(Hyppolyte) Louis Alexandre Dechet (alternatively, spelled Dechez;

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, 20 January 1801 - Lier, 18 October 1830) was a French actor and is regarded the author of the lyrics of the Brabançonne, the Belgian

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

. His pseudonym was Jenneval, possibly named after the drama ''Jenneval, ou le Barnevelt français'' (1769) of

Louis Sébastien Mercier Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

. Dechet worked in

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and in 1826 at the Paris Odéon. Via

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

he finally came to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, where he played at La Monnaie. In 1828 he returned to Paris in order to work at the Comédie Française, but returned to Brussels immediately after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

in 1830. He there served with the city guard which was responsible for maintaining law and order. Dechet is said to have written the text of the Brabançonne during the first revolutionary gatherings at the café "L'Aigle d'Or" in the Brussels Greepstraat in August 1830, shortly after the performance of the opera La Muette de Portici, which triggered the Belgian revolution. During the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

Dechet became a volunteer in the revolutionary army and joined the corps of Frenchman Charles Niellon. He died during a combat against the Dutch near Lier. On the Place des Martyrs/Martelaarsplein in Brussels, a column honouring Dechet is to be found, which was created by the sculptor

Alfred Crick Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

and inaugurated in 1897.

Gallery

File:Jenneval (Hipolyte Louis Alexandre Dechet) by Pierre-Louis Delaval.jpg, Portrait of Jenneval by

Pierre-Louis Delaval Pierre-Louis or Pierre Louis is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Pierre-Louis Bentabole (1756–1798), revolutionary Frenchman * Pierre-Louis Billaudèle (1796–1869), priest from, and educated in, Fran ...

, 1821 Jenneval déclamant.png, Jenneval declaiming his ''Brabançonne'' for the first time Monument Jenneval Bxl.JPG, Monument to Jenneval on the Place des Martyrs/Martelaarsplein in Brussels

External links

Historical background of the Brabançonne by the Compagnie Royale des Francs Arquebusiers (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dechet, Alexandre 1801 births 1830 deaths Male actors from Lyon French male stage actors French poets People of the Belgian Revolution Troupe of the Comédie-Française 19th-century French male actors French expatriates in Belgium French male poets 19th-century poets 19th-century male writers National anthem writers