Papers by Karen Hollewand
https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/101156 Beverland's biography, as published in the Oxford Diction... more https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/101156 Beverland's biography, as published in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (see link above).
Scholar Hadriaan Beverland was banished from Holland in 1679. Why was this humanist exiled from o... more Scholar Hadriaan Beverland was banished from Holland in 1679. Why was this humanist exiled from one of the most tolerant parts of Europe in the seventeenth century? This article argues that it was Beverland's singular focus on sexual lust that got him into such great trouble. In his studies, he highlighted the importance of sex in human nature, history, and his own society. Dutch theologians disliked his theology, exegesis, and his use of erudition to mock their authority. His humanist colleagues did not support him either, since Bev-erland threatened the basis of the humanist enterprise by drawing attention to the sexual side of the classical world. And Dutch magistrates were happy to convict the young scholar, because he had insolently accused them of hypocrisy. By restricting sex to marriage, in compliance with Reformed doctrine, secular authorities upheld a sexual morality that was unattainable, Beverland argued, and he proposed honest discussion of the problem of sex. This article shows that by exposing the gap between principle and practice, Beverland highlighted the hypocrisy of a deeply conflicted elite at a precarious time, since the Dutch Golden Age had started disintegrating by the late-seventeenth century. Positioning Bever-land's fate in this context of change, his story and scholarship provide a fresh perspective on the intellectual environment of the Low Countries in this period.
Paper conference 'The Clandestine and Heterodox Underground of Early Modern European Philosophy' ... more Paper conference 'The Clandestine and Heterodox Underground of Early Modern European Philosophy' (5-6 March 2016).
To be published in: M. Jacob, G. Paganini, J.C. Lauresen (eds.), The Clandestine and Heterodox Underground of Early Modern European Philosophy (forthcoming: University of Toronto Press, Center/Clark Series 2017).
Announcements by Karen Hollewand
Registration is now open for the 2016 edition of Scientiae, taking place at St Anne's College, Ox... more Registration is now open for the 2016 edition of Scientiae, taking place at St Anne's College, Oxford. Please go to the dedicated page at http://scientiae.co.uk/conference-registration/ for details.
Books by Karen Hollewand
In 1679 Hadriaan Beverland (1650-1716) was banished from the province of Holland. Why was this hu... more In 1679 Hadriaan Beverland (1650-1716) was banished from the province of Holland. Why was this humanist scholar exiled from one of the most tolerant parts of Europe in the seventeenth century? To answer this question, this book places Beverland’s writings on sex, sin, and scholarship in their historical context for the first time. Beverland argued that sexual lust was the original sin and highlighted the importance of sex in human nature, ancient history, and his own society. His audacious works hit a raw nerve: Dutch theologians accused him of atheism, he was abandoned by his humanist colleagues, and he was banished by the University of Leiden.
By positioning Beverland’s extraordinary scholarship in the context of the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, this book examines how his radical studies challenged the intellectual, ecclesiastical, and political elite, providing a fresh perspective upon the Dutch Republic in the last decades of its Golden Age.
Uploads
Papers by Karen Hollewand
To be published in: M. Jacob, G. Paganini, J.C. Lauresen (eds.), The Clandestine and Heterodox Underground of Early Modern European Philosophy (forthcoming: University of Toronto Press, Center/Clark Series 2017).
Announcements by Karen Hollewand
Books by Karen Hollewand
By positioning Beverland’s extraordinary scholarship in the context of the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, this book examines how his radical studies challenged the intellectual, ecclesiastical, and political elite, providing a fresh perspective upon the Dutch Republic in the last decades of its Golden Age.
To be published in: M. Jacob, G. Paganini, J.C. Lauresen (eds.), The Clandestine and Heterodox Underground of Early Modern European Philosophy (forthcoming: University of Toronto Press, Center/Clark Series 2017).
By positioning Beverland’s extraordinary scholarship in the context of the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, this book examines how his radical studies challenged the intellectual, ecclesiastical, and political elite, providing a fresh perspective upon the Dutch Republic in the last decades of its Golden Age.