At the beginning of this first issue for the year 2024, let me announce some changes in the editorship of Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies. First, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Esther Mijers (Edinburgh), who after many years of faithful service, recently has stepped down from her role as review editor. The change has also sparked a larger reshuffle of our setup. Having had the privilege to serve as Dutch Crossing’s coordinating editor for close to two decades, we felt it was time for a wider rejuvenation of the journal’s editorship. The precise division of roles, at the time of writing, is still in the process of being sorted out and more details will be announced in the coming issues of Dutch Crossing. I will of course remain affiliated with the journal. Before signing off, let me introduce the contributions to the present issue:
Kevin Brown (Glasgow) considers art objects and their patronage in the waning days of the anciens régimes in Europe. Specifically he investigates a triangle of producers and consumers of art: the Brussels goldsmith Michel-Paul-Joseph Dewez (1742–1804), the Scottish military officer in the Austrian service James Lockhart (1727–1790) and the governor-general of the Austrian Netherlands Prince Charles Alexandre of Lorraine (1712–1780). By bringing together these persons’ perspectives, especially relating to their works of and dealings in art, Brown’s narrative casts light on the art market in the twilight years of old Europe.
Anneloek Scholten and Roel Smeets (Nijmegen) turn their attention to processes of canon formation with regard to regionalist writers from Flanders and the Netherlands. In spite of the huge popularity of regional literature in the nineteenth century, only a handful of regionalist writers have received wider recognition. Using the approach of network analysis, Scholten and Smeets systematically trace their contemporary reception and investigate the impact of genre, gender and nationality on associations between authors. Concluding that genre boundaries at the time were fluid, and that numerous transnational authors were associated with Dutch and Flemish regionalists, the article can also be read as an investigation of the processes behind the formation of canons more broadly.
Cécile de Morrée (Nijmegen) examines sexual violence in the Middle Dutch play ‘Lanseloet van Denemerken’ (c. 1405) and how the sensitive topic it is dealt with in literary scholarship of the period. Employing an intersectional perspective, de Morrée’s analysis uncovers new meanings in the play that is well-known for its gender-based brutality. De Morrée’s analysis points to the danger of interpretations and discussions of medieval texts being involuntarily influenced by present-day attitudes towards sexual violence and calls on researchers’ shared responsibility for an open discussion of the topic in the field of Middle Dutch literary studies.
A book review by Martine van Ittersum (Dundee) of Christopher W. Close’s State formation and shared sovereignty: The Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic, 1488–1696 (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and an obituary for Irving Wolters (1953–2023) by Jane Fenoulhet (London) round of the volume. As always, best wishes for good reading!