During the medieval and early modern periods, the mock sermon was one of the most widely staged festive rituals. There are records of its performance in most European countries and cultures. But despite its clear popularity in England, few of these texts are extant in English. Fewer still have been translated in their entirety. To remedy this situation, we provide here a translation of the sixteenth century Dutch poem Spotsermoen over Sint Niemand. This piece embodies most of the key features of the mock sermon; the text's rhetorical strategies, its content, and the details it reveals about its performance are all typical of the genre. Thus, the poem is offered as a specimen of the mock sermon's overall conventions and forms.
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Until recently, we separated farmers and urban communities. Each had their own ministries, policy plans, cultures, knowledge and education institutes and even political parties. Now we accept that this division is gone in the Netherlands. Rural areas ceased to exist, and urbanity was found everywhere. Former rural areas were transformed into green spaces inside metropolitan areas. Farmers and peaceful villages woke up and saw themselves surrounded by cities. Even more: city dwellers became their neighbours. The time has come that we look upon farming and urbanised areas as an integrated system.
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Een schoone ende wonderlijcke prognosticate (1560) is one of many Dutch texts dealing with the trickster Till Eulenspiegel, known as "Tijl Uilenspiegel" in the Low Countries and "Owlglass" in England. The poem differs from most Eulenspiegel literature in two key respects. First, it treats the figure as a narrator rather than a character, and second, it seems designed for performance rather than simple recital. We offer here an English translation of this remarkable piece, lightly annotated throughout.
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