Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers: Drinking and Drunkenness in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Low Countries

This article discusses drinking practices and conceptions of drunkenness in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Low Countries from the perspective of the rederijkers or guildsmen who would regularly gather together to practice the vernacular art of rhetoric. The essay surveys the regulations and...

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Main Authors:	Anne-Laure Van Bruaene, Sarah Van Bouchaute
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Open Journals 2017-07-01
Series:	Early Modern Low Countries
Subjects:	alcohol drunkenness guilds rederijkers genre painting Low Countries
Online Access:	https://emlc-journal.org/article/view/7131

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spelling	doaj-6c5ec3e0a96043afbeb542fa9e99a2862021-07-02T19:37:16ZengOpen JournalsEarly Modern Low Countries2543-15872017-07-0111Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers: Drinking and Drunkenness in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Low CountriesAnne-Laure Van BruaeneSarah Van BouchauteThis article discusses drinking practices and conceptions of drunkenness in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Low Countries from the perspective of the rederijkers or guildsmen who would regularly gather together to practice the vernacular art of rhetoric. The essay surveys the regulations and accounts of the chambers of rhetoric in which these gatherings took place, as well as the literary texts the rederijkers produced (including poetry, songs and theatre plays). It also examines the intersections with contemporary genre painting. The central argument of this paper is that drinking, and even drunkenness, was an essential aspect of rederijker culture and the urban middling groups represented by this culture. This argument nuances the influential thesis of the pervasiveness of a Dutch burgermoraal or bourgeois morality. Even though they created comical caricatures of drunkards, rederijkers indulged in heavy drinking themselves. These guildsmen were well aware of the need for moderation, but their regulations and literary texts go beyond moral didacticism and often reveal double layers and self-parody.https://emlc-journal.org/article/view/7131alcoholdrunkennessguildsrederijkersgenre paintingLow Countries
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Anne-Laure Van Bruaene Sarah Van Bouchaute
spellingShingle	Anne-Laure Van Bruaene Sarah Van Bouchaute Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers: Drinking and Drunkenness in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Low Countries Early Modern Low Countries alcohol drunkenness guilds rederijkers genre painting Low Countries
author_facet	Anne-Laure Van Bruaene Sarah Van Bouchaute
author_sort	Anne-Laure Van Bruaene
title	Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers: Drinking and Drunkenness in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Low Countries
title_short	Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers: Drinking and Drunkenness in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Low Countries
title_full	Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers: Drinking and Drunkenness in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Low Countries
title_fullStr	Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers: Drinking and Drunkenness in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Low Countries
title_full_unstemmed	Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers: Drinking and Drunkenness in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Low Countries
title_sort	rederijkers, kannenkijkers: drinking and drunkenness in the sixteenth and seventeenth-century low countries
publisher	Open Journals
series	Early Modern Low Countries
issn	2543-1587
publishDate	2017-07-01
description	This article discusses drinking practices and conceptions of drunkenness in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Low Countries from the perspective of the rederijkers or guildsmen who would regularly gather together to practice the vernacular art of rhetoric. The essay surveys the regulations and accounts of the chambers of rhetoric in which these gatherings took place, as well as the literary texts the rederijkers produced (including poetry, songs and theatre plays). It also examines the intersections with contemporary genre painting. The central argument of this paper is that drinking, and even drunkenness, was an essential aspect of rederijker culture and the urban middling groups represented by this culture. This argument nuances the influential thesis of the pervasiveness of a Dutch burgermoraal or bourgeois morality. Even though they created comical caricatures of drunkards, rederijkers indulged in heavy drinking themselves. These guildsmen were well aware of the need for moderation, but their regulations and literary texts go beyond moral didacticism and often reveal double layers and self-parody.
topic	alcohol drunkenness guilds rederijkers genre painting Low Countries
url	https://emlc-journal.org/article/view/7131
work_keys_str_mv	AT annelaurevanbruaene rederijkerskannenkijkersdrinkinganddrunkennessinthesixteenthandseventeenthcenturylowcountries AT sarahvanbouchaute rederijkerskannenkijkersdrinkinganddrunkennessinthesixteenthandseventeenthcenturylowcountries
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Rederijkers, Kannenkijkers: Drinking and Drunkenness in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Low Countries

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