Lecture by Dr. Roberto Dagnino (University of Strassbourg / Zentrum Marc Bloch Berlin)

in the context of the course ‘Culture, Society, and History of the Low Countries Reflected in Literature’ (Institut für Europäische und Vergleichende Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft EVSL, Abt. für Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft/Nederlandistik, Universität Wien)

Short abstract:

The tradition of national personifications goes back to antiquity, with the goddesses Athens and Rome. Since modern times, this tradition was adopted by countries to represent themselves as a united body. The origins of the Dutch Maiden date back to the Low Countries under the Spanish Habsburgs. Since the Republic of the United Provinces, she underwent a considerable iconographic evolution, both in appearance and in attributes. In his lecture, Dr. Dagnino will discuss this evolution against the background of changes in the Dutch political constellation, e.g. the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Orange Monarchy (1813-1814). In a contemporary European perspective, Dagnino will consider how the Dutch Maiden could de facto disappear from collective imagination, in contrast to for instance the well-known French Marianne.