"Wilhelmus van Nassouwe", known simply as "Wilhelmus",[a] is the national anthem of both the Netherlands and its sovereign state, the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It dates back to at least 1572, making it the oldest national anthem in use today, provided that the latter is defined as consisting of both a melody and lyrics.[2][3] Although "Wilhelmus" was not recognized as the official national anthem until 1932, it has always been popular with parts of the Dutch population and resurfaced on several occasions in the course of Dutch history before gaining its present status.[4] It was also the anthem of the Netherlands Antilles from 1954 to 1964.
"Wilhelmus" originated in the Dutch Revolt, the nation's struggle to achieve independence from the Spanish Empire. It tells of the Father of the Nation William of Orange who was stadholder in the Netherlands under the King of Spain. In the first person, as if quoting himself, William speaks to the Dutch about both the revolt and his own, personal struggle: to be faithful to the king,[5] without being unfaithful to his conscience: to serve God and the Dutch. In the lyrics, William compares himself with the biblical David who serves under the tyrannical king Saul. As the merciful David defeats the unjust Saul and is rewarded by God with the kingdom of Israel, so too William hopes to be rewarded with a kingdom. Both "Wilhelmus" and the Dutch Revolt should be seen in the light of the 16th century Reformation in Europe and the resulting persecution of Protestants by the Spanish Inquisition in the Low Countries. Militant music proved very useful not only in lampooning Roman clerks and repressive monarchs but also in generating class-transcending social cohesion. In successfully combining a psalmic character with political relevancy, "Wilhelmus" stands as the pre-eminent example of the genre.[6]
The melody of "Wilhelmus" was borrowed from a well-known Roman Catholic French song titled Autre chanson de la ville de Chartres assiégée par le prince de Condé[7][b] (or Chartres in short). This song ridiculed the failed Siege of Chartres in 1568 by the Huguenot (Protestant) Prince de Condé during the French Wars of Religion. However, the triumphant contents of "Wilhelmus" differ greatly from the content of the original song, making it subversive at several levels. Thus, the Dutch Protestants had taken over an anti-Protestant song, and adapted it into propaganda for their own agenda. In that way, "Wilhelmus" was typical for its time: it was common practice in the 16th century for warring groups to steal each other's songs in order to rewrite them.[5]
Even though the melody stems from 1568, the first known written down version of it comes from 1574; at the time the anthem was sung at a much quicker pace.[8] Dutch composer Adriaen Valerius recorded the current melody of "Wilhelmus" in his Nederlantsche Gedenck-clanck in 1626, slowing down the melody's pace, probably to allow it to be sung in churches.
The origins of the lyrics are uncertain. "Wilhelmus" was first written some time between the start of the Eighty Years' War in April 1568 and the capture of Brielle on 1 April 1572.[9] Soon after the anthem was finished, it was said that either former Antwerp mayor Philips of Marnix or the politician Dirck Coornhert wrote the lyrics. However, this is disputed as neither Marnix nor Coornhert ever mentioned that they had written the lyrics, even though the song was immensely popular in their time. "Wilhelmus" also has some odd rhymes in it. In some cases the vowels of certain words were altered to allow them to rhyme with other words. Some see this as evidence that neither Marnix or Coornhert wrote the anthem, as they were both experienced poets when "Wilhelmus" was written, and it is said they would not have taken these small liberties. Hence some believe that the lyrics of the Dutch national anthem were the creation of someone who just wrote one poem for the occasion and then disappeared from history. A French translation of "Wilhelmus" appeared around 1582.[10]
Recent stylometric research has mentioned Pieter Datheen as a possible author of the text of the Dutch national anthem.[11] By chance, Dutch and Flemish researchers (Meertens Institute, Utrecht University and University of Antwerp) discovered a striking number of similarities between his style and the style of the national anthem.[12][13]
The complete text comprises fifteen stanzas. The anthem is an acrostic: the first letters of the fifteen stanzas formed the name "Willem van Nassov" (Nassov was a contemporary orthographic variant of Nassau). In the current Dutch spelling the first words of the 12th and 13th stanzas begin with Z instead of S.
Like many of the songs of the period, it has a complex structure, composed around a thematic chiasmus: the text is symmetrical, in that verses one and 15 resemble one another in meaning, as do verses two and 14, three and 13, etc., until they converge in the 8th verse, the heart of the song: "Oh David, thou soughtest shelter from King Saul's tyranny. Even so I fled this welter", where the comparison is made not only between the biblical David and William of Orange as a merciful and just leader of the Dutch Revolt, but also between the tyrant King Saul and the Spanish crown, and between the promised land of Israel granted by God to David, and a kingdom granted by God to William.[14]
In the first person, as if quoting himself, William speaks about how his disagreement with his king troubles him; he tries to be faithful to his king,[5] but he is above all faithful to his conscience: to serve God and the Dutch people. Therefore, the last two lines of the first stanza indicate that the leader of the Dutch civil war against the Spanish Empire, of which they were part, had no specific quarrel with king Philip II of Spain, but rather with his emissaries in the Low Countries, such as Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba. This may have been because at the time (late 16th century) it was uncommon to doubt publicly the divine right of kings, who were accountable to God alone.[15] In 1581 the Netherlands nevertheless rejected the legitimacy of the king of Spain's rule over it in the Act of Abjuration.
The word Duytschen in the first stanza, generally translated into English as 'Dutch', 'native' or 'Germanic', is a reference to William's roots; its modern Dutch equivalent, Duits, exclusively means 'German', and while it may refer to William's ancestral house (Nassau, Germany) or to the lands of the Holy Roman Empire it is most probably a reference to an older meaning of the word, which can loosely be translated as 'Germanic', and seeks to position William as a person with a personal connection with the Low Countries as opposed to the king of Spain, Philip II, who was commonly portrayed as foreign, disconnected and out of touch. In doing so, William is also implicitly comparing himself with the well liked Charles V (Philip's father) who, unlike his son, was born in the Low Countries, spoke Dutch and visited the Low Countries more often than any other part of his realm.[16][17][18][19]
Though only proclaimed the national anthem in 1932, the "Wilhelmus" already had a centuries-old history. It had been sung on many official occasions and at many important events since the outbreak of the Dutch Revolt in 1568, such as the siege of Haarlem in 1573 and the ceremonial entry of the Prince of Orange into Brussels on 18 September 1578.
It has been claimed that during the gruesome torture of Balthasar Gérard (the assassin of William of Orange) in 1584, the song was sung by the guards who sought to overpower Gérard's screams when boiling pigs' fat was poured over him. Gérard allegedly responded "Sing! Dutch sinners! Sing! But know that soon I shall be sung of!".[20]
Another legend claims that following the Navigation Act 1651 (an ordinance by Oliver Cromwell requiring all foreign fleets in the North Sea or the Channel to dip their flag in salute) the "Wilhelmus" was sung (or rather, shouted) by the sailors on the Dutch flagship Brederode in response to the first warning shot fired by an English fleet under Robert Blake, when their captain Maarten Tromp refused to lower his flag. At the end of the song, which coincided with the third and last English warning shot, Tromp fired a full broadside, thereby beginning the Battle of Goodwin Sands and the First Anglo-Dutch War.[20]
During the Dutch Golden Age, it was conceived essentially as the anthem of the House of Orange-Nassau and its supporters – which meant, in the politics of the time, the anthem of a specific political faction which was involved in a prolonged struggle with opposing factions (which sometimes became violent, verging on civil war). Therefore, the fortunes of the song paralleled those of the Orangist faction. Trumpets played the "Wilhelmus" when Prince Maurits visited Breda, and again when he was received in state in Amsterdam in May 1618. When William V arrived in Schoonhoven in 1787, after the authority of the stadholders had been restored, the church bells are said to have played the "Wilhelmus" continuously. After the Batavian Revolution, inspired by the French Revolution, it had come to be called the "Princes' March" as it was banned during the rule of the Patriots, who did not support the House of Orange-Nassau.
However, at the foundation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1813, the "Wilhelmus" had fallen out of favour. Having become monarchs with a claim to represent the entire nation and stand above factions, the House of Orange decided to break with the song which served them as heads of a faction, and the "Wilhelmus" was replaced by Hendrik Tollens' song "Wien Neêrlands Bloed", which was the official Dutch anthem from 1815 until 1932. However, the "Wilhelmus" remained popular and lost its identification as a factional song, and on 10 May 1932, it was decreed that on all official occasions requiring the performance of the national anthem, the "Wilhelmus" was to be played – thereby replacing Tollens' song.
"Wilhelmus" was also translated into Malay, of which was sung back when Indonesia was under Dutch colonial rule.[21]
During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, the Nazi Reichskommissar, banned all the emblems of the Dutch royal family, including the "Wilhelmus". It was then taken up by all factions of the Dutch resistance, even those socialists who had previously taken an anti-monarchist stance. The pro-German Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB), who had sung the "Wilhelmus" at their meetings before the occupation, replaced it with "Alle Man van Neerlands Stam" ("All Men of Dutch Origin").[22] The anthem was drawn to the attention of the English-speaking world by the 1942 British war film One of Our Aircraft Is Missing. The film concerns a Royal Air Force bomber crew who are shot down over the occupied Netherlands and are helped to escape by the local inhabitants. The melody is heard during the film as part of the campaign of passive resistance by the population, and it finishes with the coat of arms of the Netherlands on screen while the "Wilhelmus" is played.[23]
The "Wilhelmus" is to be played only once at a ceremony or other event and, if possible, it is to be the last piece of music to be played when receiving a foreign head of state or emissary.
During international sport events, such as the World Cup, UEFA European Football Championship, the Olympic Games and the Dutch Grand Prix, the "Wilhelmus" is also played. In nearly every case the 1st and 6th stanzas (or repeating the last lines), or the 1st stanza alone, are sung/played rather than the entire song, which would result in about 15 minutes of music.[24]
The "Wilhelmus" is also widely used in Flemish nationalist gatherings as a symbol of cultural unity with the Netherlands. Yearly rallies like the "IJzerbedevaart" and the "Vlaams Nationaal Zangfeest" close with singing the 6th stanza, after which the Flemish national anthem "De Vlaamse Leeuw" is sung.
An important set of variations on the melody of "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe" is that by the blind carillon-player Jacob van Eyck in his mid-17th century collection of variations Der Fluyten Lust-hof.[25]
The royal anthem of Luxembourg (called "De Wilhelmus") is a variation on the "Wilhelmus". The melody was first used in Luxembourg (at the time in personal union with the Kingdom of the United Netherlands) on the occasion of the visit of the Dutch King and Grand Duke of Luxembourg William III in 1883. Later, the anthem was played for Grand Duke Adolph of Luxembourg along with their national anthem. The melody is similar, but not identical to that of the "Wilhelmus"; it has been in official use since 1919.
The song „Wenn alle untreu werden“ ("When All Become Unfaithful"), better known as „Das Treuelied“, written by the poet Max von Schenkendorf, used exactly the same melody as the "Wilhelmus".[citation needed] After World War I, this song became popular among German nationalist groups. It became one of the most popular songs of the SS, together with the „Horst-Wessel-Lied“.
The melody is also used in the Swedish folk song "Ack, Göta konungarike" ("Alas, Gothic Kingdom"), written in 1626, which deals with the liberation struggle of Sweden under Gustav Vasa during the 16th century.
The "Wilhelmus" was first printed in a geuzenliedboek (lit. 'Beggars' songbook') in 1581. It used the following text as an introduction to the "Wilhelmus":'[citation needed]
The original text contains 15 stanzas and is written in the form of an acrostic; the first letter in each of the following stanzas, highlighted in bold below, spell out William of Nassau.
Media related to Wilhelmus at Wikimedia Commons