The Chronici Zelandiae (in full: ''Chronici Zelandiae Libri duo auctore Jacobo Eyndio, Domino Haemstede''), is a book by Dutch writer Jacob van den Eynde, better known as ''Jacob Eyndius''. The book was published for the first time in 1634, twenty years after the author's death. Jacob van den Eynde Chronici Zelandiae cover

Jacob van den Eynde Chronici Zelandiae cover

Van den Eynde wrote this book during his stay in

Haamstede Haamstede is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland. The village is known for Haamstede Castle. History The village was first mentioned in 1229 as Haemstede, and means "pla ...

, on the island of

Schouwen Schouwen is the name of a former island of the Dutch province of Zeeland.Schouwen-Duiveland ...

, in

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

, where he retired during the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Habsburg Spain, Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like Kingdom of France, France began tre ...

, after serving as a captain under

Maurice, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Lordship of Frisia, Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became P ...

. Van den Eynde was well versed in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, and this book was written in Latin. The book, a chronicle of the land of Zeeland, was the first of its kind. Van den Eynde didn't manage to finish this work before his untimely death, in 1614, and the ''Chronici'' fell into oblivion. It was later rescued by the State of Zeeland. The State saved this work and brought it back to light, publishing it under the name ''Chronici Zelandiae Libri duo auctore Jacobo Eyndio, Domino Haemstede''. According to '' Heer'' de Witte, this book is a "gold mine of scholarship," and, among all those written about Zeeland, "the one worth reading the most." The first book of the ''Chronici'' was translated into Dutch by Mattheus Smallegange, and inserted verbatim into his '' Kronijk van Zeeland''. The 1634 edition of the ''Chronici'' includes a 22-page foreword, with a dedication to the State of Zeeland and acknowledgments to the editor Jean de Brune and the printer Simon Moulert. There are also a few poems in honor of the author and a very short preface. The first book, which ends at page 131 in the first edition, deals with the "antiquities of Zeeland." The first book is quite vague, obscure, with Eyndius presenting the reader with "but a few citations, ''hors d'oeuvre'', conjectures and enigmas." The author becomes more concrete in the second book, where, however, according to some authors, his style is still vague and magniloquent, and the poet seems almost to be imitating

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

. In this work, Eyndius debunked some myths regarding the Dutch

counts Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. On the other hand, he also made up some myths in favor of Zeeland. For instance, Eyndius fabled that the

pillars of Hercules The Pillars of Hercules are the promontory, promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern Pillar, Calpe Mons, is the Rock of Gibraltar. A corresponding North African peak not being predominant, the identity of ...

were to be found in

. Eyndius' work of demythologization was followed by such great names in Dutch historiography as

Petrus Scriverius Petrus Scriverius, the Latinised form of Peter Schrijver or Schryver (12 January 1576 – 30 April 1660), was a Dutch writer and scholar on the history of the Low Countries. Life and work He was born at Haarlem and was educated by Corneli ...

(1576-1660), Jan Uytenhage de Mist (1636-1668), and Simon van Leeuwen (1626-1682).

References

{{Reflist Dutch folklore Dutch books Low Countries chronicles Folklore of the Benelux