Recensie van Jongstra, A. (2002) De tak van Salzburg. Met bruikbare teksten om onderwijs te veraangenamen.
This article offers the first substantial survey of the Middle Dutch satire Dit es de Frenesie since the work of C.P. Serrure in the mid nineteenth century. It contests much of the conventional wisdom surrounding De Frenesie, challenging the poem's usual classification as an early boerde or fabliau. Instead it is argued that the text is an experimental work, which blends together elements of several satiric traditions without committing itself to any one. The implications of this maneuver and others within the text are considered, revealing the poem's clear sympathy with the newly educated and articulate laity. De Frenesie itself is appended in both the original Middle Dutch and an English verse translation.
In c.1330 the Antwerp public servant Jan van Boendale composed Der Leken Spieghel (The Layman's Mirror), a free adaption of several earlier Latin treatises on education. Van Boendale evidently wanted to ensure that a clear and reliable handbook was available to the laity, who lacked sufficient training in Latin to access the original texts. Der Leken Spieghel consists of four books, each divided into numerous smaller sections. This article presents a fresh translation of paragraph 113, which outlines the four characteristics needed to conduct an honourable life.
