Anna Bijns
The first writer who used the Dutch tongue with grace and precision of style was a woman and a professed opponent of Lutheranism and reformed thought. Modern Dutch literature practically begins with Anna Bijns (c. 1494–1575). Bijns, who is believed to have been born at Antwerp in 1494, was a schoolmistress at that city in her middle life, and in old age she still instructed youth in the Catholic religion. She died on April 10, 1575. From her work we know that she was a lay nun, that and she occupied a position of honour and influence at Antwerp. Bijns' main target were the faith and character of Luther. In her first volume of poetry (1528) the Lutherans are scarcely mentioned and focus lies on her personal experience of faith, but in that of 1538 every page is occupied with invectives against them. All the poems of Anna Bijns still extant are of the form called refereinen (refrains). Her mastery over verse form is considered remarkable. With the writings of Anna Bijns, the period of Middle Dutch closes and the modern Dutch begins.
Read more about this topic: Medieval Dutch Literature
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