New Author For The Wilhelmus?

The oldest known national anthem in the world, the Dutch ‘Wilhelmus’, was written around 1570. For centuries it was thought that the author was Filips van Marnix, Lord of St. Aldegonde (1540-1598). Marnix van St. Aldegonde was a Flemish nobleman, mayor of Antwerp and some sort of a spin doctor of the house of Orange.

However based on computer algorithms Dutch and Flemish scholars now come to a different conclusion. Mike Kestemont of the University of Antwerp says that not Marnix van St. Aldegonde but the reformed 16th century poet Petrus Datheen is the author of the poem that was later put on music. The Wilhelmus only became the national anthem of The Netherlands in 1932 as it was more popular and more widely used than the ‘Wien Neerlands Bloed’.

           

             Petrus Datheen                                    Filips van Marnix, Lord of St. Aldegonde

The text of the Wilhelmus originated in the Dutch struggle to achieve independence. It tells of William of Orange, his life, and why he is fighting against the Spanish King. The anthem is written in the first person, as if quoting William of Orange himself. The first letters of each verse form the words: WILLEM VAN NASSOV.

In the clip below the 1st and 7th verse of the anthem is song during the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander in 2013:

More information in Dutch, here.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged National Anthem, William of Orange.