Mytho-poetics at Work

Rengenier Rittersma studied History and German Philology (cum laude) in Amsterdam and Heidelberg and obtained his Ph.D. in History from the European University Institute, Florence. His current project is Tartufomania: Truffle Obsessions in Europe since the Renaissance.

“This book is a splendid achievement: the research is prodigious, the work is clearly organized, and the writing is elegant and even witty. I certainly learned much that I did not know about a classic work of German literature.” Theodore Ziolkowski, Princeton University“Rittersma's book can be perceived as a cornerstone in a cultural history of Europe, since it is one of the very first studies that systematically tackles the transformation, during a period of more than two centuries, of a historical figure.” Peter Burschel, Director Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel“Rittersma’s meditations on myths are thoughtful and illuminating […]. This rich study deserves to be read by historians and literature specialists alike.” Jan Machielsen, Cardiff University. In: The English Historical Review, Vol. 134, Issue 568 (June 2019), pp. 701–703.“meticulously researched […] This book provides an often witty and engaging account of the history, influence, and transformation of a historical figure.”Dannielle Shaw, University of Groningen. In: European History Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 2 (April 2019), pp. 346–347.“highly informative and engrossing […] a paradigm for the mythmaking of historical figures.”Cornelia Niekus Moore, University of Hawaii, Emeritus. In: Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 49, No. 4 (2018), pp. 1277–1279. “a fascinating analysis of the work process of Goethe and Schiller, which Rittersma describes with great attention to detail and great joy.”Liesbeth Geevers, Lund University. In: Cuadernos de Historia Moderna, Vol. 44, No. 2 (2019), pp. 661–663.“For scholars of Goethe and Schiller, Rittersma performs an invaluable service.” Simon Richter, University of Pennsylvania. In: Goethe Yearbook, Vol. 28 (2021), pp. 387–389. “[Rittersma] legt die komplexe Beziehung von Mythos und Realität offen.” Olaf Mörke, Universität Kiel. In: H-Soz-Kult, 16.03.2020.“Cet ouvrage, par l'ampleur et l'exhaustivité du corpus analysé, constitue un bel exemple d'une manière nouvelle d'incorporer l'étude de sources à l'analyse des textes: elle ne se limite pas aux sources dont l'utilisation est attestée, ni à peser la signification des choix des détails retenus dans l'économie de l'œuvre, mais elle retrace sur un mode archéologique toute une présence diffuse et souterraine en amont, comparée à des rhizomes, et replacée elle-même dans les enjeux idéologiques du moment de leur rédaction et saisie dans ses mutations, pour aboutir à l'acmè des années 1780.” Gérard Laudin, Sorbonne Université (émérite). In: Études germaniques, 2022.

• Preface to the German EditionAcknowledgementsList of IllustrationsIntroductionPart 1To Order the Unprecedented: Egmont in Proto-HistoriographySection 1Prolegomena1 Preliminary Remarks on the Source Corpus2 Biographical Information on the Eyewitnesses and AuthorsSection 2The Various Layers of the Early Egmont Reception3 The Atavistic Layer4 The Particularistic Layer5 The Theocratic Redemptive-Historical Layer6 The Religious-Confessional Layer7 The Person-Centered LayerIntermezzo: The Sacred LayerContinuation of the Person-Centered Layer8 The Anti-Spanish Layer9 The Anti-Spanish Layer in the Early Foreign Egmont ReceptionConcluding Remarks: On Dealing with the Quirks of HistoryPart 2To Exploit the Anachronism: Egmont in Historiography10 Preliminary Remarks on the Source Corpus11 A Historiographical Subgenus: Herography12 The Struggle for Preponderance: Historiography in the Wake of Sectarian Wrangling13 The Target: The Supremacy of Northern Dutch Historiography14 In the Wake of Politics: Grotius’ Historiography as “Certification” of the Republic’s Birth15 In the Name of the Search for Truth: De Thou’s Historiography as an Irenic Manifesto16 Under the Spell of prudentia: Strada’s and Bentivoglio’s Historiography as a Political Lesson1 The Baroque: More than a Transitional Stage Between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment2 “Quell’Aiace e questo Ulisse.” Egmont and Orange in Strada and Bentivoglio17 In the Spirit of the Enlightenment: Wagenaar’s Historiography as an Empirical Analysis of the PastConcluding Remarks: On Dealing with the History’s Late-ComersPart 3To Eulogise the Unfeigned: Egmont in the European Age of RevolutionSection 1The Dead End: On How the German Baroque Left Behind No Trace of EgmontSection 2“The Path to Glory”: Egmont’s Finest Hour in the Revolutionary Era18 Defining the Problem, Delineating the Theme19 The Development of the Chosen One: On Goethe’s Sources for His Egmont Tragedy20 The Development of the Chosen One: On Schiller’s Sources for His Egmont Treatment21 “Under Similar Constellations”: A Star Over Brussels, Rome, Weimar22 Egmont, or: The Excess of Noble-Mindedness23 Egmont, the Man of Integrity, or: Praise for an Honest and Undisguised Man24 Synopsis: The Afterlife of Count Lamoral of Egmont Since 1800Concluding Remarks: Dealing with the Patterns of HistoryAfterword: On the Writhing Carcas and the homo amplificatorAppendix 1: The Element of Chess in Goethe’s EgmontAppendix 2: Illustrations of the Process of MycorrhizaAppendix 3: Textual Comparison between the Ypres Eyewitness Account and Pieter Christiaenszoon Bor’s Nederlantsche OorloghenAppendix 4: Schematic Overview of the Transmission of the Egmont Material between the Proto- and the Historiographical Phases of the Egmont ReceptionAppendix 5: Summary of the State of Research on Goethe’s Egmont in German StudiesAppendix 6: Complete Passages on Egmont’s Noble-MindednessAppendix 7: Extensive Citation from Fugger-ZeitungPublished Primary SourcesUnpublished Primary Sources: Manuscripts and PamphletsSecondary LiteratureRegister of Names