Dutch history redefined by groups of historians

UTRECHT – The attempts by the Commission-Van Oostrum to prioritize events in Dutch history into a commonly accepted ‘canon’ may have been a bit too ambitious. Various groups have created their own list of historic events while media outlets organized campaigns in which the public was given a chance to offer their choice. In one of these public popularity contests, 16th century nation builder William of Orange was nearly was bumped by a contemporary figure. A group of Christian historians were not satisfied with Van Oostrum’s report and created their own ‘canon.’ Now church historian Willem van der Meiden has published 25 windows on Dutch history, pointing out that the subject is better understood when taking into account church history. Van der Meyden’s windows range from St Servatius in 384 to the restoration of the Roman Catholic Church in 1853 and beyond. Also the Union of Utrecht (1579), the Synod of Dordrecht (1618-9), theologian Bernard Smytegelt, philosopher Spinoza and the Radical Enlightenment, and the Secession of 1834 made it on the most recent list in the publication VolZin.