The Literature Of The Arminian Controversy: Religion, Politics And The Stage In The Dutch Republic University Press Scholarship Online

The Literature of the Arminian Controversy highlights the importance of the Arminian Controversy (1609-1619) for the understanding of the literary and intellectual culture of the Dutch Golden Age. Taking into account a wide array of sources, ranging from theological and juridical treatises, to pamphlets, plays and and libel poetry, it offers not only a deeper contextualization of some of the most canonical works of the period, such as the works of Dirck Volckertz, Coornhert, Hugo Grotius, and Joost van den Vondel, but also invites the reader to rethink the way we view the relation between literature and theology in early modern culture. The book argues that the controversy over divine predestination acted as a catalyst for literary and cultural change, tracing the impact of disputed ideas on grace and will, religious toleration and the rights of the civil magistrate in satirical literature, poetry, and plays. Conversely, it reads the theological and political works as literature, by examining the rhetoric and tropes of religious controversy. Analyzing the way in which literature shapes the political and religious imaginary, it allows us to look beyond the history of doctrine, or the history of political rights, to include the emotive and imaginative power of such narrative, myth, and metaphor. Cover The Literature of the Arminian Controversy: Religion, Politics, and the Stage in the Dutch Republic Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents List of Illustrations Introduction 1: Church at the Crossroads: The Reformed in the Dutch Republic 1.1 THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 1.2 THE DEBATE ON LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE 1.3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARMINIANISM 2: Poets, Playwrights, and Pamphleteers during the Arminian Controversy 2.1 THE ADVENT OF CONTROVERSY: FROM THE REMONSTRANCE TO THE ORDINUM PIETAS (1613) 2.2 GROTIUS’S ORDINUM HOLLANDIAE AC WESTFRISIAE PIETAS 2.3 APPROPRIATING ERASMUS: THE POLARIZATION OF ‘CONSENSUS 2.4 THE ACADEMY AND THE ALEHOUSE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTI-CALVINIST SATIRE 3: Poets on the Offensive: Coster’s Academy and the Staging of Iphigenia 3.1 RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY AND CULTURAL INNOVATION: COSTER AND THE FOUNDING OF THE NEDERDUYTSCHE ACADEMY 3.2 IPHIGENIA AND ANTI-CALVINIST POLEMICS 3.3 IPHIGENIA AND REMONSTRANT ECCLESIOLOGY: THE EXAMPLE OF THE RESPUBLICA HEBRAEORUM 3.4 NATURAL LAW OR NATURAL THEOLOGY? 3.5 IPHIGENIA AND URBAN POLITICS: 1617 4: The Spectre of Civil War: Literary Reactions to the Death of Oldenbarnevelt 4.1 PUBLIC OPINION IN THE ‘YEAR OF VIOLENCE’ 4.2 THE TRAGEDY OF JOHAN VAN OLDENBARNEVELT: TRIAL AND EXECUTION 4.3 ‘THE LORD IS AN AVENGER OVER THOSE WHO OPPRESS THEIR BRETHREN’: THE ARMINIAN EXILES AND THE RHETORIC OF PERSECUTION 4.4 BRUTUS TO HOLLAND: VENGEANCE AND TYRANNICIDE 5: Victim Tragedy and Vengeance: Vondel’s Palamedes (1625) 5.1 SILENCE AND CENSORSHIP 5.2 ‘VENGEANCE, POLITICAL FACTIONS, AND SANGUINARIA CONSILIA’ 5.3 MASKING AND UNMASKING: MACHIAVELLIAN PLOTTING AND THE LIBERTIES OF THE LAND 5.4 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE: THE SYNOD OF DORT AND THE DEATH OF OLDENBARNEVELT 5.5 PALAMEDES SEEKS REVENGE: THE POET AND THE PERSECUTORY IMAGINATION 6: The Academy and the Arminian Controversy in the First Years of Frederik Hendrik’s Stadtholderate 6.1 CONTROVERSY AND THE POPULAR PRESS AT AMSTERDAM, 1626–30 6.2 HAEC LIBERTATIS ERGO: LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE REVISITED 6.3 BABEL: THE ACADEMY’S RHYMED PRIZE CONTEST Conclusion Bibliography MODERN EDITIONS SECONDARY SOURCES Index The Literature of the Arminian Controversy highlights the importance of the Arminian Controversy (1609-1619) for the understanding of the literary and intellectual culture of the Dutch Golden Age. Taking into account a wide array of sources, ranging from theological and juridical treatises, to pamphlets, plays and and libel poetry, it offers not only a deeper contextualisation of some of the most canonical works of the period, such as the works of Dirck Volckertz. Coornhert, Hugo Grotius and Joost van den Vondel, but also invites the reader to rethink the way we view the relation between literature and theology in early modern culture. The book argues how the controversy over divine predestination acted as a catalyst for literary and cultural change, tracing the impact of disputed ideas on grace and will, religious toleration and the rights of the civil magistrate in satirical literature, poetry and plays. Conversely, it reads the theological and political works as literature, by examining the rhetoric and tropes of religious controversy. Analysing the way in which literature shapes the political and religious imaginary, it allows us to look beyond the history of doctrine, or the history of political rights, to include the emotive and imaginative power of such narrative, myth and metaphor.-- Provided by Publisher 'the Literature Of The Arminian Controversy' Highlights The Importance Of The Arminian Controversy (1609-1619) For The Understanding Of The Literary And Intellectual Culture Of The Dutch Golden Age. Taking Into Account A Wide Array Of Sources, Ranging From Theological And Juridical Treatises, To Pamphlets, Plays And And Libel Poetry, It Offers Not Only A Deeper Contextualisation Of Some Of The Most Canonical Works Of The Period, Such As The Works Of Dirckvolckertz. Coornhert, Hugo Grotius And Joost Van Den Vondel, But Also Invites The Reader To Rethink The Way We View The Relation Between Literature And Theology In Early Modern Culture. Church At The Crossroads: The Reformed In The Dutch Republic -- Poets, Playwrights, And Pamphleteers During The Arminian Controversy -- Poets On The Offensive: Coster's Academy And The Staging Of Iphigenia -- The Spectre Of Civil War: Literary Reactions To The Death Of Oldenbarnevelt -- Victim Tragedy And Vengeance: Vondel's Palamedes (1625) -- The Academy And The Arminian Controversy In The First Years Of Frederik Hendrik's Stadtholderate. Freya Sierhuis. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. __The Literature of the Arminian Controversy__