The Multilingualism of Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687)

The Multilingualism of Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687)

Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, Italian, English, Spanish, and German: those are the eight languages in which Dutch Golden Age poet Constantijn Huygens (1596—1687) wrote his poetry and correspondence. He also knew a bit of Hebrew and Portuguese. Examining awide range of Huygens’s writings“including personal letters, state correspondence, and poetry“Christopher Joby explores how Huygens tested the boundaries of language with his virtuosity as a polyglot. From Huygens’s multilingual code switching to his writings on architecture, music, and natural science, this comprehensive account is a must-read for anyone interested in this Dutch statesman and man of letters.
  • Cover
  • Table of Contents
  • List of Abbreviations
  • Acknowledgements
  • Prologue
  • 1. Multilingualism: An Introduction
  • 2. Huygens’s Language Acquisition
  • 3. The ‘Multidimensionality’ of Huygens’s Multilingualism
  • 4. Huygens’s Multilingualism in Music, Science, and Architecture
  • 5. Huygens and Translation
  • 6. Code Switching in Huygens’s work
  • 7. The Multilingualism of Huygens’s Children
  • Epilogue
  • Appendix
  • Bibliography
  • Index
  • List of Illustrations
    • Fig. 1: Calligraphic page by Anna Maria van Schurman. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KW 121 D 2-49 II.
    • Fig. 2: Deum Colendum Esse. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KW KA 43a-2 p. 4.
    • Fig. 3: Titlepage of 1658 edition of Korenbloemen. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KW 302 E 52.
    • Fig. 4: Jacob van Campen, Double Portrait of Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687) and Suzanna van Baerle (1599-1637), c. 1635. Canvas, 95 × 78.5 cm, inv. 1089. Purchased by the Friends of the Mauritshuis Foundation with the support of private individuals, 1992
    • Fig. 5a: Hofwijck 2013. Photo Michel Groen. © Hofwijck.
    • Fig. 5b: ‘Vitaulium. Hofwijck’, 1653. Proof with annotations in Huygens’s own hand for the engraving for the first edition of the poem. Collection Huygensmuseum Hofwijck.
    • Fig. 5c: A diagram of Hofwijck demonstrating that the house and gardens are in proportion to the human body. Drawing R. Jongepier after R.J. van Pelt.
    • Figs 6a and 6b: Huygens’s address to the reader for his translations of John Donne’s poems into Dutch: Korenbloemen (1658), Book XVII, 1089-1090. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KW 302 E 52.
    • Fig. 7: Letter from Huygens to Anna Maria van Schurman dated 7 October 1667 (Worp 6, 6620). The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KW KA 44, nr. 504.
    • Fig. 8: Huygens’s 1625 poem, Olla Podrida. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KW KA 40a, 1625, fol. 5r.
    • Fig. 9: Adriaen Hanneman, Portrait of Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687) and His Five Children, 1640. Canvas, 204.2 × 173.9 cm, inv. 241. The Hague, Het Mauritshuis.

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