This article offers the first substantial survey of the Middle Dutch satire Dit es de Frenesie since the work of C.P. Serrure in the mid nineteenth century. It contests much of the conventional wisdom surrounding De Frenesie, challenging the poem's usual classification as an early boerde or fabliau. Instead it is argued that the text is an experimental work, which blends together elements of several satiric traditions without committing itself to any one. The implications of this maneuver and others within the text are considered, revealing the poem's clear sympathy with the newly educated and articulate laity. De Frenesie itself is appended in both the original Middle Dutch and an English verse translation.
In de middeleeuwen was geweld op de zeeën rondom Europa endemisch. Piraterij was de norm. Scheepvaart en geweld gingen hand in hand. In de Lage Landen was het niet anders. Vanaf de vorming van de kustgraafschappen tot aan de Nederlandse Opstand waren handel, zeeroof en maritieme oorlogvoering onlosmakelijk met elkaar verbonden. In de middeleeuwse Nederlanden kwamen de admiraliteit, de vlootorganisatie, het bouwen en uitrusten van oorlogsschepen, maritieme tactieken en strategische functies van de marine tot ontwikkeling. Wie de opkomst van de Nederlandse Republiek als zeemogendheid wil begrijpen ontkomt er niet aan verder terug te kijken dan de watergeuzen.
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During the medieval and early modern periods, the mock sermon was one of the most widely staged festive rituals. There are records of its performance in most European countries and cultures. But despite its clear popularity in England, few of these texts are extant in English. Fewer still have been translated in their entirety. To remedy this situation, we provide here a translation of the sixteenth century Dutch poem Spotsermoen over Sint Niemand. This piece embodies most of the key features of the mock sermon; the text's rhetorical strategies, its content, and the details it reveals about its performance are all typical of the genre. Thus, the poem is offered as a specimen of the mock sermon's overall conventions and forms.
