeared in English, French, German and Italian and made him famous across borders. He could now have made a living from his literary work, but - to the detriment of the art city of Antwerp - became district commissioner in Kortrijk . At this post in the remote border town he became visibly lonely and no longer achieved the quality of his earlier works. Correspondence from this period makes it clear that money worries were probably the reason that his oeuvre grew so quickly.

The post of stage manager of the Royal Belgian Museums of Painting and Sculpture in Brussels , created in 1868, was to become a sinecure for conscience. He continued to write novels regularly. He was now considered one of Antwerp's most famous personalities; the publication of his 100th book was just as frenetically celebrated by the public as his 70th birthday. He was unable to attend the inauguration of a monument dedicated to him for health reasons. After a long illness, he died in his house. He was honored with a state funeral and buried in Antwerp's Schoonselhof .

meaning

The Hendrik Conscienceplein in Antwerp. This square was named after the writer in honor of the great son of the city.

While the Netherlands had a centuries-old and glorious literary tradition, prejudices of a French-speaking bourgeoisie prevented the language from being recognized in the Flemish provinces of Belgium. The split from the Netherlands in 1830 had driven such a large wedge between the two fraternal peoples and their languages ​​that for many years there was hardly any Dutch-language literature on the Belgian side. It was precisely in this situation that Conscience created a Dutch-speaking readership and campaigned for national awareness.

In 1830 he wrote: “I don't know what it is like, but I confess that I find something indescribably romantic, mysterious, profound, energetic, even wild in real Flemings. If I ever have the ability to write, I will devote all my might to Flemish composition. ” The poems he wrote as a soldier were his only French works.

The born artist managed a rare combination of fantasy, idealization and reality in his work. He had a keen sense for speech music, but especially for colors and moods. The wealth of romantic themes and motifs with which he dealt remained unprecedented in Belgium. He was not only the most popular author in Flanders, but also takes on account of his historical novels De leeuw van Vlaenderen, Jacob van Artevelde and De boerenkrijg (1798), which are linked to Sir Walter Scott and Victor Hugo , and his descriptions of landscapes and idylls, which are comparable to Berthold Auerbach and George Sand also a high priority in European literature.

Works

  • In 't wonderjaer (In the Wonder Year) (1837) - German The Wonder Year (1845)
  • Phantasy (1837)
  • De leeuw van Vlaenderen (1838) - German The Lion of Flanders (1846) online edition ULB Münster
  • Aenspraek tot het Vlaamsche volk (1839)
  • Poems en redevoeringen (1840)
  • Hoe men schilder wordt (How to become a painter) (1843)
  • Het wonderjaer 1566 (1843) (modified new edition van In 't wonderjaer )
  • Siska van Roosemael (1844) - German Siska van Roosemael: true story of a virgin who is still alive (1846)
  • Wat eene moeder lijden kann (1844) - dt. What a mother can suffer [a true story] (1846). Digitized edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf
  • De sleutel der gezuiverde spelling (1844)
  • Geschiedenis van België (1845) - German history of Belgium [From the oldest to the most recent] (1847)
  • Geschiedenis van graef Hugo van Craenhove en van zynen vriend Abulfaragus (1845) - eng . The story of Count Hugo von Craenhove and his friend Abulfaragus (1846)
  • Avondstonden (1846) - German evening hours (1846). Online edition ULB Münster
    • therein: De kwade hand (1846) (dt .: Die böse Hand . (= Cabinet of Fantastics Vol. 40). Translated and with an afterword by Heiko Postma . JMB-Verlag, 2013. ISBN 978-3-944342-13 -9 ).
  • Eenige bladzijden uit het boek der natuer (1846) - English leaves from the beech of nature (1851)
  • Lambrecht Hensmans (1847) - German 1847
  • Jacob van Artevelde (1846) - German Jacob von Artevelde [The Citizen of Gent] (1849)
  • Baes Gansendonck (1850) - German 1853
  • Houten Clara (1850) - German The Wooden Clara (1851)
  • De loteling (1850) - German The Recruit (1851). Online edition ULB Münster
  • Blinde Roza (1850) - German Blinde Rosa (1851)
  • De arme edelman (1851) - German The poor nobleman (1851)
  • H. Conscience aen zijne medeburgers (1851)
  • Rikke-tikke-tak (1851) - German 1917
  • De gierigaerd (1852) - German The Miser (1852)
  • De boerenkrijg 1798 (1853) - German The Peasants' War 1798 [historical painting from the 18th century] (1853)
  • De grootmoeder (1853) - German The Grandmother (1853)
  • Hlodwig en Clothildis (1854) - German Clovis and Chlothilde [historical painting from the 5th century] (1854)
  • Het geluk van rijk te zijn (1855) - dt. The happiness of being rich (1855)
  • De plaeg der dorpen (1855) - German The Village Plage (1855)
  • De geldduivel (1856) - German Der Geldteufel [painting from our time] (1856)
  • Description of the national jubilation celebrations te Brussel gevierd ter Lageheid van de 25e verjaring der inhuldiging van Z. M. Leopold I (1856)
  • Moeder Job (1856) - German mother Job (1856). Online edition dilibri Rhineland-Palatinate
  • De zending der vrouw (1856)
  • Batavia (1858) - German 1858
  • Mengelingen (1858) (Contents: De zending der vrouw, Het boetende meisje, De moordenaar, De maagd van Vlaanderen, De brandende schaapherder, De grootmoeder)
  • Herinneringen uit het leven van Hendrik Conscience's eerste jeugd , De omwenteling van 1830 (1858)
  • Redevoeringen (1858)
  • The long nail (1858)
  • De kwael der tijds (1859)
  • Simon Turchi of De Italianen te Antwerpen (1859)
  • De jonge doctor (1860) - dt. The young doctor (1860). Online edition dilibri Rhineland-Palatinate
  • Het ijzeren Graf (1860)
  • Bella Stock (1861)
  • De burgers van Darlingen (1861)
  • Het goudland (1862)
  • Moederliefde (1862)
  • De koopman van Antwerpen (1863) - German The Merchant of Antwerp (1864)
  • Human Bloed (1864)
  • Het boek der Natur (1863)
  • Eene uitvinding des duivels (1864)
  • Bavo en Lieveken (1865)
  • Valentijn (1865)
  • De ziekte der verbeelding (1865)
  • De burgemeester van Luik (1866)
  • Levenslust (1868)
  • De Kerels van Vlaanderen (1871)
  • Een goed hart (1872)
  • Koning Oriand (1872)
  • Eene 0 te veel (1872)
  • Een slachtoffer der moederliefde (1872)
  • Eene stem uit het graf (1872)
  • De twee vrienden (1872)
  • Een zeemanshuisgezin (1872)
  • De Dichter en zijn droombeeld (1872)
  • De baanwachter (1873)
  • Levensbeschrijving van F. A. Snellaert (1873)
  • De minnezanger (1873)
  • Everard T'Serclaes (1874)
  • De keus des hart (1874)
  • Levensbeschrijving van Willem de Mol (1874)
  • Een verwarde zaak (1874)
  • Schandevrees (1875)
  • Gerechtigheid van Hertog Karel (1876)
  • De oom van Felix Roobeek (1877) - German The uncle of Felix Rohbeck (1900)
  • De schat van Felix Roobeek (1878)
  • Het wassen beeld (1879)
  • Een welopgevoede butter (1880)
  • Een gekkenwereld (1880)
  • Adel money (1881)
  • Redevoeringen uitgesproken in de Koninklijke Academie van België on 11 May 1881 (1881)
  • Histoires et tendances de la litterature flamande (1881)
  • Geschiedenis mijner jeugd (1888) (= extension of De omwenteling van 1830 )
  • De duivel uit het slangenbosch (1889) (completed by M. Antheunis-Conscience)
  • De geest (?)
  • De engel des goeds en de geest des kwaads (?)
  • De nieuwe Niobe (?)
  • De omwenteling van 1830 (?)
  • De podagrist (?)
  • De schoolmeester ten tijde van Maria Theresia (?)
  • Het beulskind (?)
  • Wellust en geloof (?)
  • Quinten Massys (?)
  • Striata formosissima of de dahlia's koorts (?)
  • De poesjenellenkelder (from Geschiedenis mijner jeugd , 1961)
  • Onuitgegeven en weinig gekende brieven van Hendrik Conscience (1966–1967)

expenditure

  • Volledige werken (ndl.). 30 vols. 1912.
  • Work edition (German). 75 vols. 1846-1884

Film adaptations

  • 1974: Jan the Mercenary ( De Loteling )
  • 1984: The Lion of Flanders ( De Leeuw van Vlaanderen )

See also

literature

  • de Bock, Eugeen: Hendrik Conscience, zijn persoon en zijn werk. Amsterdam 1912 (?).
  • de Bock, Eugeen: Hendrik Conscience en de opkomst van de Vlaamse romantiek. Antwerp / Amsterdam 1919.
  • Degroote, G .: "Hendrik Conscience." In: Bork, G. J. / Verkruijsse, P. J .: De Nederlandse en Vlaamse auteurs. Van middeleeuwen tot heden met including van de Friese auteurs. Weesp: De Haan 1985.
  • Fris, Victor: De bronnen van de historical romans van Conscience. Amsterdam: Conscience-comiteit van Antwerpen 1913.
  • Hamelius, Paul: Histoire politique et littéraire du mouvement flamand from 19e siècle. Brussels: L'Églantine 1925.
  • Jostes, Franz: Hendrik Conscience. (= Publications of the Society for the Maintenance of German-Flemish Relations). Mönchengladbach: Volksvereins-Verlag 1917.
  • Lambin, Marcel: Hendrik Conscience: bladzijden uit de Roman van een Romancier. Antwerp: De Vlijt 1974.
  • Sabbe, Maurits et al .: Hendrik Conscience: Studiën en kritieken. Antwerp: Bouchery 1913.
  • Alfons Nowack : Briven van Conscience to Melchior Baron von Diepenbrock , prinsbisschop van Breslau. Wroclaw 1932.
  • Smits, Frans: Henri Conscience et le romantisme flamand. Brussels: Office de publicité 1943.
  • Tommel, Sieglinde: Nation and National Literature . A sociological analysis of the relationship between literature and society in Belgium between 1830 and 1840. Berlin: Duncker and Humblot 1976.
  • van Hattum, Marinus: "Hendrik Conscience en Nederland." In: Ons erfdeel, 26, 1983, No. 2, pp. 177-190.
  • Westerlinck, Albert: “Hulde aan Conscience.” In: Dietsche warande en belfort, 128, 1983. pp. 266–281.
  • Westerlinck, Albert: Wie what Hendrik Conscience? , Leuven: Acco 1983.
  • Willekens, Emiel: Hendrik Conscience 1812–1883. Brussels: Manteau 1961.
  • Willekens, Emiel: Profiel van Hendrik Conscience 1812-1883. Antwerp: Stichting Hendrik Conscience 1982.
  • Willekens, Emiel / Somers, Marc / van Ruyssevelt, Antoon: Hendrik Conscience en zijn tijd. Kroniek van Consciences leven […]. Antwerp: Stichting Mercator-Plantijn 1983.

Web links

Commons : Hendrik Conscience  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Conscience, Hendrik
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian writer
DATE OF BIRTH December 3, 1812
PLACE OF BIRTH Antwerp
DATE OF DEATH September 10, 1883
Place of death Elsene near Brussels