Rodenbach, Albrecht

▪ Flemish writer

born Oct. 27, 1856, Roeselare, Belg.

died June 23, 1880, Roeselare

      Flemish poet who helped to inspire the late 1870s revival in Flemish literature that was intended to counteract the growing French influence on Belgian cultural life.

      When Rodenbach went to the Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain) in 1876, he at once sought to mobilize student support for a revival of Flemish culture. A volume of his verse, Eerste Gedichten (1878; “First Poems”), was published before his early death. He also wrote a grandiose verse play, Gudrun, which was published posthumously in 1882. Rodenbach's militant poems and songs were taken up with enthusiasm by the Roman Catholic Flemish youth movement (Flemish movement) in the 1880s. His collected works (Verzamelde werken), edited by F. Baur, were published in three volumes from 1956 to 1960.

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