De Gulden Passer. Jaargang 27

[p. 70]

Résumés en langue française
English summaries

Rhetoricians and prose romances

Of the prose romances, published in the Low Countries during the first half of the sixteenth century, a considerable number have partly been written in Rhetoricians' verses, viz. ‘refreynen’ (refrains, i.e. strophic poems), monologues and dialogues, prologues, epilogues, etc. - A certain evolution of the genre itself can be traced, showing its climax between 1515 and 1523.

A careful investigation of the ‘Historie van Floris ende Blanceflour’ led us to the hypothesis that Anna Bijns is the author of this adaptation from the Middle Dutch poem by Diederik of Assenede. That opinion is mainly based on the facts that we meet her device ‘meer suers dan soedts’ in the ‘Prologhe’ and that the verses show the spoilt acrostic BNNNS.

The histories of ‘Alexander van Mets’, ‘Broeder Russche’ (Friar Rush) and ‘Frederick van Jenuen’ (Frederyke of Jennen) have a few verses in common. Probably one and the same person has translated them from their German examples. A connection even seems to exist between ‘Frederick van Jenuen’ and a few poems in Jan van Stijevoort's famous volume, and in the so called manuscript-A, sometimes ascribed to Anna Bijns. Is she also the author of the three romances mentioned above?

For those, intending to acquire profound knowledge of the literature of the Rhetoricians, the prose romances merit a thorough and close examination.

Dr Luc Debaene.

Inventaires médiévaux de bibliothèques belges

Cette liste fait suite à l'article paru dans le numéro précédent⁽¹⁾ et contient des inventaires publiés de bibliothèques privées et de collections de manuscrits ayant appartenu aux églises et chapelles belges. Les données fournies dans les miscellanea de notre article antérieur ne furent pas reprises et les collections abritées à l'étranger ne furent pas mentionnées. Tel fut e.a. le cas pour la plupart des bibliothèques princières et les donations de livres à la Sorbonne.

R.L. Plancke.

(1) Cfr t. XXVI, 1948, pp. 237-252

[p. 71]

The manuscript of the so called ‘refereynen of C. Crul’

It has been the merit of D^r J.A. Goris to have drawn the attention of literary historians on a Flemish manuscript of the XVIth century, since the middle of the XVIIIth century in the British Museum (Sloane Ms. N^r 1174).

Since the notice of the well known Flemish critic - published in ‘De Gulden Passer’ (1926) - remained rather sketchy and didn't always prove completely accurate, we thought it useful to give a more detailed description of this manuscript and to pay special attention to the poems of C. Crul, a ‘Rederijker’ who lived in Antwerp in the first half of the XVIth century.

The manuscript (paper; 145 folios; 10 to 20 lines to the page) dates probably from the 3rd quarter of the XVIth century and was written by several hands. It contains: 39 ‘Refreinen’ (one of A. De Roovere (c. 1420-1482), 2 of N. Knibbe, one of Anna Bijns (1493-1575), one of Fr. Fraet (1520-1558) and one probably written by C. Crul and for the first time published by us) and a few other poems, some of which by C. Crul, namely: Den Geestelijcken ABC (a poem of 25 stanzas of 13 lines, each stanza beginning with a letter of the alphabet, written in 1534, also known from other manuscripts and printed editions of the XVIth century); rhymed versions with introduction of Psalm Nr 13 (Vulgate Nr 12) and Nr 77 (Vulgate Nr 76), published for the first time in this article; 2 ‘Retrograden’ and probably Den corten ABC.

No other poem in this manuscript can be ascribed to C. Crul with certainty. The authorship of most of the ‘Refreinen’ cannot be established. The only thing we know is that 4 of them are surely not and one is only probably of the Antwerp ‘Rederijker’. Therefore it is better to consider this manuscript as an anthology of ‘Rederijkers’-poetry and not as ‘the Refreinen of C. Crul’, the way Dr J.A. Goris rather unfortunately put it.

A more thorough study of all the literary products of which Crul's authorship is settled (not only the poems contained in the Sloane Manuscript, but also the Farce of Heynken de Luyere, his translations of 4 Colloquia of Erasmus, ‘Mont toe borse toe’ and other minor poems) would undoubtedly throw more light upon this attractive but puzzling figure who has not yet received a satisfactory treatment in literary handbooks.

A. Van Elslander and L. Roose.