Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe (William of Nassau) is the national anthem of the Netherlands. The name is often abbreviated to 'Het Wilhelmus' (The William).The text was written somewhere between 1568 and 1572, in honour of William of Orange (also known as William of Nassau), during the Dutch revolt against the Spaniards, the Eighty Years War. The author was probably Marnix van St. Aldegonde.
When The Netherlands became a kingdom in 1815, the song was not chosen as its national anthem, because it was too connected to the party that supported the House of Orange-Nassau. However its popularity never waned, and on May 10, 1932 it became the national anthem after all, replacing Wien Neerlands bloed door d'aderen vloeit
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe is the oldest anthem in the world. Although it wasn't recognized as the official national anthem untill 1932, it was seen as the one and only real Dutch anthem by the people.
This is the first stanza, modernized a great deal:
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
Ben ik van Duytschsen bloedt
Den vaderland ghetrouwe
Blijf ik tot in de dood
Een Prins van Oranje
Ben ik vrij onverveerd
Den Koning van Hispanje
Heb ik altijd gheeÃÂërdTo give a translation of this stanza is hard, because almost every line has several possible interpretations. A crude translation:
William of Nassau,
Am I, of Dutch descent
(Alternative translation: Am I, of German descent)
Loyal to the fatherland
I'll remain until death
A Prince of Orange
Am I, free and fearless
The king of Spain
I have honoured alwaysThe last two lines are often interpreted to mean that the leader of the Dutch war against Spain had no specific qualms with the king, but rather with his emissaries in the Low Countries; it may also be sheer sarcasm.
There is a ongoing controversy what the author meant with "Duytschen bloedt" in the text. Some people believe it does not refer to the Netherlands and the Dutch people, but, taking into consideration the fact that William of Naussau was born in Dillenburg in the county of Nassau (presently in Germany), they believe it is possible that it referred to William's German descent. A strong argument against this is that 'Duytsch' is not only just a variant spelling of Dietsch, but both terms at the time referred to 'the people', i.e. the Dutch, and not just the Germans (this is a later narrowing of the meaning of the term). Also the fact that the song was in essence a nationalist song sung by rebels against the (Spanish) authorities about William of Nassau, not a song supposedly sung by William himself, has to be taken into consideration.
Usually only the first stanza is sung. When another stanza is sung, it is usually the sixth:
Mijn schild ende betrouwen
zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer
op U zo wil ik bouwen
Verlaat mij nimmermeer
Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven
uw dienaar t'aller stond
de tirannie verdrijven
die mij mijn hart doorwondtSuggested translation:
My shield and loyalty
arth thou, o God my Lord
on Thou I shall build
never abandon me
so that I shall remain pious
your servant at all times
the tyranny repel
which stabs (me) my heartThe anthem is an acrostic, which in this case means the first letters of the fifteen stanzas form the name 'Willem van Nassav' (van means 'of' or, as in this case, 'from').
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