Poems on the Lord’s Supper by the Dutch Calvinist Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687)

These renditions of Huygens are a sure guide to their original, and also a pleasure to read in their own right. Whether used as an aid to literary, historical and theological research, as a stimulus to devotion or simply as a way of finding out more about one of seventeenth-century Europe’s finest poets, there is plenty here to nourish the reader. - Prof. Alison Shell University of Durham

“. . . succeed[s] in remaining faithful to the form of the original poems and this is no small feat! Huygens is one of the most idiosyncratic poets in the Dutch seventeenth century: [this] rendering of him in a different language is truly impressive because in the English version he remains Huygens. - Prof. J. Pieters, Ghent University

“. . . the selected poems are intriguing. They are all reflections on The Lord’s Supper, brought together from a period of forty years. In a deeply religious and highly intellectual spirit the poet (and his translator) portrays his relationship towards God, expressing his ideas in well-balanced wordings and powerful formulations. Furthermore it is a major contribution both to the Huygens studies in the Netherlands and to the internationalization of this eminent figure of the Dutch Golden Age. – Prof. Frans R.E. Blom , Universiteit van Amsterdam

Table of Dates
Foreword by Dr. Alison Shell
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Constantijn Huygens: The Early Years
Huygens’ Friendships and Influence on Cultural Life in the Dutch Republic
Important literary figures in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic
The life and works of Huygens
Constantijn Huygens’ Poems on the Lord’s Supper
Note on manuscripts and prints
Reference table for manuscripts and prints
Translator’s Note
Texts and Translations of Poems by Constantijn Huygens on The Lord’s Supper with annotations
Poem 1
Poem 2 (Latin)
Poem 3
Poem 4
Poem 5
Poem 6
Poem 7
Poem 8 (Latin)
Poem 9
Poem 10
Poem 11
Poem 12
Poem 13
Poem 14
Poem 15
Poem 16
Poem 17
Poem 18
Copy of original manuscript for poem 1
Appendix 1: Two poems by Jacobus Revius with Translations by Christopher Joby
Appendix 2: A poem to Tesselschade Visscher by Constantijn Huygens translated by Christopher Joby
Select Bibliography
Index